Pritchett scores with risk-taking album
Canadian star in top-10 for the first time since 2008
Canadian country star Aaron Pritchett is back to his party-hearty ways on The Score — and he just might be celebrating a Juno Award for Country Album of the Year for his album that debuted in top spot on the Canadian country charts.
The lead single, Dirt Road in ’Em, hit the top-10 and the latest followup, When a Momma’s Boy Meets a Daddy’s Girl, is sitting in the top-40.
It’s the 46-year-old Terrace-born-and-raised singer’s first trip back into the top-10 since 2008’s album, Thankful.
Boasting his signature “rock-ish” sound, The Score doesn’t shy away from pushing the boundaries of country music. Out of the Blue has some — gasp — vocal loops and electronics. Other tracks sound like “Rascal Flatts’ circa second album.” Pritchett says it’s all part of being a contemporary act in one of the few genres that uses radio singles to drive album sales.
“There was a willingness on the Score to do something totally different as often as we could; you have to try that every now and then,” Pritchett said. “You can really hear it on the song Lifeline, which was really edgy for me, doing something that sounded like a cross between a Quentin Tarantino soundtrack and pop country, and it really worked out. It’s one of the best-received of the new songs live, too.”
Add in Love On, with a classic ’90s, flanged, pop-guitar part from John Sponarski (Johnny 99) that threatens to out-Reach the Beach The Fixx, and it’s clear the group is ready to go anywhere the leader wants.
Plus, knowing the importance of live sound, his band lineup lists both monitor/stage-tech Emil Gawaziuk and front-ofhouse mixer Ken Friesen among the members.
“Those guys are incredible and the core is still my longtime five piece, although the band can go up to 10,” he said. “We’ve had to use the occasional track to fill in some things from The Score. But guys like bassist Shane Henderson, who has been with me for over eight years, or guitarist/banjo player Scott Smith, can pull off anything.”
One thing the group is going to be pulling off is a festival circuit tour. It’s one of the most lucrative avenues for Canadian country artists who typically have fewer options of club gigs in most urban centres — country music must vie for stage space against the DJs, dance pop and rock acts owing to so few designated C&W nightclubs. There are very few in the Lower Mainland and increasingly the tour circuit in Western Canada has shrunk as live venues close down or change booking policies.
“Like all other genres save for children’s and Christian music, country music has seen a drop in album sales, too, and I find I might rely more on streams than I did before,” he said. “But we still do respectable CD sales and I can’t wait to see how long it takes for the first pressing of the new album on vinyl to go. I’m waiting to hear back from the label about the details.”
Flogging those pressings from the stage and merchandise booth will be key to the success of The Score. Aside from the festival dates, a tour is in the making and Pritchett expects it to be a “pretty busy late spring, summer and fall.”
Which meant heading to Mexico with his wife and three sons for some family time before the push begins. As the Out of the Blue video shows, he knows how to kick back on a tropical beach.
“I’ve been extremely lucky to do what I do for as long as I have because, at 46, I’m not getting any younger,” he said. “This year, I got to play two shows with Garth Brooks that I was invited to do and that reminded me that I love this and am nowhere near done. I could keep at this for another 20-plus years.”
As Pritchett notes, there is no shortage of amazing songs to record coming out of the treasure trove of writers plying their trade in Nashville. It’s a key creative hub for country acts — and increasingly pop and rock groups — that has led to quite a migration in recent years. The decent weather, low cost of living and access to industry and artists can’t be beat.
The 2017 Juno Awards broadcast is April 2. Pritchett’s The Score is up against new releases from Chad Brownlee, Dallas Smith, Gord Bamford and Jess Moskaluke.