“I think, for me, the main focus is to broaden your horizons,” he says,
sagely. “Don’t just listen to what sells music. That will make you write one style of music. There’s good in everything, so if you listen to all types of music, it will inspire different ideas. Maybe you’re listening to a hardcore or metal song and you get this idea to try something in the same vein on a piano, for example. It broadens your musical horizon. That’s what I to: listen to lots of different songwriters. You can’t develop your own style out of listening to the same thing over and over.”
said, I think by now, having put out four Alexisionfire records and three C & C records that sound completely different to one another, I think people are now probably ready for the unexpected.” Despite feeling confident about where he is headed and where he is at, Dallas has confessed to being very self-critical about his song writing. Perhaps he’s a perfectionist, but at heart it seems he’s just concerned with getting it right. “I don’t think there’s a point where I’m full 100% happy but I could
probably over analyse everything to the point of not putting the record out so it’s getting to a point of just being content with the song. The thing is I’ve never actually sat and took time to write a City & Colour record because Alexisonfire was there and I knew I had to dedicate certain moments to the writing of the songs with the guys and touring, I wrote C & C songs as they came. As far as the recording of it I’d only give myself two or three weeks in a studio, that way I know I have to get it done by a certain period. If I went into the studio for six months the record would never get finished.”
“Try to get good before deciding what you look like, how much you tweet during the day, and what your Facebook status is. That’s something that people are losing sight of these days…”
It’s been a slow but astonishing rise for Dallas. It is no mean feat to sell out the Royal Albert Hall, especially while in two different bands at once! Though Alexisonfire was never going to appeal to the masses, City & Colour feel and sound more mainstream yet fascinatingly enigmatic. Whether it’s the simple, but hauntingly memorable melodies, the universal themes of the songs (love, generally), the strong arrangements or a combination of the three, it appears Dallas has caught on to something. Yet the ever-restless song smith insist that he just happens to be a fan of music in general, not genres.
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This is clear from Dallas’ tendency to cover anyone from legendary blues man Son House to 2011’s UK success story Adele. “I don’t believe in the idea of a guilty pleasure. I’m not ashamed to have anything on my iPod. I have no idea what it’s like for you to listen to a song and how it makes you feel and you don’t know what it’s like for me to do the same so why should I judge what you’re listening to or why should you base what you’re listening to on what other people think.” And for those who are impatient and want to get somewhere as fast as possible, promoting and marketing themselves before they’ve even had time to develop their music, their image, their ideas, he has a message for them too. “Try to get good before deciding what you look like, how much you tweet during the day, and what your Facebook status is. That’s something that people are losing sight of these days. I like a nice pair of pants as much as the next guy,” he says wryly. “But I’m not gonna tweet about it. I’m gonna worry about what the songs are like and what we’re playing at the next show. The business side of things isn’t going to mean shit if you don’t know how to write a song.” With an attitude like this, devotion to his craft, the memories and lessons of
previous musical output remembered, and songs like the ones he’s brought us so far, City & Colour’s success is not only deserved, but welcomed. PM
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