There are busy people in music and then there’s Whitehorse, the Canadian Americana duo comprised of husband-and-wife Me
There are busy people in music and then there’s Whitehorse, the Canadian Americana duo comprised of husband-and-wife Melissa McClelland and Luke Doucet. Since consolidating their musical output into one project in 2011, the band has worked non-stop at building their name through endlessly touring and releasing an album or EP every single year without fail. Despite all of their previous work, with Doucet as part of popular Canadian group Veal and McClelland with her own solo career, the duo basically had to start from the ground floor with Whitehorse, even if they didn’t last too long at the bottom of the ladder. Thanks to an insane work ethic and appealing sound that aimlessly spans the spectrum, they’ve been able to not only build momentum, but win the respect of their peers and critics. Their latest record, Leave No Bridge Unburned, has earned multiple accolades since being released in February, none more respectable than being selected for the longlist for the 2015 Polaris Music Prize.
Still, it’s not just the hard work this doting couple endures that’s notable. What is truly notable in this case is that the band has been able to maintain this output and lifestyle, even as they begin and foster their burgeoning family. Musicians with families isn’t unheard of, but when mom and dad both are in a band on the road around nine to ten months of the year? Yeah, it’s a little odd and god only knows what life on the road looks like with a baby, although Melissa McClelland herself was more than happy to let us know.
“It’s funny because you have nine months to prepare, but nothing really prepares you. It was the same with touring with him. We had all this time at home where we were just sinking into being parents, enjoying him, and getting into a routine. Then our record came out and it all just happened at once. We took Jimmy on the road for three months straight. Played festivals all summer with him. Fall has been all touring. He loves being backstage. Guitar was actually one of his first words. It’s been an adventure. Exhausting, but great.”
Right now, there are existing parents, both new and old, reading this who are just sweating bullets of anxiety just from reading this. It’s a lot to consider – a baby on the road, a family life when you’re constantly travelling, but it’s also not unheard of and it’s not just something that was dropped into Doucet and McClelland’s lap. Not only was there plenty of discussing before the idea was even approached, but there’s just a complete understanding of how their life is and that changes could always be made down the line.
“We’ve talked a lot before we decided to have a baby because things were going to be different than how it was for most parents. Our plan all along was that this was going to be an unconventional life and it was okay as long as we provided the joy, love, safety, and all that. That’s all that matters. As far as how things need to be, we’re just going to see how things unfold and make those decisions later on. I don’t know how things are going to be in five or ten years, but this is our life and how we make a living. It’s our passion. So far, it’s been a year and a half and we’ve made it work with him. He’s been happy on the road with us and is having a lot of fun. Hopefully it continues that way, but we’ll make the adjustments as they come up.”
So far though, there’s been relatively few adjustments made for Whitehorse. Not only are they continuing their touring output, but they’ve also continued to tackle their side work with the same energy as before, including tiny stints as part of Sarah McLachlan’s backing band.
“We were just playing with Sarah McLachlan in her band. It was Jimmy’s first time sleeping on a tour bus so it was great. We’ve been playing with her for years. Luke has been playing with her since he was a teenager. We’ve been touring with her on and off. If we don’t have a tour at the time, we’ll hit the road with her. A lot of the time we can’t because we’ve got Whitehorse stuff going on, but we love her and love playing with her so we always try to make it work.”
Still, as notable as keeping a family sane on the road together whether it be with Whitehorse or McLachlan, the music still dominates the conversation around Whitehorse. While most people describe plainly as folk, it’s so much more than that. It’s a sound firmly set in roots music whether it be Americana, blues, rockabilly, or even folk and it’s a sound that’s constantly modulating even from song to song on a record. There’s a definite thread through each record when it comes to energy or song stucture, but when you first dive in, it’s completely unknown what you’ll encounter whether it’s a bombastic wall of sound or a subtle folk rhythm with crooning vocals.
