Sometimes, it takes time to put together a great album. For the last few years, JJ Shiplett has been writing songs for his 2017 debut album, Something to Believe In. Shiplett’s thoughtful and genuine lyrics, combined with his soulful vocals blend to create his own unique sound, which combines country, folk and rock.
The Charlatan caught up with Shiplett ahead of his opening performance at the Grey Cup Festival on Nov. 23 at TD Place Arena.
The Charlatan (TC): You’ve lived across different parts of Canada. What has that experience been as a part of your life?
JJ Shiplett (JS): I’ve been pretty fortunate to move around in Canada. My parents moved around a lot when we were kids, so I was born in Alberta, lived in Manitoba for a bunch of years, lived in Ontario, and now I’m back out in Alberta. I come from a long line of Saskatchewanians . . . This is such a great country, it’s so great to just have a piece of your heart left in each little spot. I feel pretty grateful that I’ve been able to experience so many things. Like even coming to Ottawa, I lived in Whitby for so many years, I would come here all the time in the summer when I was a teenager.
TC: How would you describe your musical style?
JS: I would call it roots, which in my mind is a little bit of an amalgamation of country, rock and folk, and that’s kind of where I live. Some of my songs are a little more folk-y, some are a little more rock and roll, and some of them are a little more country, it’s a bit of everything. I try and just make sure that I’m trying to write the best song I can write, and not focusing too much on the production side of it and what it’s actually going to sound like.
TC: Who are a some of your influences?
JS: Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, that’s my world. I still live in that pretty heavily these days and so Springsteen’s a big influence on me and Petty, that was tough loss because I’ve been listening to him for a lot of years.
TC: Did you get to catch him on his tour this year?
JS: I didn’t. I saw him a couple of years ago with Joe Cocker and it was an amazing show, and something that I’ll never forget . . . He was one of the best, it was straight forward, it was no bullshit, it was just “Here we go, here’s some rock and roll for you,” and some attitude.
TC: How have you applied some of your influences, especially Tom Petty, to your music?
JS: I think that when you’re absorbing music and when I listen to it, you absorb it, and then when you’re creating that, it’s more of a subconscious thing, I believe. Just for me personally, it’s one of those where I just listen to it, I absorb it, and I take it in, and I listen to it because I love it, and that’s the sound I want to create. And hopefully, when I’m writing, that all the things that I have absorbed now are coming like you’re squeezing a sponge.
TC: What was it like, the process of putting Something to Believe In together?
JS: I’ve been doing this a long time, playing lots of shows and I ended up getting connected with a fellow by the name of Johnny Reid. We did the record together, he co-produced it. It was a collection of songs that I’ve written over a long period of time, some of them five, six years ago, seven years ago, some of them way recently. It was a really freeing moment because I kind of just put together the songs I wanted to put together, the ones I wanted to sing, and put them on a record and release it, and then now, I’ve been out performing the songs. So it was a nice, little, smooth thing for me.
TC: Which of those songs is your favourite or the most meaningful?
JS: Well, I think that different songs for different times that have meant something to me. So I can find my way to connect to a song that maybe I wrote five or six years ago that at the time, it meant something to me. Now, it doesn’t mean so much to me. And then there’s a couple of the songs that mean more to me. The tune “Always for You,” which is the last track off my record and my latest single, it is my favourite song on the record, the production of it, how it was able to come together, and the meaning behind it, it’s a nice little love song.
TC: Do you want to elaborate on it?
JS: I wrote a love song for my lady before we actually started dating when we were kind of just feeling out the situation and seeing if it worked. I wrote a little love song for her and it ended up being one of my more favourite songs that I’d done.
TC: You mention that you had worked with Johnny Reid, what was that experience like?
JS: He’s a big, bright character. It’s a lot of fun to work with him and he’s a very good human being, a very solid guy, and I feel pretty fortunate that he kind of reached down and has been pulling me up and helping me out and . . . helping get my career to the next spot. It’s nice to be able to connect with someone like Johnny . . . He’s the real deal, he’s a good human being, and in this industry, sometimes it’s a little biut more difficult to find people who are being true.
TC: Who are some of the other people you’ve enjoyed working with?
JS: Tonight, we’re playing with The Washboard Union. I’m going to say maybe five years ago, I played a show with The Washboard Union at The Dakota in Toronto. That day, they had just signed their deal, so they were having a pretty big celebration. I’ve looked up to those boys and been able to form a relationship with them, and they’re pretty nice guys, so it’s nice tonight, to be playing with them and hanging out with them.
TC: What have been some of your other highlights of this year?
JS: I had a pretty busy year. There’s a lot things that happened. I got married at one point this year, which is a pretty big highlight. That was the number one thing. There’s been lots of fun shows, we did a show in Timmins, Ont., this year that we just met some great people. We were playing with Tom Cochrane and Joel Plaskett, and I’m standing side-stage watching Tom Cochrane sing “Life is a Highway,” and he calls me on stage, so I sing “Life is a Highway” with Tom Cochrane. That was pretty awesome. I just got off tour with Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and I did “Will the Circle be Unbroken” with them and “The Weight” every night, 12 nights in a row. There’s been a lot of highlights, but those are two things that stuck out to me.
TC: What’s next for you for 2018?
JS: I’m trying to get a new record written here. I spend a lot of time writing and tonight is my last show the year, and then it’s just get to writing, and hopefully release a new record in the new year.
TC: Any more touring?
JS: Yeah, I’ll be playing shows all spring and all summer, get back to it. But I get a little time off here, which is nice, some time to spend at home, reconnect. Do some “Earthing,” I believe, is the term I like to use, connect with the Earth.
