May. 26, 2010 - Issue #762: Timeland

Prevue

Road testing

Ann Vriend tries a new tactic on her upcoming record

It's the inevitable result of playing the same song over and over: as you become familiar with its nooks and crannies, where it floats and where it drags, it changes on you. Maybe it's a slightly better turn of phrase, maybe it's a little more flourish in a particular passage, but you inevitably know something after a few dozen rehearsals and crowd responses that you didn't when you were committing it to tape.

For some, it's simply enough to let the live version live on in the new form. But for a solo singer/songwriter like Ann Vriend, who may have an entirely new group behind her for each new tour, if she's backed by anyone at all, it can be frustrating to never really get to give the songs their full space. So, for her upcoming album, the Edmonton songstress is taking a new approach: she's going to tour it first.

"What happened in the past is that I'd make the record, and then get a band, and then we'd tour, and then, inevitably, while playing shows, I'd think of cooler ideas than we'd recorded," Vriend explains in her spritely speaking voice, a little more animated than her soulful singing one. "I remember saying that to my bass player, who also recorded the last one, and I looked at him, and he looked at me, and it was, 'Why don't we do it the other way around next time?' So we're doing this tour first to get used to playing together, and then we're going to go into the studio and record them live off the floor."



Her new approach also means that fans will get a chance to contribute in their own unique way: at her upcoming performance at the Horowitz, Vriend will be recording some of the audience participation, with individuals able to sign up to get listed in the liner notes. But what exactly will fans be contributing to? Vriend says that her latest album will once again tread into the sticky subject of love, something that's a frequent inspiration for her, what with the often tangled and confusing way it plays out.

"The working title is Love and Other Messes, but I'm not sure if I'm sticking with that. I have artistic license to change that," she says with a laugh. "But it's basically just about complicated ... love ... struggles. Complicated relationships, relationships gone wrong—and some gone right. But about how they mess up your life, and how you still want to have them. That's what I like to write about when it comes to love. I think 'I love you baby, oh yeah' flaky, straightforward lyrics just aren't as interesting." V

Sat, May 29 (8 pm)
Ann Vriend
With Coco Love Alcorn
Myer Horowitz, $11.75 – $16.75

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