Just Us Folk

During the recent federal election, the Liberal candidate in the New Brunswick riding of Fredericton–Oromocto was Juno Award-winning singer-songwriter David Myles. After a decisive win that night, David said his first priority was the Liberal housing plan.

Back in February, before the election was called, the priority for David was his latest album, Devil Talking.

Described as his “sinnin’ record,” the songs deal with making mistakes and coming to terms with character flaws.

“I think up until then I was unintentionally presenting a narrator that was more perfect than I am, or anyone is,” he explained at the Folk Alliance conference in Montreal.

The idea was to show the ups and downs of life we all experience.

He found the exercise of revealing himself—warts and all—to be liberating and refreshing.

In a career spanning 20 years, David has released 15 albums. Among them are a Christmas album, It’s Christmas; a French-language album, Le Grand Départ, which won him a Juno Award in 2022; and an instrumental album, That Tall Distance. As a trumpet player growing up, David was a fan of musicians like Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and Duke Ellington. Add in his affection for 1970s soul/jazz and you have the musical focus for That Tall Distance. Originally not meant to be commercially released, the album was an experiment recorded during the pandemic while David was at home taking care of his daughters.

“I started recording trumpet and guitar parts and sending them to Josh Van Tassel, who’s the drummer. Then we started building these tracks together,” David said.

As an artist guided by his musical muse, David is certain he couldn’t make that same record now. The musical environment he inhabits these days is so different from back then. But at the time, it was completely clear to David how to construct the album. He attributes that to not thinking about the audience’s reaction. At that point, there wasn’t an audience to hear it. It’s the mystery of how it all came together that still amazes David to this day.

“I think it was because I had 18 years of pent-up instrumental music in me. Maybe in another 18 years I’ll have another one,” he said.

Throughout the albums David has released, certain songs have caught the imagination of his fans and taken on a life of their own. “When It Comes My Turn” and “Inner Ninja” are two examples. But it’s “Santa Never Brings Me a Banjo” that’s in a class of its own. From David’s Christmas album, the song spawned an animated music video, which was later turned into a children’s book — all of which pleases David to no end.

“It wasn’t a commercial radio hit. Its growth has been so organic,” he said.

A big part of the song’s success comes from Murray Bain, who created the animation that became the basis for the book. David sees it as an example of when all the elements of creating art line up to produce something bigger than you envisioned. The idea for the song came to David while he was raking leaves one fall. The opening verse and concept popped into his head, and he instantly knew he had something special. Now “Santa Never Brings Me a Banjo” is becoming part of a select group of Christmas songs that grow more popular each year.

“I’ll be forever grateful to Murray because he created the perfect imagery. It captures childhood and magic, and it’s beautifully drawn,” David said.

Over the last few years, David has branched out from recording and touring into podcasting and radio. When he lived in Halifax, he hosted Weekend Mornings on CBC Radio for a while, and was later asked to host what became The East Coast Music Hour. Following that, he had a show on CKUA Radio in Alberta during the pandemic.

“I love radio and I love the East Coast music community,” he said. “I love sharing music that I find interesting and bringing people into the magic of other people’s music.”

David’s Myles from Home podcast grew out of his YouTube Live videos, which he created for his fans and used to check in with friends. While not exactly adept with technology, David bought the necessary equipment and soon found the experience of connecting with fans in a new way to be magical. Toward the end of the pandemic, he transitioned to a twice-monthly podcast. As his touring schedule picked up, it became less frequent. All 43 episodes are still available on David’s website.

Last year was one of the best of David’s career. Audience attendance was strong, he toured as an opening act for Styx, did a couple of successful tours with his band, and finished the year with his annual food bank fundraiser tour.

While the plan for this year had included working on a new album and touring at a slower pace, that now takes a back seat to his responsibilities in Ottawa for the foreseeable future. Although David was originally talking about his touring schedule, it’s clear he wants to maintain a life balance that works for him and his family.

“Let’s figure out the pace where I can be a present father, husband and songwriter for a long time,” he said.

For more on David Myles and Devil Talking, go to davidmyles.com.