Hicks keeps it loud and proud on new album
His upcoming tour will be announced July 16
Put Tim Hicks on stage in front of 5,000 fans, and he’s right at home. Put him on a couch days before a new album is released, and he’s a mess.
At that point, it’s all out of his hands. It’s just counting down the hours to see how people react to those long, sweat-stained hours in the studio. And it doesn’t get any easier — the Niagara Falls-born singer released his fourth album, “New Tattoo,” last month. It capped a week of nervous anticipation.
“It’s between a thrill and being scared to death,” he says. “It’s one of those things where the anxiety kicks in. Like, here we go again, are people going to dig it? Am I still relevant?
“Because I’m not the new guy any more. It’s easy when you’re new to release material and go ‘Let’s just see what happens.’ I’d say it’s harder to stick around once you’re there.”
Going by “New Tattoo,” Hicks will be sticking around a while. Already one of Canada’s rowdiest country stars, he fully indulges his love of classic rock this time. The songs are louder, faster, and arguably less country than ever. From the Trooper like title track to the denim-drenched nostalgia of “1975” to the melodic ’80s punch of “Gettin’ To Me,” he has never sounded more arena rock.
Which is fine by Hicks, who has never stuck to the country lane completely.
“To me, if it made me smile while I was singing it, or made me smile while I was listening to it, it was a contender to go on the record,” he says. “And as I stick around longer and longer, I’m more confident in my skin as an artist and how I want to be presented to the public and my fans.”
Hicks recalls his stepmom asking him what the new album was called. When he said “New Tattoo,” she replied “Well, that’s not a country title.”
Turns out, it’s not a country album either.
“I was challenging myself … what is country in this day and age, what is rock and roll?” he says. “How do those two things meld? I listen to all kinds of stuff, from Led Zeppelin to Blue Rodeo, from Waylon Jennings to Guns ’N Roses, so at some point all that’s got to come out.
“When you’re sitting there staring down the barrel of your fourth album and going ‘What am I going to do different this time?’ I thought, I want to explore my influences a bit. It’s why I get a bit Beatle-y on ‘Can’t Take It Away.’ There’s some Beach Boys in there. ‘What a Song Should Do,’ to me, had a bit of a U2 vibe.”
But like every Hicks album, there’s plenty of the personal, too. While in Nashville, Hicks phoned home one night and was told his son was mad at him. When he asked why, it was told he had written songs for his wife and his daughter, but not one for him yet. What followed was “Throw a Ball,” harking back to Hicks’ days playing catch with his dad on bittersweet weekends after his parents’ divorce.
“When I brought the idea of it to (cowriter) Jeff Copeland, he was on board right away. Within minutes, two grown men are balling their eyes out in the studio.”
His parents’ split also echoes in “The Best I Can,” revisiting the days of his newly single mom trying to raise two sons while going to school and working fulltime.
“She did such a good job of not letting us know her frustration,” he says. “It was just what we did and how we were. They were not affluent times. It was tough and it was paycheque to paycheque for a long time.”
Now that the album’s out, Hicks can focus on an upcoming tour being announced July 16 (local fans will be pleased, he promises). The highs and lows of a music career can still be extreme, but Hicks – with help from wife Amanda — has learned to navigate them better.
“For months I would anticipate (a big show), the anticipation growing and growing, then finally you do that gig and wake up the next day and it’s over,” he says. “Now, knowing that’s my personality, my wife and I have devised strategies to deal with that.
“We know that after a big show like Trackside on July 1 (in London), on July 2 we should go for a hike. Have something planned to keep me off the couch and from being bummed out.”