It might be three years between studio efforts but Prince Edward Island folk-pop musician Tim Chaisson has been anything but idle.
Chaisson’s newest record, The Other Side, is the long-awaited follow-up to 2009’s Broken Hearted Beat, which opened doors for him at home and abroad.
Though it was released in 2009, Broken Hearted Beat gained a second wind of sorts in 2010 when Chaisson’s seemingly ceaseless tour schedule gave way to a surge that he simply couldn’t ignore.
Chaisson kicks off an approximate six-week Canadian tour in Charlottetown Friday. The tour will bring Chaisson and his tour mates Poor Young Things to Moncton’s Plan B Lounge on Wednesday night.
“When I had initially released Broken Hearted Beat, I did everything myself including publicity,” Chaisson tells The Times & Transcript. “I started working with my manager in 2010 and really actively started touring. Not long after, I had a publicist and a booking agent in Toronto. It took the record a little longer to get its feet but I can’t complain about the way that things unfolded.”
While promoting Broken Hearted Beat, Chaisson ended up playing many dates in support of fellow Atlantic Canadian band The Trews. He formed a strong friendship with The Trews’ siblings John-Angus MacDonald and Colin MacDonald. Chaisson says that touring in support of Broken Hearted Beat helped build his confidence as a songwriter,
He didn’t hesitate to leverage his pals in the Trews to lend a hand with writing his newest effort.
“I had the opportunity to open for The Trews all across Canada and we ended up becoming really good friends. When the time came that it was time to start putting songs together for my new record, it seemed totally natural to get their help.”
Right or wrong, some artists believe that enlisting the aid of others to help write songs is akin to having someone else nurture your children, Chaisson says that he has no aversion to having others contribute to the songwriting process.
“I have zero concerns when it comes to writing with others. I have always believed that there is a very good chance that the other person or persons can help make the song better. I consider there to be many advantages of writing with others. I have found it really opens up the possibilities that lie within the song. If you trust someone musically, that they are going to look out for your song, it makes sense.”
Another friendship formed during the making of The Other Side was between Chaisson and acclaimed producer Colin Linden (Bruce Cockburn, Colin James). Chaisson says that he and Linden hit it off immediately, starting with their first telephone call to discuss the prospect of working together.
“I hadn’t known Colin prior to having worked with him on this record but after our first chat and working with him in the studio, I don’t believe that you could find a more genuine, polite, nice, cool guy to work with,” Chaisson says. “Plus, his playing is truly unreal.
“Colin didn’t exert a whole lot of pressure onto the making of the record either. We started making the record with 25 or 26 songs and we whittled it down to the best 11 songs we had. I wanted this record to be timeless in a way; I wasn’t interested in following any trends or go for too distinct of a pop sound. I wanted this record to be something that I could look back upon and be proud of.”
Article published in the October 26, 2012 edition of the Times & Transcript