Wayne Lavallee, opening for Crystal Shawanda, March 1, 8 p.m. at the York Theatre, 639 Commercial Dr., Vancouver. Part of the 2014 Talking Stick Festival. For tickets and full schedule of events, visit talkingstickfest.ca.
He's a little bit country, he's a little bit rock 'n' roll.He's also a little bit folk, a little bit roots, a little bit aboriginal and, as of recently, a little bit '80s new wave.
Meet Wayne Lavallee, or as the singer/songwriter is known to many of his fans and social media followers, the Rock 'n' Roll Indian Cowboy.
"That's how I describe my sound," explains the longtime North Vancouver resident, "and it works as a good marketing tool for myself as well."
On March 1, Lavallee is set to open for singer Crystal Shawanda at the York Theatre in East Vancouver. The performance is part of the 2014 Talking Stick Festival, which runs Feb. 18 to March 2. Presented by Full Circle First Nations Performance, this 13th annual celebration of aboriginal performing arts features 50 shows, including Full Circle's own Margo Kane acting in the play For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again, performances by the Dancers of Damelahamid and Raven Spirit Dance, and a concert by Ottawabased electronic music group A Tribe Called Red.
For his set, Lavallee will be playing songs from his third and most recent album Trail of Tears (2010), which garnered a Juno Award nomination for Aboriginal Recording of the Year, as well as some new material from his upcoming album set for release this year.
Lavallee is coproducing the album with Kevin Kane of Canadian folk rock band The Grapes of Wrath. While the new tracks will stay true to his country-rock roots, he says listeners can expect to hear some '80s influence - think Steve Earle, Bruce Springsteen, Depeche Mode and Buffy Sainte-Marie.
"I grew up with '80s music, right, so I'm a big fan of it, but I never thought I'd try to explore that sound like 10 years ago, or even five years ago," Lavallee says. Recently, though, he's noticed the nostalgic sound of the analog synthesizer in contemporary music and is excited to experiment with synth in his own work.
"It just seems like new wave is making a comeback."
Despite introducing some keyboard action, Lavallee says his new music will still maintain its aboriginal flavour.
"It's always going to have an aboriginal vibe or sound, however one defines that," he says. "It's kind of what makes it unique in a way."
Born in Vancouver, Lavallee comes from a large Métis family based in Manitoba. When he was five years old, he received a guitar for Christmas and he's been playing ever since. "I knew when I was really young I wanted to play music," he says.
He didn't actually start writing his own music until he was about 20, he says, and was slow to book live performances. But his early career as a theatre actor pushed him to bring his music to the stage.
Lavallee released his debut album in 2000. His second album, Green Dress, was nominated for a 2005 Juno Award for Aboriginal Recording of the Year. In addition to his 2010 Juno nod, he picked up awards for Best Folk Acoustic Album, Best Rock Album and Best Male Artist at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards that same year.
When it comes to the writing process, Lavallee says words usually come second to music. "Lyrics are hard to write, that's the thing I struggle with the most," he says. "Music comes so naturally and I often write the music first."
His lyrics are inspired by life and love, he continues, with an emphasis on storytelling.
"Just because I'm an aboriginal singer/songwriter I don't really want to have to make it political or have to be writing about something that's too serious because I always want to try to keep music and songs a bit fun," he says, adding, "I really want them to have some sort of depth but still be light."
Lavallee's fourth album, which he is planning to title Rock 'n' Roll Indian Cowboy, is set for release at the end of summer 2014.
