Royal Wood brings The Waiting to London
Canadian singer-songwriter
Royal Wood is bringing his tour to
the Aeolian Hall on November 25,
still burning on the fuel of the
release of his latest record, The
Waiting, and a national summer
tour with David Gray.
The tour, in full swing since the beginning of October, sees Wood traveling across Canada supported by up-and-comer Hannah Georgas, herself celebrating the spring release of her debut record.
"Both my parents were very passionate about music, though neither were professional musicians by any regard," Wood said, reminiscing about his family's farm home outside of Peterborough, Ontario. "My dad played guitar, my mom played piano, and so most nights after dinner ... when you're out in the country, you sit around the table with guitars and banjos ... that's just kind of what you did."
Wood said that he developed his personal musical style through the wide array of music made available to him from a very young age.
"My uncle passed away when we were kids, and we were left his vinyl and reel-to-reel collection, so while most of my friends were listening to New Kids On The Block or something, I was listening to Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen," he explained. "I mean, everything influences you as an artist, but I wasn't listening to mainstream radio, I was going through crates of dusty vinyl."
Like many artists, Wood has a deep-set fondness for the tangible qualities of music on vinyl — which is behind his albums being re-released on the format — and fondly spoke of music in days gone by, underlining his expertise and long-standing life in the craft.
"Music has become disposable, it's become almost like junk food," Wood posited. "It's not something that's properly prepared or enjoyed over time, you can't savour it. It's like you drive up, pay $1.99 and get thrown something that you throw back and forget about afterwards. Fortunately all the art forms seem to be coming back; I feel it's the same with literature and painting."
"I just find that it changes your output — I'm constantly writing, I'm always writing, but I'm not going to release a record every six months," Wood said, comparing the current industry emphasis on performance over sales to the music industry of decades ago. "I'd rather concentrate on making the greatest record that I can. With A Good Enough Day, I toured that record for about three years ... it's the only way to really get hardcore fans now."
Shortly after the release of The Waiting in May, iTunes named Wood Songwriter of the Year, and his music has graced episodes of TMN's Regenesis, CBC's This Is Wonderland and Grey's Anatomy.
Despite the acclaim, despite the tangible value in music for which he professes so much love, Wood admitted that the live performance is his milieu, the process he enjoys the most.
Be sure to see Wood perform with Georgas at Aeolian Hall on Thursday this week. Doors open at 7 p.m., and tickets are $20 in advance, with a chance to win a Wood/Georgas CD package. For more information, see Wood's website, royalwood.ca, or contact the Aeolian Hall online at aeolianhall.ca or by phone at 519-672-7950.
The tour, in full swing since the beginning of October, sees Wood traveling across Canada supported by up-and-comer Hannah Georgas, herself celebrating the spring release of her debut record.
"Both my parents were very passionate about music, though neither were professional musicians by any regard," Wood said, reminiscing about his family's farm home outside of Peterborough, Ontario. "My dad played guitar, my mom played piano, and so most nights after dinner ... when you're out in the country, you sit around the table with guitars and banjos ... that's just kind of what you did."
Wood said that he developed his personal musical style through the wide array of music made available to him from a very young age.
"My uncle passed away when we were kids, and we were left his vinyl and reel-to-reel collection, so while most of my friends were listening to New Kids On The Block or something, I was listening to Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen," he explained. "I mean, everything influences you as an artist, but I wasn't listening to mainstream radio, I was going through crates of dusty vinyl."
Like many artists, Wood has a deep-set fondness for the tangible qualities of music on vinyl — which is behind his albums being re-released on the format — and fondly spoke of music in days gone by, underlining his expertise and long-standing life in the craft.
"Music has become disposable, it's become almost like junk food," Wood posited. "It's not something that's properly prepared or enjoyed over time, you can't savour it. It's like you drive up, pay $1.99 and get thrown something that you throw back and forget about afterwards. Fortunately all the art forms seem to be coming back; I feel it's the same with literature and painting."
"I just find that it changes your output — I'm constantly writing, I'm always writing, but I'm not going to release a record every six months," Wood said, comparing the current industry emphasis on performance over sales to the music industry of decades ago. "I'd rather concentrate on making the greatest record that I can. With A Good Enough Day, I toured that record for about three years ... it's the only way to really get hardcore fans now."
Shortly after the release of The Waiting in May, iTunes named Wood Songwriter of the Year, and his music has graced episodes of TMN's Regenesis, CBC's This Is Wonderland and Grey's Anatomy.
Despite the acclaim, despite the tangible value in music for which he professes so much love, Wood admitted that the live performance is his milieu, the process he enjoys the most.
Be sure to see Wood perform with Georgas at Aeolian Hall on Thursday this week. Doors open at 7 p.m., and tickets are $20 in advance, with a chance to win a Wood/Georgas CD package. For more information, see Wood's website, royalwood.ca, or contact the Aeolian Hall online at aeolianhall.ca or by phone at 519-672-7950.
