Pritchett proud of laid back ‘hippie vibe’
Since moving to the West Coast, Canadian country star Aaron Pritchett’s music has taken on a “more laid back ... cool, almost country hippie vibe.” On his latest album, he shows he can do more than just churn out rowdy, drinkin’, party songs, Gord Brock w
When: 8 p.m., Sept. 6
Where: Casino Regina Show Lounge Country music has changed some since 1975, when the classic tune Redneck Mother extolled the virtues of “kickin’ hippies’ asses and raisin’ hell.”
There’s a more relaxed vibe coming out of Nashville now — as reflected in The Score, the latest album from Canadian and one-time rowdy cowboy Aaron Pritchett.
“I’m sort of this semi laid-back country rocker hippie sort of guy that lives on an island and it’s showing in the music,” Pritchett observed.
The Score was nominated for a Juno for Best Country Album. While it didn’t win, Pritchett sincerely credits himself as a winner for having been nominated — and for currently enjoying a strong period in his long career in country music.
“It’s not that I consciously changed my whole approach to country music,” Pritchett said in a recent telephone interview while in Toronto for a performance at its Canadian National Exhibition. “It was more that the songs that I was listening to, I really liked. I really liked these new demos; I liked the songs that I was writing.
“And maybe this is where it all comes from. For the last five years, I’ve been living on an island in British Columbia, a little island, so I’m a little more laid back now and enjoying that cool, almost country hippie vibe.”
Pritchett is no lightweight when it comes to evocative lyrics, not the least among them: “Hold my beer, while I kiss your girlfriend, cause she needs a man, not a boy like you.”
Ouch.
But that was a decade ago and Pritchett has changed. His latest single is called VW Bus and focuses on road-tripping in that notoriously under-powered mode of transport — one of which he owns.
The performer has also changed with the musical times … including switching producers to one who is “really tapped into that next level of country music in Nashville, and that really showed up on my album.”
Among the eight tracks on The Score is the gentle storytelling of When a Momma’s Boy Meets a Daddy’s Girl and the distinctly “islands” rhythm of Out of the Blue.
“You have to adapt to what else is being played on the radio. I kind of wanted to be known not only as that guy who comes out with these rowdy, drinkin’, party songs, but there’s a different side to me as well,” said Pritchett.
“With this album, with songs like Lifeline, it was definitely a stretch away from what I’ve done in the past. But still I’ve been able to show some of those inflections of that rock influence that I’ve had.”
And Pritchett is quick to address any concerns that may arise among longtime fans of his live shows.
“We start off with a bang and try to keep it amped up as much as we can straight through a 90-minute set, and sometimes it’s even longer,” he said.
“I’m going to go out there and give it everything I’ve got and I’m going to be able to wring my shirt out from all the sweat from giving it all the energy I’ve got.”
Wednesday’s show will be a special performance for one member of Pritchett’s band — drummer Jayson Brinkworth is a Reginan who will certainly enjoy the opportunity to play in his own backyard.