鈥淚t鈥檚 all sacrifices, you know?鈥�
Jesse Dee, guitarist with Canadian rock group Picture the Ocean endures a lot to make music, but he says he still loves it.
The band鈥檚 been rolling across the country as part of its latest tour, and as it set up for a show in Saskatoon, Dee took some time to reflect on his and his band鈥檚 career.
This tour has taken what was once a two-person effort鈥擠ee and current band mate Jacquie B鈥攁nd morphed it into a four-piece rock show that Dee describes as having a tighter sound than ever.
While at the beginning of the tour, the band added a bass player to its lineup, three years ago it also brought in full-time drummer and vocalist Matt Blackie. Blackie鈥檚 addition to the lineup signaled a change of pace.
Along with rebranding the band as Picture the Ocean, the group moved away from its traditional roots style, to something more soaring and progressive.
It鈥檚 hard to wrestle the band鈥檚 sound into a manageable category, but its 2012 self-titled album is full of gentle riffs that wander through three-quarter time. You feel like you should be listening to them while staring at a sinking sun, as the ocean laps around your ankles鈥攐r maybe while snuggled under a blanket by the fire.
Such cozy feelings make sense, considering most of the album came together during a long winter in the tiny town of Wells, B.C.
鈥淚t was a really small place; there wasn鈥檛 really much to do there,鈥� says Dee. And what do musicians do when there isn鈥檛 much to do? They write songs.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 really see anybody. We went a little crazy, but crazy is good for songwriting.鈥�
The isolation and boredom brought rawness to the songs, he says.
鈥淚t鈥檚 raw, I guess, but not too raw.
鈥淢e personally, I like music that has a little bit of a raw feel to it, 鈥榗ause reality鈥檚 kind of like that.鈥�
Dee says lately there鈥檚 been talk of 鈥渂ringing the band into the 21st century鈥� by tightening up its touring schedule and sticking closer to home.
Dee admits the decision will be a hard one, because there鈥檚 something wonderful about booting it coast-to-coast to play music.
鈥淏ut the road is long, and the winter is cold,鈥� Dee says with a dry chuckle.
He explains how long grinds on the road and scant paychecks sometimes make touring tough to swallow, but that discomfort is all part of making music.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e kind of letting it go for the music,鈥� he says.
Trevor Nichols
[email protected]
