Singer-songwriter Paul Laine, who developed his musical chops growing up in Qualicum Beach, will have a home coming of sorts next month.
His band DarkHorse will headline North of Nashville – Volume 1, a concert that will bring the best of country, roots, folk, bluegrass and Americana to the Qualicum Beach Civic Centre on June 19.
Fuelled by the writing and singing of Laine, DarkHorse defines the term “new country” with its anthemic, stadium-sized, coming-of-age songs.
The band has also gained some national attention since forming in 2012. They’ve already opened for Chad Brownlee, Keith Urban, Lee Brice and Joe Nichols, just to name a few.
However, as mentioned, DarkHorse’s roots are firmly based in Qualicum Beach.
Laine said as a kid his friend and neighbour Phil Dwyer was a huge musical influence for him.
“I got lucky because I grew up next to Mozart … that’s what I call Phil,” he said. “I met him when I was five and he was my first giant musical influence because he was the only kid to play with in the neighbourhood and he was a year older than me, but he was unbelievable.”
His other mentor was his music teacher at Kwalikum Secondary School.
“I started playing trumpet when I was 11 and Bill Cave, who was my music teacher, recognized my talent.”
At this point, Laine said Cave insisted he try another instrument and that is how he became a bass player.
“I really didn’t want to play bass because I had no concept of rock and roll. I wasn’t allowed rock music at my house,” explained Laine.
But the bass made an impression on Laine, who left school when he was 15 and started playing bass in rock bands. He got signed at age 19 and began his professional career as a solo artist.
He was the singer of Danger Danger, a rock band out of New York that toured America and Europe for 12 years and made five records. After more than a decade of living the rock ’n’ roll life, however, Laine decided to settle down and started a recording studio in Vancouver where he wrote commercials.
“I did that for seven years and I hated it,” he admitted.
The music industry eventually lured him back, but this time Laine latched onto his country roots.
“I always wrote country songs here and there, but had no place for them and they just sat there,” he said.
He started writing songs for country songstress Stacey McKitrick, and once that door opened, he went through it.
“I kept writing songs that seemed like they were for me,” said Laine. “I had four of five of these songs put aside and I had to find an artist for them, and one day a friend of mine said, ‘Why don’t you just do this?’ So, I thought, ‘O.K.’ I started writing more and eventually I had an album.”
That album, called Let It Ride, was released in April last year.
Laine said he was fortunate to have some of the instrumental stars of the Nashville studio scene collaborate with him on the record.
“I have always been lucky in the music business, so I put my feelers out and I contacted a couple of guys that played with Keith Urban and Brad Paisley, and they were like, ‘Well, we don’t know who you are; send us some material.’ So, I sent them a couple of songs and they said, ‘When do you want us? We will get you whoever you want on the record.’”
So, Laine went to Nashville and had Brad Paisley’s bass player Kevin Grantt play bass on the record. Rounding out the sound were Bruce Bouton on steel guitar and Glen Duncan on mandolin, banjo and fiddle.
“I believe that if the door opens you have to go through it, not try to force things, and that is what happened with the whole country music thing,” said Laine.
Alongside Laine and DarkHorse, North of Nashville will feature another performer with local connections: Haley Sales. Sales spent some time growing up in these parts before being signed with Universal Music Canada in 2006.
Two singles from her first album Sunseed, which was released in 2007, landed in the Canadian Top 40. Sales also won best mainstream artist at the Canadian Radio Music Awards in 2008.
Sales, who splits her time between Vancouver and Los Angeles, is working on her third album.
Finally, rounding out the North of Nashville roster is David James and Big River, Canada’s most acclaimed Johnny Cash tribute band.
Tickets for the June 19 show are available at The Mulberry Bush Bookstores in Parksville and Qualicum Beach, as well as at the Port Theatre.
