Finding his sound

Adelle Ellis
Times Reporter

 

From a small-town high school boy carrying a guitar and two binders of chords and lyrics everywhere he went so he could play and sing requests, to an accomplished singer and songwriter with songs on the radio across Canada: Drew Gregory’s musical career may not be glamourous, but it is built from a genuine love of music and performing, and stands on a solid and fanatically supportive fan base.
Things are just starting to get fired up for the 32-year-old artist, who was raised on a farm near small-town Standard, Alta.
On Jan. 22, Gregory won the Association of Country Music in Alberta’s (ACMA) coveted Album of the Year award with his 2016 album I Was There.
“Winning this was awesome. We worked really hard on this album,” said Gregory. “I worked on it with Jason Barry of Barrytone studios in Ontario. Working with him was pretty cool; I went on a couple trips to see him before putting down anything on CD. It was the first time I’d worked with him and he wanted to understand what I was about as an artist and to figure out the sound I was going for before we recorded. All that extra time and pre-production work really paid off.”
The album features six songs, three of which are originally composed. Gregory himself wrote around 60 songs as possible cuts for the album.
“We listened to a lot of music, that’s how you get the best product: just listening to as many songs as you can so that when you can pick out of a lot of songs, there will be some pretty darn good ones,” said Gregory. “I always go into every album saying I hope I can write it all. When I use a song that I didn’t write, I always say it’s something I wish I would have written; some of them just hit home.”
Along with winning album of the year, Gregory was also nominated for the ACMA male artist of the year (which he won in 2015), song of the year and video of the year for his original song All About It.
All About It is one of Gregory’s favourite tracks from his latest record. “It has a bit of an east coast swing to it with that kitchen party feel and the washboards and spoons in it,” he said, adding it is a fun, fast-paced fan favourite at his live shows.
Another favourite of Gregory’s is the title track, I Was There, which was a submitted song he chose to record.
“That one hit home for me. It’s talking about the small-town way of life and how music can stop you dead in your tracks and just take you back to a different place and time,” said Gregory. “It gets you thinking and brings up some good ol’ memories; that one really resonated with me.”
In the new age of digital, many artists will just create and release singles, something Gregory doesn’t think would ever work for him because he likes how well-rounded an album can become with different styles of songs.
“I have always loved putting an album together because you can get a good mix of songs. You have room for deep meaningful songs that can stay close to your heart as well as good dance songs that go over well at live shows,” said Gregory.
Gregory currently has five studio releases; the success of his latest album proves that the pre-recording process spent on I Was There has helped Gregory find his sound.
“[The sound is] just Drew Gregory I guess. I have a wide array of musical tastes, so my sound has a lot of elements. There is a good energy to it though, a bit of the classic rock side of it as well as some ’90s country,” said Gregory. “We just take it all and make it current and modern and my own sound as well.”
Gregory is already well underway making his next album – he has already recorded a few songs but mostly he is still writing. The songs he has worked on so far have more of a Bruce Springsteen vibe to them.
“Power is the name of the game for this next album. We are going for powerful songs that when the chorus kicks in, you just want to bang along on the steering wheel,” said Gregory.
“Every album we do we want it to be stronger and stronger. The songs are the most important part so we are spending a lot of time working on them.”
Gregory’s love for music has always been evident, but it is his personal demand to be able to play anything asked of him that sees him putting the quality of songs he records above all else.
This fact sees the band’s current set list boasting around 120 songs on it. Gregory guesses that he has played and sang around 500 different songs at one point or another.
“I’ve learned a lot of tunes over the years,” he noted, adding he doesn’t make music for fame or for the awards. “It’s something I just love to do; I love putting songs together and releasing them. I can’t see myself not making music.”
“This is more for the fans than anything. Having friends of mine and those who are in the Association of Country Music in Alberta vote for me, vote for my album and on something that I’ve done means so much more for me. It’s a pretty special thing.”