Time: 9 p.m.
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There
are songwriters who find a creative niche and never stray
from it. Then there are songwriters who choose to continually
break down what they are known for and start again from the ground up.
Leeroy Stagger is the latter. Capturing a more
mature sound than earlier recordings, his 4th studio album, Everything
is Real, presents Stagger at a new beginning. “I don’t want to make
records that sound like the ones I’ve already made,” he explains from
his home in Lethbridge, Alberta, “This time I wanted to make a classic
sounding record like the ones I grew up listening to.” Stagger’s hope
has been realized with songs like the Springsteen-esque “Petrified
World”, the title track's homage to 70's New York punk and the nod to
Little Feat with the song “Stormy”.
Inspired by recordings of the 70s, Stagger wanted to evoke the feeling
every kid got when putting a new rock and roll record on their
parents’ stereo. The result is an album that straddles the lines
between the rock side of Ryan Adams, the gravel-fueled poetry of
Lucinda Williams, and the muscle of early Tom Petty. Everything is
Real is a gritty, honest collection of songs that aren’t afraid to
rock, sway, or break a few hearts.
Stagger’s past is rich in success including featured placements on
ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and tours taking him to the UK, Europe and across
North America.
With such accomplishments, it’s strange
to think his new album was in danger of never being completed. After
steering himself away from a personal storm in 2008, the now-sober
Stagger returned to finish writing Everything is Real and enlisted
producer John Ellis, with whom he collaborated on his previous album,
the critically-acclaimed Depression River. A cache of varied and “purer”
songs in hand, Stagger brought in a versatile band including drummer
Pat Steward (Bryan Adams, Odds),
bassist Tyson Maiko, and guitarist Kevin Kane (The Grapes of Wrath),
to translate his vision. They holed up in Ellis’ studio in the small
town of Ashcroft, BC and invited a wealth of musical guests: Bobby
Furgo (Leonard Cohen Band), Tim Easton (New West Records), Evan
Phillips (The Whipsaws), Steve Bays (Hot Hot Heat), Neal Casal (Ryan
Adams and the Cardinals), as well as Scottish songster Roddy Hart. The
result is Stagger’s most realized album to date.
With the classic-sounding “Snowing in Nashville”
and wonderfully evocative “Red Bandana”,Everything Is Real is a
beautiful documentation
of the young troubadour finding his voice and putting himself back on
track as one of the most promising new Canadian artists to join the
ranks of Blue Rodeo and Kathleen Edwards. With a brand new band, a
brand new record and a brand new outlook on life, Stagger is aiming
for that mark.
Leeroy Stagger is also a member of the folk trio Easton, Stagger,
Phillips with acclaimed American songwriters Tim Easton and Evan
Phillips.