Peterborough raised, Nashville based songwriter Tebey Ottoh has had his songs cut from everyone from pop stars One Direction, Canadain Idol runner up Rex Goudie, pop icon Cher and numerous country stars including Big and Rich and his old friends Emerson Drive.
He brings his music and a couple members of Emerson Drive To Average Joes, March 6 to help Average Joes cook Lorne Miller and his family.
“We were starting this cross Canada tour and I heard about this tragic accident. We want to put on amazing show and raise some money and have a good time,” he said.
“ So if we can get 300-400 people in the room, that would be absolutely amazing,” he said.
He is enjoying his tour so far despite chilly weather.
“ It was -50 in Brandon. It was brutal,” he said.
“ But we had 350 people in Winnipeg,” he said adding he is just about to release his new album “Two.”
The first single“Wake Me Up,” which features Emerson Drive on it already hit the Top 5 on the charts.
“Even Dean Brody doesn’t do that. It’s pretty amazing,” he said.
He is excited about playing Lethbridge for the first time.
“ I’ve never played there before. On this tour we’re playing a lot of places I haven’t played before,” he said.
“It’s a full band. We play a lot of originals and there’s a set where we take Top 40 pop hits and turn them into country songs. So we play some Bruno Mars and One Direction,” he said.
He still considers himself to be a country singer though he has written a lot of pop hits for bands like one Direction, Shawn Desman, Tara Oram and scored a number one hit in the United Kingdom with Pixie Lott’s “ All About Tonight.”
Some of his hits Emerson Drive cut include “Never a Good Day For Goodbye,” “Love Hangover,” “Alone Tonight,” “We Fit Together” and “With You” from their CD “Roll” as well as their top 10 singles “When I See You Again” and Sleep It Off.” He also has several solo country hits including “Somewhere In The Country” from his debut CD “ The Wait.”
“ Just because I’ve written some pop hits, it doesn’t mean I’m not a country singer. There are guys like Gord Bamford and George Canyon who write more country music, then there are people like Brett Kissell who write more pop songs,” he said.
“ In country music the lyrics and the story are more important. In pop music it is all about the hook and beat and lyrics can be more vague,” he said.
He noted his career has happened pretty naturally.
“ I grew up singing in church, then I got my first guitar when I was 12 and writing songs just happened,” he said.
His friendship with Emerson Drive goes back a long way.
“Canadians in Nashville tend to stick together. They call my place in Nashville the Canadian Embassy. Everyone comes here. I got to know the guys in Emerson Drive so me and my wife invited them over and we eventually started writing songs together,” he said.
Emerson drive guitarist Danick Dupelle and drummer Mike Melancon will be joining his band for this tour.
“They had some down time, so a I asked them ‘why not come on the road with me,’” he said.
He noted, getting the Cher cut “Take It Like a Man” came as much of a surprise to him as anyone.
“My publishing company BMG had it and she must have liked it ,” he enthused.
“She’s an icon.”
Working with one direction was similarly serendipitous.
“It was sudden. They heard them and must have liked them ( “ They Don’t Know About Us” and “Loved You First”) because the next thing I know I’m on a plane to London. I even got a producer credit., he said adding he was responsible for the vocals of the songs.
“They are one of the biggest bands in the world. Their record sold 7 million copies which is unheard of,” he said.,” he said.
While he enjoys having other artists perform his songs, her prefers the live experience.
“I love performing. I love seeing everyone in the audience who knows the words and singing them back to me, like on “Wake Me Up,” he said.
After his Canadian tour, Tebey is excited to be going to Israel to entertain the troops
Average Joe’s Sports Bar will be giving 50 per cent of every ticket sold for this concert to the fundraiser. There will also be a silent auction prior to the show from 7 to 9 p.m. with all proceeds going to the fundraiser. Leah Daniels will be opening the show.
Tickets cost $15
