Written by Jenia Schukov
On the day of my 16th birthday in September 2005, I stepped into Club Soda to watch a fairly unknown band play to a couple hundred people in Montreal for the very first time. Today, a little over six years later, that very same band has released their fourth full length studio album and has announced their second cross Canada arena tour. Comprised of lead vocalist Jacob Hoggard, bassist Tommy Macdonald, drummer Chris Crippin and guitarist Dave Rosin, Hedley has easily become one of the most recognizable bands in the Canadian music scene. I was fortunate enough to get the chance to sit down with Dave for a little while when the band was in town in November and discuss how surreal these past few years have been for such a humble band.
It had been a quiet year for Hedley fans. Having completed a US tour in late 2010 the band disappeared into the studio to work on their fourth full length album. Despite not touring for almost a year the group remained dedicated to their adoring fans and would regularly stream live from the studio to provide sneak peeks of their brand new songs and give updates. After much patience from fans everywhere “Storms” was released on November 8th 2011. It immediately shot up the charts on radio stations across the country and their hit single “Invincible” went to number 1 on the MuchMusic Video Countdown.
“The response from our fans online has been incredible. We really have to thank everyone for showing so much support. We really put a lot of hard work into this record and we took our time with it. We really made sure we were doing something new and something fresh and something that fans could sink their teeth into.”
The album has a strong balance of ballads as well as rock and roll and a couple of dance tracks. A nice surprise was that the band chose to feature the track “Beautiful” which fans everywhere got the chance to hear live for the first time on their “The Show Must Go” tour. When asked about this particular song Dave explained “We started playing it live to show our fans and give them something different. I think it’s really cool that we got to go in the studio again and do another version of that and share it with more people. Right now it’s only been a secret amongst Hedley fans.” He went on to add that seeing a b-side or a new song played at a show is something that he personally enjoys watching so it’s special for him to do be able to provide that same thing for fans. The album ends with an eight minute piano ballad entitled “I Won’t Let You Go(Darling).
It is apparent by the cover of their record, an overturned boat, and the name of their upcoming tour “Shipwrecked” that the band decided to lean towards a more nautical theme this time around. Most would automatically assume that this would have something to do with their home province of British Columbia being nestled along the Pacific Ocean. This is further demonstrated from the outstanding photography in the albums jacket, which features the band standing on rocks in front of a lighthouse with the ocean in back of them. Despite all of this it appears that there is a deeper meaning behind their decisions for “Storms”.
“The thing about storms is that when one is happening it can be really hard out. Then after a storm goes away everything is brighter again. We were trying to juxtapose what people go through in life. Everyone goes through their own storms. They lose family members and then gain new ones. People have children. You have friends that get sick and friends that fight back. It’s really all encompassing of what people go through when they’re living their lives.” Dave went on to add that: “We were doing the same thing. A lot of things were going on in our lives separately and respectively. It was really a matter of us bonding together to make sure that this record came out and that we were talking about what was going on. We wanted to share this with our fans because we believe honesty is like the base of what we do. I hope they respect that.”
It appears that the band has more than the fans respect. As someone who has attended my fair share of concerts and live shows over the past ten years, I have never seen a fan base as dedicated as that of Hedley’s. It’s a love affair and the feeling seems to be mutual. A perfect example of this was the bands visit to Musique Plus this past November to celebrate the release of “Storms”. As I walked by the television studio at 11:30 that morning I wasn’t surprised to find a lineup already down the block and around the corner. Please note that this was six hours before the doors would be opened and it was pouring rain outside.
It has become clear that Hedley is one of those bands who genuinely loves to tour and with that touring takes the time to build strong relationships with each and every one of their fans.
“Touring is what we live for; especially now that the record is done. When the record is out we can’t touch it anymore, it’s already finished. Now we can go on and tour with it and share it with people. What we do on stage when a Hedley show happens, the four of us on stage is really just a small part of what’s going on. It’s all about the people who come to the show, who have bought the record, who take the night off work and who have learned all the words. They’re joining together under one roof to sing along with us. It’s not just about us performing, it’s about everyone coming together and enjoying.” Dave explained. “We’ve always believed that we don’t want to do a regular concert. We’ve seen so many shows where bands just come on the stage and stand around and play a few songs and then leave. That’s fine, each to their own. If someone’s coming and paying for a ticket then we want to make sure that they’re getting their hard earned money’s worth. It’s like going to a movie! You want to feel like you’ve forgotten your troubles for a bit!”
