| Joel Plaskett will tell you straight up that he wants to be a rock star. He just wants to do it on his own terms.
"There’s compromise at every level, and different levels of comfort. If I refuse to make a song that fits radio format, then I have to accept the consequences."
At this point in his career, Plaskett knows how the music industry works. As a founding member of East coast-rockers Thrush Hermit, he saw the band graduate from recording EPs for murderecords to recording full-lengths for a major label. When the band broke up in 1999, he began a solo career which showcased his unique voice. Despite his critical acclaim, his profile has remained low.
It’s frustrating, he says, that while there are underground scenes for hip-hop, punk and indie rock music, there isn’t such a thing for his kind of classic rock and roll.
"It doesn’t really exist," he says. "You’re either Matthew Good or you go home." It’s a familiar frustration, one he experienced in his previous band. "But I don’t begrudge anyone their status or success – it’s more like, ‘What am I willing to do?’ I’m only willing to do certain things. I’m pretty open, but I’m stubborn about music quality and presentation. I want to represent myself as a person, as a unique entity."
That’s probably not the easiest way for him (or his band, The Joel Plaskett Emergency) to become a household name – not when radio playlists consist of ever-so-slight variations of the exact same sound.
"I’m not an easy fit with the radio. I know that what I do is maybe a little more idiosyncratic than what they like. There aren’t a lot of guys with a voice like mine on the radio."
And that’s a real shame. On his first two albums, Plaskett shared snapshots of his experiences in Nova Scotia and across Canada with clarity and passion – simple storytelling on a solid rock foundation.
Yet, Plaskett is also the kind of music fan who is enamoured with a wide spectrum of music, and that shows in the quirky touches of his recordings. "I think that’s part of the reason maybe I haven’t had the success that I’m striving for – the fact that I hold Tone Loc and Joni Mitchell in equal regard," says Plaskett. "I really like all sorts of stuff and try to pull that into my own music a little bit. Maybe it doesn’t make for a homogenous sound."
His sincere love of J. Geils, ZZ Top and Bruce Springsteen make him foremost a rock guy, but his solo debut, In Need of Medical Attention, and the follow-up, Down at the Khyber, also have elements of pop, country, folk and reggae. His new album, Truthfully, Truthfully, promises to present a drier-sounding, more hi-fi progression of his particular type of rock music.
While widespread fame still eludes him, Plaskett is grateful for the smaller victories that come his way. He’s received highly complimentary press in NME and Q, as well as a pile of Canadian music awards and nominations. He might only attract a few hundred people to a show, but it’s enough to make him feel like he is doing something worthwhile.
Besides, the staff at his local hardware store recognize him from the airplay he receives on Q104, the big classic rock station in Halifax, even though this doesn’t translate to nationwide radio play.
"It’s just name recognition, but I love that aspect of radio," he says. "It breaks my heart that it doesn’t happen more. People respond to unusual stuff on the radio if they’re given it, but they’re so rarely given it.
"That’s what I find so depressing. It’s like, ‘Here’s another band that sounds exactly like Nickelback,’ which is in essence just a spin on Nirvana. What I find about most of it that pisses me off – not so much about Nickelback but the stuff that’s imitating it – is (that) the sentiment is wishy washy. I don’t know what they’re going on about."
"You either have a way with words or you don’t," he continues. "People respond to simple pictures."
According to Plaskett that’s what music should do. If it grabs a listener, then that’s reward enough, even if that kind of reward doesn’t necessarily pay truckloads of cash.
"To me, if people’s memories of my records approach anything near my memories of my favourite records, then I feel like I’ve done something worthwhile. I’m just trying to create something that pushes one-100th of… those records." |
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