IN CONCERT
What: Bahamas with The Weather Station
Where: Royal Theatre
When: Wednesday, 8 p.m. (doors at 7)
Tickets: Sold out
Afie Jurvanen has reached a point in his career where he can write without being beholden to audience expectations. He could sing the recipe for chocolate chip cookies, and his devoted fans would gladly support him.
“My fans are so kind and open,” Jurvanen, who tours and records under the Bahamas banner, said recently during a tour stop in San Diego, California. “They come and they are ready to listen to whatever I want to do, which is the greatest position to be in as a performer.”
Jurvanen has earned every ounce of his audience’s goodwill with his amalgam of blues, indie rock and soul music.
The 36-year-old Torontonian has worked hard to forge a bond with his fans that produces a string of sold-out shows on every tour. The current one includes a sold-out stop at the Royal Theatre on Wednesday.
Jurvanen said he’s always bowled over by the reaction when he goes out on the road — he hasn’t forgotten how few cared when he started Bahamas in 2008.
“That’s the accidental byproduct of not really having any sort of overnight success, I guess. Of course, I’d love to have a song that breaks through, but I’ve been doing this 10 years and I feel very, very fortunate.”
Music critics were on board early, with the Los Angeles Times, SPIN magazine and the New York Times praising his first two efforts, Pink Strat (2009) and Barchords (2012).
Jurvanen was no newbie when he arrived, however, which no doubt reduced the arc of his learning curve. His extensive work with Feist, Hayden, Amy Millan of Stars and the Great Lake Swimmers, among others, gave Jurvanen a leg up, and helped him avoid the pitfalls of a very difficult industry.
Learning from friends he respected as artists and people was also key, he said.
“So much about the music business is constantly trying to push you to fit into the industry’s moulds. It just works better if you do everything the way they want you to do it. But I’ve never taken that approach with my music.”
Four meticulously produced albums as Bahamas, including his new effort, Earthtones, which arrived Jan. 19, have earned Jurvanen heaps of praise.
He’s a first-rate guitar player, with no shortage of style, but his ascension to the level of touring act in Canada has come via his lyrics.
And though he has always been something of an open book when it comes to lyrics, Jurvanen reached for new, deeper heights on Earthtones, his most personal album to date.
“Give the doctor a description, he just writes a prescription — or two,” Jurvanen sings on No Depression, one of the more open and honest songs on the topic in recent memory.
He also writes about his struggles as an artist, which included plenty of opening slots on bills headlined by other acts during his early days. Those were valuable lessons, Jurvanen said, and it’s clear the experience shaped his outlook once he began headlining shows of his own.
Knowing it could all go away in a minute, Jurvanen said he hates seeing long stretches without shows on his concert calendar. “Music is the easy part, at the risk of sounding arrogant. It’s fun, I love doing it, and any chance I get to do it I try and say yes more than I say no. Other parts of my life require more attention and effort.”
Touring life has highs and lows for Jurvanen, who is married with two young children. Songs on Earthtones tell of the difficulties of leaving his family at home for long periods, and the toll facets of his Barrie, Ontario upbringing have taken on him.
Despite the emotional weight of his lyrics, Jurvanen pulled a miraculous feat by making Earthtones a surprisingly upbeat listen.
“That type of songwriting — exploring my own struggles with depression, or my relationship with my partner and family — is what comes natural to me. But I generally try and find a way to set the lyrics inside of a song that doesn’t leave you feeling bummed. As a writer, I’m always trying to write songs free or irony and metaphors. I’m trying to sing about how I feel, and who I am, and some of my ideas, really directly and openly. You don’t have to wonder what it is I’m singing about on this album.”
Jurvanen had help from two guest musicians with extensive pedigrees. Drummer James Gadson and bassist Pino Palladino were introduced to Jurvanen by his manager and he procured their services to give the album a classic feel, as both performers have several decades’ experience on stage and in the studio.
The impact of Gadson (who has worked with Beck, D’Angelo and Bill Withers) and Palladino (The Who, Eric Clapton and Elton John) was immediate, Jurvanen said.
“They showed up on the first day and we hung out and had a coffee. Twenty minutes later, we were recording the first track. We didn’t discuss anything. I would just start playing a song and they would fall in.”
Jurvanen was forced to keep his excitement in check during the three days with Gadson and Palladino in a Los Angeles studio, which wasn’t difficult.
If Jurvanen has learned anything during his decade-plus as a bandleader, it’s that his early work as a cog in someone else’s machine blessed him with the ability to work well with others.
“Before we started, I was like: ‘Wow, I can’t believe this is actually going to happen.’ But as soon as we got there, both of those guys — who have so much experience and are so confident with what they are bringing to the table — made me feel confident. It made me feel like we were going to make something good. That was just as important as their playing. To be surrounded with people of that calibre, it gave the whole sessions some real momentum.”