Anyone who has attended a Hedley concert knows that the energy on the stage is unmatched by any band in the industry. It’s never boring with Jacob running from one end of the stage to the other, doing back flips and smacking his band mates around. Dave explained to me that keeping up with the “Jake-In-The-Box” meant drinking three cups of coffee every hour. While the group is known for their amazing energy, they have also become well recognized for their quiet piano ballads which have the crowd swaying along and singing at the top of their lungs. Somehow the band has found a way to make even arena shows intimate. It’s a sight to see.
Moving away from the topic of touring, I asked Dave what he believed they were doing right to stay so successful in the music industry. His response was a modest one.
“I don’t think we’ve made it by any means. I think we’ve just been so lucky over the past six years to have been shown so much love from all the fans across Canada. The fact that they keep welcoming us back to their homes time and time again is something we really just want to keep building on.”
He went on to explain that what he measures as true success is when a fan writes to the band via Twitter or approaches them after a show to reveal that one of their songs has helped them through a tough time. “We’re out there to share our stories. All these things that are happening in our songs are things that we’ve been through or happened to people that we know. When someone else can relate to that as well that’s the special part.”
“I think the cool thing about music sometimes is that you let the listener decide what it means. Who am I to tell you what a song means to you? A song like “Heavens Gonna Wait” means something different to Jake then it means to me and it’s going to mean something different to you. In a way delivering positive messages is something we’re proud to do and very happy to do. That’s good. Who wants to be kicking the sand all the time going “Oh ho hum life’s so rough oh yeah yeah”.
Staying along the positive route I decided to bring up an organization very close to the bands heart; Free the Children. Founded in 1995 by Craig and Marc Kielburger Free the Children has become an internationally renowned youth movement that is based on the idea of children helping children, “We feel so lucky to not only be involved but to be a part of what Free the Children is. I say we because we feel like we’re part of what’s going on.”
He went on to mention WeDay, a youth empowerment pep rally that consists of 18,000 students all coming together to make a difference in the world. Speakers from around the globe, under the same roof, discuss social issues affecting our communities on an international level. It is a chance for today’s youth to become involved and to learn how they can help create change.
“When we first got involved with Marc and Craig we just knew that they were the ones we wanted to get behind because they’re so positive and they’re truly making a difference in the world. They’re showing kids that making a change in not only your own life but in others is so important and it’s why we’re here and we can’t just think that we’re all alone on this planet and that nothing’s connected. India’s in our back yard. Kenya’s in our back yard. We’re in theirs.”
The band travelled to India this past year where they visited a small village. “We showed up and the situation was quite dire because children were noticeably in need of medical attention and before we did anything everyone, all the camera crew and us, dropped everything and grabbed the first aid supplies and started to treat wounds.” Dave mentioned that the band has decided to sponsor this specific village in the hopes of raising $12,000 to build a medical facility. The donation information is available at www.hedleyonline.com
Towards the end of the interview I decided to steer away from music and ask Dave a little bit about what his favorite Christmas tradition was growing up. I couldn’t help laughing at the complete and utter excitement in his eyes when I brought this particular question up to him. His answer was immediate.
“When I was a kid we’d always go out on the snowmobile with a toboggan on the back and we’d go out into the bush. I grew up up-north. It was Northern BC so it was cold there like it is here in Quebec. We’d go out and find a tree in the bush and bring it home. That and tobogganing. I still remember my first toboggan as a kid. It was the old school wooden kind with the curve on the front? Those things go so fast!!! Especially if you put four people on it. That was one of my favorite things.”
As the interview wrapped up I took my chance to thank Dave for all the blood, sweat and tears that they have poured into everything that they do. It was through Hedley’s music over these past six years that I realized that I wanted to pursue a career in music and to get the chance to sit down with Dave Rosin and discuss music was an absolute pleasure and a moment I won’t ever forget.
To learn more about Hedley and their upcoming tour click on the links below (and follow them on Twitter):
To read the rest of the transcript click here: http://www.confrontmagazine.com/2011/11/hedley-transcript/
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