Photo courtesy of Tanya Davis.
Halifax’s Tanya Davis is in town this week. She’s playing a show on Friday, May 7 at the Black Sheep Inn with Paper Beat Scissors and Tall Trees. The other big reason she’s in the nation’s capital: recording album number three at Little Bullhorn Studios. Over a cup of coffee, I chatted with Tanya about beats, friends and loving Ottawa.
So, third album. How exciting is that?
Very exciting! I’m recording for a 2-week period at Little Bullhorn Studios in Little Italy. It’s a lovely studio, Dave Draves has done a great job with the place. It’s aesthetically pleasing which I find important while recording and there are lots of fun instruments to play with.
Can you give us some details about the album?
A good friend of mine, Jim Bryson is producing it. It’s still untitled, although I’m pondering a few ideas. It should be out September 7th.
Theme wise, a lot of the songs seem to revolve around break-ups and death. Despite that, some of the songs are upbeat which is a bit different for me. Lots of people will be surprised I think…those songs even surprise me!
There’s also going to be a few more instruments than usual. Jim’s playing some acoustic guitar; Dave’s got lots of keyboards and organs in the studio so we tinkered with those as well. Tim from Paper Beat Scissors is also doing some keyboards and back up vocals. Finally, I’ve got this amazing Ottawa drummer, Peter Von Alten, playing on some tracks.
Your past albums, Make a List and Gorgeous Morning were a mix of your poetry and more straight up singer-songwriter songs. Is this one going to be similar?
There’s one song that’s a poem. The rest is more singer-songwriter stuff. I picked my top 15 songs and narrowed it down to 12 for the album. For me lyrics are really important so I hope people take notice of those. I’m hoping I’ll have enough money to publish a lyrics book to go with the album.
You seem to end up in Ottawa quite a bit. How’s that?
I feel like Ottawa’s the other city in Canada I could live in. I really like it. I lived here 10 years ago when I went to the University of Ottawa. It was a year of exploration…into food, counter-culture, dropped university. I’ll always remember Ottawa that way. At the same time, I’ve got lots of good friends here and I’ve always loved the shows I’ve played here (at Raw Sugar, the Black Sheep of course and a number of house shows). People are supportive and genuine.
I love all the little parks in different neighbourhoods and there’s something about the Hintonburg/Mechanicsville area, where I am staying right now, that I really like.
Musically speaking, are there some Ottawa artists you’re quite taken by?
Jim Bryson of course! Sarah Hallman and Matt Ouimet are also great. Leif Vollebekk (although he lives in Montreal) seems to have numerous connections to Ottawa; he’s an awesome guy and musician. Finally, Andrew Vincent is someone I really like seeing live.
What are your plans for the summer?
I’m doing a bit of touring and playing some small festivals out in BC. Then, I’m doing a 2 and a half week run in PEI – but that’s more a variety show thing. Should be interesting. I really want to save my energy to tour this Fall though. I’m hoping to tour with a full band to promote the album.
We’re lucky to have Tanya with us this Friday, May 7 at the Blacksheep Inn. She’ll be playing with Halifax’s Paper Beat Scissors and Ottawa duo Tall Trees. $7 advance tickets, the show starts at 8:30pm.
