Toronto based songwriter Jason Collett , who was part of the band Broken Social Scene, took a step back and let his band take the reins for his new ninth solo CD “Song And Dance Man.”
He brings the tour including members of Toronto based indie rock band Zeus to the Geomatic Attic, April 30 with Kalle Mattson.
“ It was released a couple months ago, so we are finally getting to tour on it,” said Collett, taking in breathtaking Rocky Mountain scenery through the windows of the Banff Centre, which he is considering using for his long running side project the Basement Revue which he described as a variety show combining music and literature, which over its 10 year run has featured collaborations with people like Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje and Feist.
“I’ve never felt the need to go some place to get into a creative head space. I’ve never had any trouble doing that on my own. But being here, I get it , it’s beautiful,” he observed.
He is pleased with his new, more pop inspired album.
“It really sounds more refined. It is definitely a fun record,” he said, noting he made the record in Brewster Studio with producer Afie Jurvanen aka Bahamas and long time collaborator drummer/ engineer Don Kerr plus Zeus’s Neil Quin on background vocals plus Christine Bougie playing guitar and lap steel.
“ She’s definitely the secret weapon on the CD. And Don Kerr is one of Canada’s greatest drummers. He has played with Ron Sexmith for a lot of years,” he said.
“It’s pretty lean. I’m a singer songwriter, but I’ve never approached it that way. We didn’t do a lot of pre-production on the album. There was none. I brought the songs to the band and we just got down to it. What they got down to was a lot of fun. They really stepped up and I stepped back, so it was like I became a part of the band,” he said, noting so far the CD has received critical acclaim and a lot of positive feedback from fans.
“It definitely feels like the next step,” he said.
Collett noted it has been at least six years since he last played Lethbridge.
“It was maybe six years ago on the Bonfire Ball tour. I was touring with Zeus. They were my backing band and they were playing their own set,” he said noting he is excited to tour with Zeus again as well as Bahamas.
“It’s great to be back on the road with Zeus again,” he said.
“ We’ll be playing a lot of the album and the hits. It will be a good cross section from all of my albums,” he said.
Jason Collett and Kalle Mattson play the Geomatic Attic, April 30 at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $27.50 in advance, $30 online and $32.50 at the door.