Front man of Ontario’s The Wooden Sky has challenged himself to write once a day when the band is on tour.
The band left for the road in July and stopped in Fredericton to play at the Capital Complex Friday. Writing every day since then, Gavin Gardiner’s hand must have a wicked cramp.
“When you’re on tour for four… or three and a half months, you start to go a little bit insane but writing grounds me, that I’m a creative person and I’m not like just driving around and playing shows,” said Gardiner.
The band released their third album, Every Child a Daughter, Every Moon a Sun in February and is the first album that secured them a record deal in Europe with Loose Music. They made stops in Europe and the United States before coming to Fredericton.
With all of this travelling, Gardiner said it’s crucial exercises his creativity. He said as a songwriter, there is no other high like it. So on this tour, more than the others, he’s writing more.
“I mean, the thing I really like about song writing is it’s part art and part craft. The moment you pull something out of the air, you have some creative spark and magic, and after that you can take it anywhere. It’s a fun balance.”
Gardiner said inspiration is always plentiful, but finding time is more difficult. Gardiner thought of a quote from Neil Young to describe being creative on the road. “When I have that feeling, I always make time for it.”
The touring is being stretched further with the band’s record deal in Europe. Gardiner said he likes seeing how The Wooden Sky’s music is being received in other countries.
“In Europe, it’s sort of new. Especially in Germany where everything is focusing on electronic music, but what we’re doing stands out a lot more so it’s interesting to see the niches the record found itself in,” said Gardiner.
Gardiner describes The Wooden Sky’s new album as something to play while drinking wine next to the fireplace. Every Child a Daughter, Every Moon a Sun sounds more subdued than their other two full length albums, and Gardiner said this was partially intentional.
The Wooden Sky had plans to head right into the studio after their last tour but the scheduling was “mishandled.” Since Gardiner finally had some free time, he could let the song writing come to him.
“I kind of went into hibernation and pulled out records that were like living the home life,” he said. “People assume your next record is going to be the same. The nice thing about being a musician is you can expand it with different sounds.”
The Wooden Sky aren’t wrapping up their cross-Canada tour until next month, but they’re already thinking about their next album. Gardiner said he’s heard from audience members they are more of a rock band when they perform live, so he said they might explore this genre more.
He said the audience keeps life on the road refreshing.
“We all love making music. There are little things on the road when people come up to you and tell you how the music touches you.”
