Everett LaRoi releases first single since 2017, “Out of Town Off the Grid”
Edmonton-based singer-songwriter Everett LaRoi has recently unveiled his new single “Out of Town Off the Grid.”
“Out of Town Off the Grid” is LaRoi’s first new release since “Goldtop” (his duo with Alice Kos) topped the CKUA Radio Network Charts during the summer of 2017 with their full-length debut You Possess Me. The new song was written shortly after LaRoi returned from a family camping trip in the back country of Southern Alberta.
“After my mother passed away in 2017 and then, shortly thereafter my father in 2018, there was this crushing weight of grief I was carrying around. For some reason, getting out of town and going camping where we could smell the pine needles and hear the creek in the distance, where cell phone towers couldn’t reach us for a few days, was really soothing. I needed to sip a cold beer, poke at a campfire with a stick and listen to crickets and the birds. In this song, I tried to capture that feeling.”
The new single, which was penned by LaRoi, features drummer Mike Silverman (Deep Dark Woods, Kacy & Clayton), bassist Tom Murray (Old Reliable, Pal Joey) as well as background vocals by Alice Kos (GoldTop, Mark Davis).
Review
“Out of Town Off the Grid” does a stellar job of effectively conveying a sense of yearning for adventure, self-discovery, and a deeper connection with nature.
The chorus really grabbed my attention, featuring a memorable line, “All on our way to the other side, Just stealing time and trying to enjoy the ride” that captures the essence of cherishing the journey, while the other lines convey a strong sense of determination and resilience.
Everett’s songwriting in the song skillfully paints detailed pictures and conveys emotions, allowing listeners to easily connect with the imagery and relate to the narrative.
Overall, the lyrics harmoniously blend with the earthy, folk melody, resulting in a captivating track that deeply resonates with listeners on a personal level.
Listen to “Out of Town Off the Grid” below and learn more about Everett via our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Sure. My name is Everett LaRoi and I’m a musician based in Edmonton. I’m a recording/performing songwriter but like a lot of musicians, I do other things as well, like engineer and produce recordings for other musicians and compose music for film, among other things. It sounds trite but I am honestly grateful for every new day I have playing and working in music because I do love it. Ever since I was a kid, I always envisioned being a musician, but I was not totally naïve about it. I knew that a musician’s life was not an easy life. In spite of this, it’s what I wanted to do and I have just kept on working at it over the years through thick and thin, and somehow here I am, still doing it.
Tell us a bit about your most recent release.
In the past, I have mostly played in bands and I love doing that, but a bunch of things happened in my life in quick succession, just prior to COVID, that changed things for me and put me in a place where doing a solo record again seemed to be the best move. I had started to collect some new original songs I’d been writing in between other projects and then I spent a period of time just honing words and arrangements and making demos, but now, many of the final tracks are done and I am mixing and finishing things up.
As it stands, it will be titled Under Morning Stars Mournings Hush and will be released early in 2024. The first single, “Out of Town Off the Grid,” was released on July 28, 2023, and the second single will be coming out before Christmas. I have some great musicians playing on this record: Mike Silverman on drums (who plays with Deep Dark Woods and Kacy & Clayton), Tom Murray on bass (Old Reliable, Pal Joey), and also my old bandmate from “Goldtop” Alice Kos, who is singing and playing some keys.
Where do you tend to pull inspiration from when writing?
It’s hard to pin it down because inspiration can come from anywhere. When asked about Chrissie Hynde’s songs Dylan said something like, “Songs are just thoughts and she has good thoughts.” I agree with that. So I am constantly looking for good thoughts and ideas for songs in everything around me. If I hear something or even think or say something that sounds like it could be a lyric, I’ll stop whatever I am doing and jot it down or put it into the Notes app on my phone. I have many hundreds of these notes. I also am making recordings of musical ideas on my phone whenever an idea strikes. I call these “song seeds” – the beginnings of what will sometimes grow into a song. In my early twenties, I used to write like some kind of beat poet, banging on a typewriter with my guitar in hand late into the night, chain-smoking and drinking heavily and so on, but those days are, for the most part, behind me. These days I often get my best ideas early in the day when I am out walking our dog, usually on trails in the river valley of Edmonton.
If you could work with any fellow Canadian artist, who would you choose?
Good question and not an easy one to answer! There’s so much great talent here in Canada. There are a lot of people I’d like to work with right here in Alberta! There’s nothing like collaborating to bring out the best qualities in musicians. If you’re a songwriter like me, it’s always exciting when other musicians hear ideas for your songs. Oftentimes a new song arrangement idea from a collaborator can be so surprising and seem like it’s so out from left field but then, sometimes after you hear it a few times, it’s like, BOOM – you get it, and it changes everything for the better! And then you’re sort of in awe of your own song again because of this new light another musician brought to it. I love that!
If I had to choose one Canadian musician to work with though and, if we suspend ourselves from reality for long enough to imagine that this collaboration could actually happen, I think I would probably choose Daniel Lanois. I mean, can you imagine working with or being mentored by a legend like Lanois? I think he’d be sweet but I think he’d be tough and difficult as well. He’s a true artist. I’ve been so influenced by his approach and production style, not to mention his guitar playing, but in spite of all that he has accomplished, I feel like he has a lot more to offer that we haven’t seen yet.
What’s your goal for 2023?
I think the COVID lockdown was justified, but I do think it messed with us all in ways we’re still understanding and processing. I had a couple of hard years just prior to COVID when I lost both of my parents over a short 18-month period so when COVID struck I was already a bit isolated as I mourned their loss and had to take care of the various affairs of my family. You have to be there for your family first, so my music had to take a back seat for a while. The life I had been living previously was sort of obliterated. So anyway, in the wake of all that, my goal for 2023 has just been to continue to reengage with my life again, to rebuild my social life which had kinda got away from me, and finally, to resume releasing new music again after a lengthy unplanned hiatus.
Connect with Everett LaRoi:
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