“There’s never a time when I’m not writing, I’m always working on something,” Sexsmith says. “I’m working on songs right now, in fact, for whatever my next record ends up being, and lately we’ve been touring a lot, so there really hasn’t been that much time for anything else. When I’m home though, I don’t really have a lot of hobbies. My friends and I might play ping pong sometimes, but other than that I like to just grab some drinks, go out and see a movie. It’s not a very exciting life really, but I quite like those moments when I’m at home and don’t have to be anywhere or be anybody.”
It is an interesting aside, this notion of relaxing a public mask and slipping back into the everyday man. It’s easy to fool yourself into thinking the person depicted through Sexsmith’s vast catalogue of albums is the man himself; they seem so personable and direct. Either way, he’s certainly a songwriter whose influences are clear, and he does not shy away from expressing that in song.
“On this record I think people can hear a whole range of artists who have influenced me,” says Sexsmith. “There’s a song called No One, which is very influenced by Roger Miller. A lot of the usual suspects: Gordon Lightfoot, The Beatles. I mean, I am 51, so most of the music that really influenced me was stuff I heard as a kid, and I’m just fortunate that I grew up in such a melodic period. I’ve just written a novel recently and I’m a big fan of Dickens, he was a big influence, although I wouldn’t quite dare compare my book to him. But these people just set a high bar, and you’re trying to reach it.”
That Sexsmith has turned his hand to literature comes as a fine surprise. Though, with many other singers celebrated for their lyrical prowess – think Nick Cave, John Darnielle, or Colin Meloy – the shift across to novelist isn’t unprecedented.
“I’ve never really done anything like this before. I’m in a holding pattern here, waiting to see if the publishers like it or if they’ll pass,” he says. “I never thought I’d do something like this. I had the arc of the story first, and I didn’t know what it was originally. I thought maybe it was a song, a screenplay, I didn’t know. But when I got down to writing it, a lot of characters I hadn’t even thought about suddenly occurred to me and it started taking on a life of its own. I guess that’s what happens. But I could always see this kind of end in sight. I could see where the story was going. I just wasn’t sure how to get there.”
For the time being, we have Carousel One and the promise of seeing Sexsmith in action throughout November. Carousel One has been hailed as one of the strongest of his career; no faint praise for someone whose songs have already been embraced by smitten fan and fellow songwriters alike.
“You’d like to think if someone has chosen your song it’s because it speaks to them for whatever reason. Maybe they just like the melody, I don’t know. Leslie Feist did a cover of Secret Heart and I think most people know her version. Sometimes I’ll play it and someone will say, ‘Hey, I loved that Leslie Feist song you did’. But that’s how it goes. I just write, and try not to get too tripped over by it.”
BY ADAM NORRIS
