
Maybe you haven’t heard of him, but chances are Gentleman Reg has worked with artists you know and love. He used to be in The Hidden Cameras, his backup band has contained members of The Constantines and he’s sung with Broken Social Scene, Final Fantasy and Sufjan Stevens.
Being all snug with Canada’s darling indie rockers makes for an impressive CV for the gentlemanly Reg Vermue and it’s also responsible for Vermue’s collection of great stories.
“[I was] part of the singers in the round night that Jason Collett was throwing,” Vermue told the Journal in an e-mail.
“Kevin Drew was one of the singers on the stage, and after I had my turn singing, he made me sing the song I had just sung again. Forced me, got the audience into it, and I eventually sang it again. From there, every time I was at a Broken Social Scene show, he would just pull me up on stage and get me to sing that song, twice. It became a game for us. We did that all over, Toronto, Montreal, New York City, Austin … about a dozen times or something. And that, years ago, ultimately led to the current record deal with Arts and Crafts.”
This seemingly lucky relationship belies Vermue’s serious songwriting talent, something that burgeoned in his formative years.
“My parents are both singers, so music was highly encouraged throughout my life. My sense of melody and harmony is just very innate. I never really got very far with theory classes, but the singing was just there. Like knowing a language from childhood, you can’t always explain the grammar or why things work, they just do—and I think of myself predominantly as a singer, more so than a guitarist or anything else,” he said.
He is also unashamed and un-ironic in his admission that he was influenced by “mainstream pop music from the 80s, and a little bit of the 70s.”
“That’s definitely the stuff I put on repeat in my bedroom and learned how to perform in front of a mirror to,” he said.
“I played those cassettes until they wore out. I think it gave me my love of choruses and hooks. And even though I don’t necessarily listen to it now I just can’t deny the effect it had on me.”
Except Vermue is no retro-panderer. The best elements of that era, those hooks and choruses, shine through on his latest album Jet Black without nostalgia, and with a minimum of synthesizer. Using what has become fairly straightforward indie rock instrumentation—often muffled guitar, electric piano, vibraphone and the occasional organ—the Gentleman creates pop songs that are at once catchy and intricate. His voice is pretty and agile, and it carries his melodies through both dance tracks and slower ballads.
Vermue admits to being a ravenous music listener.
“I’m listening to the new Antony [and the Johnsons] album, the cover is brilliant. I’m also loving Bon Iver, Lykke Li, Death Vessel and Juliana Hatfield.”
Beyond keeping his music collection in top form, Vermue derives inspiration from the world of fine arts.
“I love a lot of painters or visual artists, like my friends Kit Malo, Tyler Clarke Burke, Davida Nemeroff or people whose work I’ve just enjoyed, like Shary Boyle or Yoshitomo Nara. I can’t necessarily point out how they affect my music, but certainly I’ve collaborated with some of them in the past on visuals for my albums, and it’s always an honour.”
Vermue’s immersion in the work of his fellow artists, musical and visual, illustrates some of the inspiring and productive aspects of the often closely-knit Canadian environment.
“I just have so many peers in the Canadian scene. Some of my favourite music is stuff my friends are making, and often it’s them that I’m trying to top or show up. It’s challenging being around so much talent.”
It’s a challenge the talented Gentleman Reg has certainly met.
When asked what would be his ideal show, Vermue’s sense of fancy emerges as he conjures the image.
“It would be fantastic and majestic and epic and we’d be playing in a beautiful castle somewhere in Germany.” No German castles are in Kingston’s sight, but fortunately Gentleman Reg will still bring his folky pop to The Next Church tonight.
Apple Crisp presents Gentleman Reg and PS I Love You tonight at Next Church. Tickets are $5.
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