“It’s funny because our goal was always to have a consistent sound and really lock into it, but we both have so much trouble with it and now we’ve accepted that that’s not who we are and maybe that’s a good thing. We worked with a producer for the first time on this record and even he said, ‘Let’s try to mold a sound that really flows and is consistent.’ At one point during the process, we were laughing in the studio at that notion because it was dynamically all over the map. But we do like to travel around the map musically so that’s good for us. At that point, we were digging it and we really liked the adventure of it and where it was going. When it comes down to it, we either love the songs and the record or we don’t. If we’re feeling it, it doesn’t matter if it’s consistent or all over the place.”
It’s not just this eclectic blend of styles that makes a Whitehorse record so rewarding either. For music lovers of all types, there are musical Easter eggs of all types to be found in the music, whether its a simple bass line that’s just so familiar or some lyrical play that’s clearly a nod to a previous band. For most artists, these things come out subconsciously, but McClelland let us in that these Easter eggs popping up all over the place is actually a gameplan of sorts for Whitehorse.
“It’s definitely conscious. Not when we’re writing the song though. ‘Sweet Disaster,’ the demo of that song sounds nothing like the song because the melody is completely different. But we wanted to reference that famous R&B line from ‘Stand By Me’ and ‘Time Of The Season’ so we added that. That is a huge part of the recording process for us. There’s a lot of digging back into sounds and doing a nod to this or that. There’s Beatles stuff like a Ringo pattern from a specific song and we do it through a weird plug-in so it sounds like a sample. I think that’s a big theme of Whitehorse. We’re taking very roots oriented music, whether it’s blues, country, old rock and roll, or folk, and we’re mining from that to deliver it in a new, fresh way. Our own take on that. That’s where the inspiration comes from and I just love it when someone discovers something and they ask, ‘Is this from that old song or band?’ Even when it’s a lyric where there’s a subtle witty thing and someone picks up on it. I love when someone listens hard enough and picks up on it.”
As great as these musical secrets are and the sound is, it’s truly the band’s live performance that’s been the main force behind their success and clearly the reason they’ve become so accustomed to life on the road. Each night is different with the band constantly challenging the expectations of what’s expected from just two people on stage, especially two people most people just dismiss as folk.
“We’re looping, we have about a million instruments that we’re switching back and forth from, we’re hitting buttons and we’re recording music live so there’s a lot at stake every night when we go on stage, but we have each other to fall back on and play off of and rely on each other. We’ve learned how to read each other’s minds on stage so that can be a pretty exciting thing once you’re in that mode. For the songs though, we have to reimagine all of them and it’s really a lot of work at first when we go into our rehearsal space. We have these finished, recorded songs and we’re trying to figure out how we’re going to play these songs with just two people and make them sound just as big and exciting. We really rearranged each song so they each come to life in a different way than on the album. Half of our set is a really big sound with the drums and bass. The other half is just the two of us with two guitars sharing one condenser mic at the front of the stage that’s very much like Johnny [Cash] and June [Carter]. We go back and forth between the two. Our live show is just as frenetic as the recordings.”
One thing’s still unanswered though. With all these tours and all this time spent on stage – where is baby Jimmy when mommy and daddy take the stage? “Well, we’ve been really careful about him watching us on stage because we don’t want him to associate it with a bad feeling. We don’t want him to hate what we do because it take us away from him. We’ve been extremely lucky to have a lot of incredible family members come on the road with us to nanny. He’s usually with someone that he completely trusts and we completely trust. Typically, he’s back at the hotel having a swim or playing in the room.”
Still, there’s plenty of times the bouncing baby boy can be seen in the crowd at concerts intently staring at McClelland and Doucet on stage. Don’t worry though – the band’s not about to become distracted, which is definitely a good thing if you ask McClelland.
“We wear ear monitors on stage so we can’t hear on stage, but Luke’s sister had Jimmy in the audience the other night and she said he watched a song and at the end, he let out a loud squawk and she quickly exited the building. She asked if I heard later and I had no idea which was probably a good thing because my mommy instincts would have started to kick in and I would have fled the stage. I’m sure that would have made for a memorable night at the concert hall and some interesting news. ‘Performer leaps from stage mid-song to rush to crying baby.’ If only.”
Whitehorse brings their unique Americana to Capital Ale House tonight alongside Aaron Lee Tasjan. Tickets are still available at $10 with the doors opening at 7:30 PM. For more information on the show, click here.
