Jaffray, B.C born., Nova Scotia based country musician Dean Brody is excited to crossing Canada on the wings of his new CD Crop Circles.
He brings the Crop Circles and tractor beams tour to the Enmax Centre, Feb. 16 with The Voice winner Cassadee Pope.
And while his website and tour promotions features UFOs and tractor beams, don’t expect to see any of those on stage.
“ We were just having fun with the image for that. But I don’t want to tell you the beginning of the show, ” he said from his home on the coast of Nova Scotia, where he is polishing the details for the tour.
“There are a lot of little details to work out. We’ve got a full production and video crew. I definitely couldn’t do this on my own,” he said.
“ You are going to be seeing an excellent show. And you’ll be hearing all of the hits. Cassadee Pope and her band are opening. She’s an excellent singer,” he said.
Brody has charted a lot of hits over the past few years including ‘It’s Friday,’ which her recorded with Great Big Sea on his 2012 album ‘Dirt’ and ‘Canadian Girls’ from the same album. He is also known for ‘Roll that Barrel Out,’ ‘People know You by Your First Name’ and ‘Little Yellow Blanket.’
“ I wish I knew the secret. Radio has been very good for me and the fans have been very supportive,” he said of writing so many hits.
For the first album, I had two years material to draw from. Now, I have about a 18 month window between albums, so whatever I write goes on the album,” he said.
“I look at albums like they are cars. I write a variety of songs — upbeat songs, more contemplative songs. When people listen to an album, I want it to take them on a journey,” he said.
There are several references to sand on the new CD.
“I live on the south shore of Nova Scotia on the ocean, so we spend a lot of time on the beach looking at the water,” he aid.
While he was born in the mountains of B.C., he spent some time living in Nashville before moving to Nova Scotia.
“ My wife’s folks decided to retire in Nova Scotia, so we thought it would be a good place for us to put down stakes and settle,” he said.
He decided to leave Nashville after the record company decided to make him switch management.
“As a musician, management is one of the few things you have control of. They wanted to make me somebody I didn’t want to be so they let me out of my contract,” he said adding he has no regrets.
“ I don’t regret anything. I thought I knew how to write songs when I moved to Nashville, but I learned I didn’t know how to write songs at all. But the great thing about it is I learned to put the best out that I can,” he said.
“Sometimes I write about my own life, other times it is about other people’s stories,” he said.
He wrote all of the songs on his new album on his own.
“ I prefer working that way. I’ve done some co-writing, but I always feel I’m the one in the room with all of the lousy ideas, so I feel I have nothing to contribute,” he said.
He is excited about the tour itself.
“It’s like being in college again. It’s a college dorm on wheels. It’s like living out here for home. You can’t describe it. It’s the camaraderie,” he said.
Dean Brody plays the Enmax Centre, Feb. 16 at 8 p.m.. with Cassadee Pope. Tickets cost $55 and $65
