THE WRITE STUFF
Baby boy inspires Kissel’s creativity
It took the birth of his son Leo in January to spur Brett Kissel back into writing.
“I’d go home to Flat Lake (near Bonnyville) or Nashville and try to find space to write after a tour and I never could,” the Alberta-born country musician, who grabbed five nominations at the Canadian Country Music Awards in early September, reveals over the phone from Toronto. Kissel has just walked out of an Apple store with his new iphone, so he’s in something of a buoyant mood.
“Once my son was born, I barely did any shows for a number of months, and all I really did was write. I hadn’t done that since my late teens, just focus on writing. It was really the best thing I could have done.”
The having-a-baby-as-creative-impetus seems to have done the job for Kissel, whose last album, We Were That Song, came out at the end of 2017. Armed with close to 100 songs, he hit the studio and began laying them down, purposefully keeping the whole matter a secret. It’s all blown wide open now, though, as Kissel heads off to shoot a video in the Bahamas with friends Kaitlyn Bristowe (The Bachelorette) and Jason Tartick; he’s looking at releasing the single at either the end of August or beginning of September, with an eye to unveiling a complete album by New Year’s Day.
We spoke with the amiable and always gregarious Kissel about Garth Brooks, various types of booze, and his mainstage slot at Big Valley Jamboree on Sunday night.
Q You’ve barely had time to bond with your new baby, much less see the rest of your family, and now you’re back in the thick of it.
A My wife Cecilia and I actually have a good system figured out for when it’s the best time to have her and the kids fly to meet me, or for me to meet them. We try not to go more than seven days without seeing each other. Of course we make up for it in the slow season. It’s similar to a farmer during calving season, or a guy in the oilpatch; we chose this life, and these are the challenges, but my wife and kids wouldn’t have it any other way. Maybe later in life I can pull a Paul Brandt or Ian Tyson and take over a ranch.
Q It’s been quite some time since you were at Big Valley, and now you’re playing just below Brooks & Dunn.
A I think the last time I was on the main stage it was 2006, so this is definitely amazing. It’s the highlight of my summer, no question.
Q More than your opening slot for Garth Brooks in Regina on Aug. 9? A (Laughs) OK, I’d have to call it 1A and 1B, like, the best back-toback weekend of my life. That show in Regina will be epic, and to open for Garth Brooks is an incredible honour, but it’s his show and his fans. I’ll get a 30-minute set, I’ll play to 60,000 people, and it will definitely be amazing. At Big Valley Jamboree I’ll play to 25,000 people and I’ll get to do my full 60 or 75 minutes. They’re definitely different shows. I don’t want the headline to read that playing at Big Valley is better than playing in front of Garth Brooks, though.!
Q I’ll warn the editor not to make that mistake. Last time we talked you said you were really enjoying rye whiskey; is that still your drink of choice? A Yup, still rye, still a big fan of J.P. Wiser. I have teamed up with Longshot wine, and I’ve been having fun with that. Maybe as I mature I might stop throwing back as many whiskeys as I do
and I’ll end up sitting on a deck with a glass of wine. That would be enjoyable.
Q I can’t wait until 10 years down the road when you start getting into serious alcohol endorsements.
A This is going to sound like I’m name-dropping, but I met Ryan Reynolds on Canada Day and he has this Aviation gin that he’s part of and passionate about. We ended up talking about it, and anybody who says advertising and celebrity endorsements don’t work is lying, because I tried it and now I really love it.
Q One final question; are you nervous about playing just before Brooks & Dunn?
A Well, they are Brooks & freakin’ Dunn, and they’ve earned it. Everywhere else this summer I have a headline slot, though, and it’s important to me that if someone is coming to see me on a Saturday night after seeing, say, Carrie Underwood on Friday, that I compete. I want anyone who comes to see me to say “wow” after I play my last song. You know, I’m very much a patriotic Canadian, and while I don’t want it to seem as though I’m competing with the American acts, I definitely want to beat the Americans at this.