GRAHAM ROCKINGHAM
Creative genius Dylan Hudecki (The Dill) got it done
We last visited Dylan Hudecki — the all-round creative genius known in local indie-rock circles as The Dill — while he was finishing up the Herculean task of recording and posting 52 of his original songs, one a week throughout 2016.
If that wasn’t enough, he also commissioned an individual piece of art for each song from various local artists, including his nine-year-old daughter, Ruby. All together, the 52 pieces of art made up a deck of playing cards.
Crazy, no?
Hudecki got it done — 52 songs and 52 playing cards. The finished product, however, presented a problem.
While the playing cards fit nicely into a nice little white box, the 52 songs couldn’t fit onto your conventional 12-inch vinyl album ... or a double album, not even a triple (think George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass”).
Hudecki was faced with a dilemma. Which 12 songs — 13 if you count the “bonus track” — would make the final cut?
Another year passed while he figured it out. But, hey, The Dill finally got it done.
“It took all of 2017 to organize,” says Hudecki, who selected the songs along with his record label partners from Elora-based Dead Radio Love. “But we have closure now. I can put a nail in the coffin.”
On Friday, Aug. 17, Hudecki will unveil “Greetings from The Dill” with a record launch at The Casbah. The following day, his four-piece band will join The Flaming Lips, Born Ruffians and Carly Rae Jepsen at the Elora Riverfest.
Hudecki, 41, is no stranger to the music business. In 2001, he co-founded the rock duo Junior Blue with Broken Social Scene drummer Justin Peroff, then toured the world with Toronto power-pop band By Divine Right. Locally, he’s know for Cowlick, the Hamilton Music Award-winning band he put together with his brother Jackson.
But “Greetings from The Dill,” pressed on translucent sea-blue vinyl, is Hudecki’s first solo album.
The album is clothed in a retro cover, featuring Hudecki’s wife, Skye, in a ’50s Hawaiian-style beach scene. The music within could be described as alt-yacht rock — cool beats, sometimes verging on Bossa Nova, sprinkled with psychedelia and Hudecki’s wry takes on love, loss, failure and friendship.
Although it’s a solo album, Hudecki had plenty of help. At least 30 musicians — mostly friends from Toronto and Hamilton — contributed their talents.
Arkells’ lead singer Max Kerman lends a doo-wop vocal to the track “Stop Time,” and Sarah Harmer joins Hudecki in a duet on the missing-you ballad “I Love You in Kenora.”
Harmer’s part was recorded when she stopped by for a beer following the Juno Cup hockey game in 2015. Kerman’s vocal contribution came after a pleasant dinner at the Hudecki home near Gage Park.
“Max sings lead on ‘Stop Time,’” explains Hudecki who also works as a Montessori school teacher. “It’s a ’50s doo-wop with a Beach Boys kind of vibe. At first he was hesitant because it wasn’t really in his key.”
As well, there are members of the Rheostatics, Monster Truck, Sloan, Broken Social Scene, Born Ruffians, Elliot Brood, Twin Within and LeE HARVEY OSMOND.
The Hudecki family is also well represented. Hudecki’s father, Bernie, and two uncles, Stephen and John, add bass, keyboards and guitar to the requiem “Last Sunrise,” dedicated to Leona Hudecki, Dylan’s grandmother, who died in 2012.
Ruby, one of three children in the Hudecki household, can be heard chatting about chocolate chip ice cream at the end of “Divorce in Open D,” a happy conclusion to a song that could have had a tragic ending. Ruby and her older brother, 12-year-old Dexter, can also be seen on the record sleeve bobbing in the water at the beach. The youngest of the brood, three-year-old Ollie, is featured in a publicity photo with a pack of playing cards.
So what’s The Dill going to do about the other 40 songs (if you count the secret “bonus track”) that he wrote and recorded for the playing card project?
He’s already taken care of that. Through his website — thedill.ca — you will soon be able purchase the entire deck of cards.
“Value-wise, you might want to consider the deck of cards,” Hudecki says. “Each deck comes with a download card for all 52 songs for just $10. The vinyl only has 12 songs (not counting the secret ‘bonus track’) and it’s $20. It’s funny that way, but the vinyl is a very nice package.”
Although it’s a solo album, Hudecki had plenty of help. At least 30 musicians, mostly friends from Toronto and Hamilton, contributed their talents.