Ah, the art of the sophomore record. In Jesse Labelle’s case, “Two” was the result of rewriting an entire album, and finding that it was a blessing in disguise. In the process of the rewrite, there was the realization of a concept, a challenge, and a chance to showcase a different side of his music and storytelling. The result can be heard in the dynamics of the first single off the record, ‘Heartbreak Coverup’, which heated up charts earlier this year.
We had the opportunity to chat with Jesse in Vancouver this past weekend before he opened for Jordan Knight, and divulged on the process of making “Two”, his writing inspirations, and what he has planned for the rest of the year. Stay tuned later this week for Jesse’s playlist contribution, and a contest you don’t want to miss.
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asapmusicblog.ca: You’re approaching the end of your tour with Jordan Knight. Is there anything you’ve learned on this tour that you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life?
Jesse Labelle: Jordan connects with his fans really, really well. He develops a rapport with them, and that’s something I’ve been watching him do – I’m trying to learn from it. This is also the first tour that I’ve played any of the new songs off of my record, and there’s a lot of piano playing on it. I’m going to spend some more time practicing on the piano; it’s new for me to step away from the guitar for this long – I really like it and I just want to get better at it.
a: In a previous interview, you mentioned your writing approach to “Two” was focusing on the live performance aspect. How has that concept manifested itself into your live shows?
JL: The shows are much more entertaining – they’re much more dynamic, there’s a lot more up-tempo; there’s a lot more energy, a lot less downtime. I still step away from the band and do my own acoustic part of the set, but I definitely created the record based off of the idea that I wanted to have a much more interesting live show.
a: One of the themes that I noticed while reading up on your new album was the idea of challenging yourself – first with playing the piano rather than the guitar, and secondly rewriting the entire album. What would you consider your next challenge?
JL: I think the next challenge is going even deeper into that. I want to push myself even more to write from an outsider’s perspective as opposed to writing just from me, and my head and my heart. I think that when I can connect with what’s going on in the world around me as much as I can connect with what’s happening inside of me – I’ll have that perfect record. I want to take a look at the next record from a slightly outward approach, I’ve never done that, I’ve only written from very personal issues so I want to try to merge those with what’s going on around me for this next batch of songs.
a: For sophomore albums, artists start to get into their element. “Two” showed your growth as both a songwriter as well as an artist…
JL: Thank you!
a: … if there was a single message that you wanted your music to convey, what would it be? If you could narrow it down.
JL: That’s a tough question. If I could narrow it down, I want people to listen to it and feel like they’re part of a story. I want them to know that it’s okay to be out there, and kind of be searching for what’s going on in yourself as well as what’s going on in the world around you. I think that people are consistently on journeys to figure out what’s happening in their life, and that’s something I want to convey through my music. Life is not so much about the destination – it’s about the journey and what it takes to actually get there.
a: I love the overall metaphor that the album explores, which is the two sides of a relationship. I also love the poetic quality of the lyrics, especially in ‘Won’t Let You Down’ with the lines: There’s two sides to every story / Two sides to every heart / One that fears the end / And one that fears the start.
JL: That [song] is my favourite. Those were some of the last lyrics to be written for the album and it was the second verse of that song, and it was blank for the longest time and I had nothing in it – it was just instrumental and I was going to leave it instrumental. That’s where the album title came from as well, and that to me just explains… if I had to say one thing on the record, that would be essentially what it would stand for.
a: Are there any writers that inspire you?
JL: Yeah I mean, I’ve always been very inspired by the Beatles, by Lennon and McCartney of course. In terms of more contemporary writers, people who are a little bit newer, Elton John always but I mean his lyrics are [by] Bernie Taupin, so Elton John for music, lyrics – Bernie Taupin. I’m a big fan of Chris Martin, I’ve always loved what Coldplay has written. Crowded House… I could keep on going. I could probably do this whole interview just based on who I’m inspired by.
a: So pretty much, there’s a lot!
JL: Yeah, there’s tons. I think you need to listen to a lot – you need to have a lot of inspiration to draw from all of them and merge them into what makes you, you.
a: It’s already October, this year has just flown by… what do you have planned after the Jordan Knight tour and leading into 2013?
JL: After this tour, I’m expecting things to quiet down just because the end of the year usually does that – it’s a quiet time in the music business. I want to write a lot, I kind of want to get off the tour and continue to create. Jordan’s band, they are so dynamic, and I’ve learned a lot from watching them and some of the keyboards that they’re using. I want to experiment in the studio a little bit more.
Into 2013, I definitely need to tour again in the beginning of the year because now I’ve been across the country for the first time since “Perfect Accident”, and I’ve given a preview of what this record is like live, but I want to hone it a little bit more – It’s only been about eight or nine dates on this tour.
I’ve created the first element of what the show of “Two” is, and I’d like to go back and fine tune it even more and come back out in the new year and do it with a longer set. These are relatively short sets –
they’re about 25-30 minute sets so you only get four or five songs from the album. So in 2013, I’d like to go out and show people more of what I created on the record.
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“Two” is available in-stores and on iTunes now. For more information on Jesse Labelle, check out: http://www.jessebelle.com.
