ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 21, 2005
By Steve Newton
Victoria alt-country rocker Leeroy Stagger made a smart career move when he hooked up with Montreal pop genius Danny Michel last year. Not only did Michel record and produce Stagger’s latest disc, Beautiful House, but he also sang, programmed, and played guitar, drums, bass, piano, melodica, and synth.
The collaboration came out of a casual meeting between the two when Stagger, on the advice of a friend, went to see Michel play at Victoria’s Lucky Bar. Opening up was fast-rising Canadian country-roots singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards.
“I went to the show by myself,” recalls Stagger, on the line from the provincial capital city, “so I was kinda bored, and I basically coerced Danny and Kathleen into coming and getting drunk with me. I think I roped them into liking me because I convinced them to steal their rider from the bar, which was pretty interesting-us walking out of the bar with a big tub of beer stashed under our T-shirts and stuff.”
After winning over Michel with his coldie-swiping ways, Stagger kept in contact with him via e-mail, and eventually suggested the Montrealer produce his next record. Michel thought it was a good idea, and the result is an 11-track album that charmingly blends Stagger’s country roots with Michel’s melodic-pop convictions.
“If Danny wasn’t involved, it would be a lot less poppy,” notes Stagger. “I mean, I’m partial to that record because of what it is, but I probably won’t make another record like it. It’s very poppy, and I was raised pretty much in the country end of things, with Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson.
“So I think the next one will have a little more of the roots influence on it, but still have the catchy hooks for the choruses and stuff, which I think are important.”
Helping bring some of the country sensibility to Beautiful House is former Neko Case/current Carolyn Mark guitarist Tolan McNeil. That’s his tasty pedal-steel work lighting up several tunes.
“Tolan’s got his own way of playing pedal steel,” Stagger says. “Some traditional Nashville players would probably cringe, but I think his style is really cool and unique-just like the way he plays guitar.”
For songwriting inspiration, Stagger looks to artists such as Alejandro Escovedo-whose With These Hands CD was his latest music purchase-as well as his own life experiences. Beautiful House‘s catchy opener, “Just in Case”, sports the caustic line “Everyone in this town needs to shut up,” a tongue-in-cheek shot at Victoria rumour-mongers.
As for the enchanting title track, which seems like a roostsy ode to domestic bliss, it actually had its origin in a Jim Carrey film, though thankfully not Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
“I watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” explains Stagger, “and in that movie there’s a house on a beach that they break into. I was watching that scene and all of a sudden that melody came into my head, and it was driving me crazy because I couldn’t follow the movie-I just kept thinking of that melody. So I finally went home and wrote the song right then.”
Although only 22, the Mill Bay-born Stagger isn’t new to the music game. He’s spent time in the Island punk bands the Staggers and the Graveyard Sluts, opened for the Pixies and Modest Mouse, and toured Canada with fellow Victorians Hot Hot Heat.
In 2002, he released the EP Six Tales of Danger, which evolved into last year’s Dear Love CD, and judging by the winning sound of the new disc the future looks promising for the youthful tunesmith. He’s already received accolades from prestigious music publications like Britain’s New Musical Express.
“Leeroy has an easy climb to the top with records like this,” declared NME of Beautiful House, which was issued in February by Vancouver-based Boompa Records.
The label, which is headquartered at the corner of Cambie and Hastings streets, was started in 2003 by Salteens members Scott Walker and Rob Calder, and is home to such acts as Victoria’s Run Chico Run and Vancouver’s Billy and the Lost Boys, Kevin Kane, and Dirtmitts vocalist Natasha Thirsk’s new project, Catlow.
“Boompa’s really awesome,” raves Stagger. “It’s kinda like this new label from the West Coast that is just doin’ all these fantastic things. Everywhere I go, everyone seems to love the label, and they’re really starting to get a cool pedigree going on. But I decided to sign with them because of the fact that they’re musicians, too. You know the deal.”
Boompa currently enjoys distribution in Canada through heavyweight Universal Music, which Stagger sees as both a blessing and a curse.
“There’s good things and bad things when you look at that,” he says, “because as an independent label you tend to get overlooked a little bit. But the upside is that anyone can get my record, which is cool.”