This Is Courtney Dubois
Shortly after that my parents got me an acoustic guitar (like my favourite country singer Alan Jackson) and an upright piano and put me into piano lessons.
I very much disliked the royal conservatory way of teaching and learning. I just wanted to play my favourite songs and make stuff up on my own. I managed to fake my way through the first couple years without learning how to read the music, by watching my teachers hands and listening. My teacher eventually caught on, and stopped playing the pieces for me forcing me to actually read the music. Needless to say, the lessons didn't last much longer after that.
It wasn't until high school that I got my first real guitar, a solid black, solid state Godin with a little Peavy Rage amplifier. I took some lessons at R&B's school of music for a few years with Rob Drake and Brett Caswell. I started doing a couple performances here and there. A couple of my first performances were at the Kozlov Mall, and at Rosie's Diner downtown. Not the most glamorous of shows.
I was always encouraged to perform and sing, but at the time I was still quite young and nervous. I was content writing my songs and singing them in the privacy of my own room. I even went through a phase when I was "done" with music, and was considering veterinary school. But all signs pointed to music. I turned 20, and was asked to do a small tour with Bahamas. That's when everything changed.
Things didn't work out as I had hoped with Bahamas, but it gave me a taste of the life that I had dreamt of. It inspired to me to open myself up to the possibilities and gave me the confidence I needed to get up on stage and perform. If I could perform at the Great Hall to a sold out audience, I can play any show in my hometown no problem. Then I started my first band called Little Lakes.
Little Lakes was a band that came out of being unemployed. We were all at that age where you can still get away with doing nothing, stay up all night drinking, and somehow everyone has the all the time in the world to play music. It was a magical time. The band was pretty short lived, I couldn't be unemployed forever, relationships dissolve and things transform.
I remember playing a show at The Port of Barrie, one of Little Lakes last shows, when I met Dave Allen and Ben Pearson. Soon after that I invited Dave to come jam with us. And then I heard one of Daves songs, and I never wanted to write another song again, it was so good. That is how we transformed from Little Lakes to Stonetrotter. We performed together for 5 years.
Throughout my time with Stonetrotter, I'd always been writing and trying to find the time and the means to make a record. I've put off my solo record for years, so I'm very excited to share what I've been working on.
What’s coming up for you?
My first solo EP release, titled GEODE.
For those who don't know what a geode is, it's a hollow sphere-like mineral that on the outside looks like an ordinary rock, but on the inside is lined with different kinds of minerals that over time have been crystallized.
I decided to title my EP GEODE when I heard the geode compared to an artist in search of their hidden gems in a Hayao Miyazaki film called Whisper of the Heart. It's a beautiful movie, and an analogy I fell in love with.
I've geared my EP towards this geode concept, keeping the songs raw and unpolished, and allowing them to exist as they are. The EP will be released this fall.
Tell us about the transition from playing in bands to your solo project. What has been challenging and what has worked well?
The grass is always greener. When I was playing in bands, I wanted to be a solo artist. Now that I'm a solo artist, I find myself wanting to be play in a band. I love bouncing ideas off others, and trying new parts and harmonies. Sometimes they're horrible, but sometimes pure magic happens. It's a beautiful thing to be able to share that with a group of people, and that's something I miss very much. Although, if you make a mistake as a solo artist in a live performance, it's way easier to mask than it is with a 5 piece band. So there's that.
One thing that I've found is I really have no clue what I'm doing when it comes to the business side of music. I've always just showed up for rehearsal and went to the gigs, but never had to crunch the numbers, book the shows, or come up with a marketing plan. So going solo has been a lot of extra work, and a learning curve, but I'm figuring it out as I go.
What keeps you motivated and inspired to continue making music?
Writing music has always been something I've just done for myself. All of my songs are based on my own personal experiences and struggles to figure out what the heck is going on internally. When i'm writing, It's a way to check in, and ask myself how or what I'm feeling. I try to be honest, which makes me very vulnerable, and can be very revealing. But that is what art and music is for me. And I search for that in other artists.
I will always need a release, there will always be things that I don't understand that I try make sense of, there will always be sadness, and joy, therefore I will always write music.
Lightning Round
Current favourite album.....For the Roses-Joni Mitchell
Guilty pleasure song.....Turn the Page-Bob Seger
Favorite place to write music.....My living room
Best gig so far.....My best friends wedding
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