Justin Fancy Head On Tour With George Canyon In October
East Coast country artist Justin Fancy has unveiled his sophomore album, Whiskey & Me. On the release, Justin shares his passion for storytelling and his authentic East Coast charm through every lyric and melody of its nine tracks.
Tales of everyday experiences of life, love, and self-discovery permeate the album, illustrating his authentic approach to songwriting, which melds classic country songwriting with his distinctive contemporary sound.
Whiskey & Me is the follow-up to Fancy’s 2021 debut album Sure Beats a Good Time, which earned him two Music NL Awards in 2021 – “Country Artist of the Year” and “Rising Star of the Year,” as well as an East Coast Music Award and a Music NL award for “Fan’s Choice Entertainer of the Year” in 2022.
In October, Justin will perform five shows across Newfoundland as direct support for Canadian Country superstar George Canyon.
October 20 Arts and Culture Centre, St. John’s
October 21 Arts and Culture Centre, Gander
October 22 Arts and Culture Centre, Grand Falls
October 23 Arts and Culture Centre, Cornerbrook
October 24 Arts and Culture Centre, Stephenville
Congratulations on the release of your new album Whiskey & Me. What can you tell us about the album?
Thank you! I’m so excited for the album to finally come out! I am so proud of this record. It speaks volumes about the continued collaboration/partnership between myself and Clint Curtis, my co-producer. This album really highlights our commitment to producing high-quality, world-class music. I was also fortunate enough to work with some amazing songwriters on this album. I wasn’t a fan of co-writing in the past, but they brought the best out of me in writing those songs and I’m forever grateful to them.
One of the songs that gave me a chance to open up was “Lie”. I originally wrote it on my own and it was called “Love Me Like You Want Me To”. At the tail end of the recording, I wrote another song with a Canadian songwriter who is now living in Nashville named Jesse Slack, and I showed him the song while I was in Nashville. One day he called me out of the blue and said “I don’t normally do this but I had a thought about your song ‘Love Me Like You Want Me To’ and I need you to hear it. You don’t have to listen, but you need to hear it”. The original chorus lyric was “I can’t love you like you want me to, and Jesse suggested I change it to “I can’t love you like you want me to, and lie”. I thought it was brilliant. At the time, I was in LA writing with 2-time Grammy-winning producer Greg Wells. I mentioned it to him and he was ecstatic about it, so I knew it was meant to be. Just like that, “Lie” was born. I re-cut the vocals with the lyric change and that was that. I think co-writing is a masterful art and it is on full display on this album.
If you could choose one song on the album as your favourite, which would it be and why?
Right now my favourite track is “Go Easy”. From the moment I wrote this with Riley Taylor, I was tied to it. I kept catching myself singing it without realizing it. It’s one of those songs that felt really special to me from the get-go. I’m a sucker for mid-tempo, stand the hair up on your arms kinda songs, and I think this is one of those. There’s a lot of emotion in this song and I think that came naturally for me vocally.
What can you tell us about the title track “Whisky & Me”?
There was an undeniable magic surrounding this song from the very beginning. It was one of my first co-writing experiences during the pandemic. I wrote it with Canadian Idol Season 5 winner Brian Melo and his songwriting partner, Paul Stephens. It tells the story of a man grappling with the aftermath of a breakup, finding solace in whiskey as it persuades him that he will endure. The lyric “You’ve found your ring and the man of your dreams, and I’ve got my whiskey and me” is so real and so raw.
You previously released a single and video for another song on the album called “Lie”. How did two-time Grammy winner Greg Wells get involved in that track? And can you tell us a little about the video?
The experience with Greg was amazing, top to bottom. Anytime you have a chance to have a two-time Grammy winner’s full attention is a chance you make the most of it because it’s not an opportunity that comes along every day. Greg was kind enough to reach out to my team and arrange a trip to LA to hang out, write a couple songs, and be an amazing mentor. It just so happened that we were in the middle of the recording process with “Lie” and I let Greg hear it in LA. He loved the track and offered some advice. He didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes but genuinely wanted to help us bring the song to the next level. Over the next few weeks, Clint and I had several sessions with Greg, where he offered his expertise and advice and taught Clint a few of his own production tricks. In the end, Greg was the executive producer on this track with myself and Clint co-producing and we were so happy with the results. It was incredible to have Greg’s input and watch this song progress.
The music video was a whole other amazing experience. We wanted to do something different so Paula Danylevich from Hype Music, who has been an integral part of my team since the beginning, took this one from the ground running and ended up producing the video! It was her first video production and she did a fantastic job coming up with the treatment, finding locations, and writing the script and shot lists. We cast two amazing actors for the video – Sarah Peddle and Casey Hancock, who were fantastic in the video. We shot in multiple locations over a few days, which was a first for our crew, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. A lot went into this one, from start to finish, and I have so many people to thank for making this video so special.
What’s next now that the album is out? Any touring this Fall? And what are your plans for 2024?
I’m touring with George Canyon across Newfoundland for 5 shows in October, and I am stoked! George is one of Canada’s greatest country artists and to share the stage with him is both an honour and a great opportunity for me. It’s shaping up to be an extremely busy 2024 with 2 more single releases planned and hopefully another album at the end of the year or early 2025!