ultimatesunset

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On Father's Day, I will be playing my first show in Edmonton since Feb 14 2020. There's been a few changes in my life since then, and I suspect the same of you too!

I'll be joined by Aaron Parker and Stacy Lloyd Brown. I think it'll be a lovely evening, and I'd love to see some familiar faces. I played a show here in Charlottetown last week, opening for my friend Owen Davies' album release, and we really had a great time. I hope to carry that energy forward to The Aviary (a gem of a venue).

Advance tickets for the Aviary here: https://the-aviary.net/events/fathers-day-aviary/ Take care!

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I am really quite excited to play in Toronto on Saturday Oct 7th, especially with such an exceptional line up. I haven't played many shows since the pandemic, really, and this show feels emotionally important to me in a way that is hard to articulate. Frankly, it's been something to look forward to, to practice and sing towards. If you're in the GTA, I hope you consider coming! Tickets available here:

https://burdockbrewery.com/products/doug-hoyer-with-alyson-mcnamara-and-avalon-tassonyi?variant=40246669541463

Thanks to the excellent Spencer Smith for making the poster.

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Short Story: My album 'Getting Older' is nominated for a Music PEI 2022 award, 'Downtown Charlottetown Pop Recording of the Year', which is flattering. The category is filled with other artists I genuinely enjoy and respect. Not quite as short story: I believe I enjoy writing music, but sometimes it can be hard to tell from how frustrated it can feel at times! Which seems silly. I had a friend recently remind me that I (we) don't have that many people actively listening to my (our) music, and that can be quite liberating to remember; I can explore new feelings and vibes and sounds and emotions within my music, because why? WHY NOT. That said, a big part of what I enjoy about music is the response. The immediate reaction at a live show, or hearing about how a song may have resonated with someone, etc. That likely has to do with my insatiable ego, but I'd like to believe that part of it is because I find songwriting/performing to be a different form of connection than a routine conversation can allow. That said, as I age I find I'm not playing as much, either from moving around or being an old guy or other issues. As well, I find it hard to ask people to listen to my music. After over a decade, the novelty of asking my friends for their thoughts has likely worn off for them. And yet these songs still grow and change for me, and mean various things for me as time moves. My song "Origami", from 'Getting Older', is one of the most meaningful song that I've written so far, and it's one of the least streamed songs in my catalogue. I wrote the lyrics after being inspired by Ken Liu's short story "the paper menagerie", and many months later finished the song in a burst. I'm proud of the slow-ass guitar solo.  I'm proud of the near whispered vocal delivery. It's written from the perspective of a dead mother regretting a lack of communication with her son. It made Maureen cry when I showed her a rough mix when she was pregnant. I showed a family member that song after we fought last month. It means more to me as time goes on. But it feels odd when 'Origami' and other songs do not 'perform well' on streaming platforms, it's like they were only for me in the first place? I've been in a bit of a writing funk over the past year and a half, and just in the past month or so I've been getting a form of groove back. The material I'm working on is slightly more abstract than what I've created before (maybe?) but I'm enjoying where it is leading, currently. And I want to enjoy that process. If there is a scale of "who is this song for?", on one end there is Audience and the other is Self. Currently I'm allowing the scale to slide closer to self. Ok, so what is my point? I'm not entirely sure myself, except that the relationship  between the act of creating, the act of recreating, and the outside 'commercial' element of art/music/creation is complex and mysterious and confusing. The audience is definitely a part of that relationship and it's hard feeling like my relationship with an audience is distant & difficult to read. Like a chef wanting feedback on their new dish, so do I crave some form of discussion or response about the work. Which, I realize, sounds entirely narcissistic. Which leads me to this: I appreciate being nominated for Pop Recording of the Year by Music PEI. Not because I feel the album deserves an award, but because it helps me feel like I actually made something that exists in the world. I'm among fantastic company that I genuinely enjoy. What a nice way to start this week, the very day I return to work after parental leave.

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A few weeks ago I was a guest on Brian Funk’s “Music Production Podcast”, a show which I regularly listen to and find quite helpful. I really appreciated the time that Brian took with me, and I believe we had some great discourse about songwriting tips, production, and ear health! I hope you enjoy.  On another note, Hurricane Fiona made a mess of things on PEI, but after 8 days we got our power back. My 9 month old baby and I happened to catch COVID-19 while I was without power, which was pretty difficult. But we made it!

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Birthday / ‘Casual’ on Netflix

First off, I just wanted to say ‘thank you’ to all of those who wished me a happy birthday! It was a strange one; I had the day booked off to focus on practicing my music & for us to go out for lunch for the first time with our little baby in tow. Unfortunately Maureen caught Covid so we had a change of plans. She’s doing pretty well, baby D is smiling, and I’ve tested negative…so far. 

Among the birthday wishes, I had a few friends reach out and tell me that they started watching a show on Netflix (in Canada) called ‘Casual’, where they noticed the use of my song ‘Snow Bank’ (Season 3, Episode 9). Pretty cool! I know the show was previously on Hulu and Crave in Canada but it seems more folks have caught on with it being on Netflix now.

I’d like to share a bit about this, and what it means to me. I apologize if I begin to ramble on. 

First off, ‘Snow Bank’ was written when I was 18 years old. I was really into the band Stars and wanted to write a duet song, which I did. It’s semi autobiographical, an amalgamation of a few different events from my suburban 17 year old life. My high school band played it, and I brought it out of retirement years later when recording my first full-length album, “Walks With The Tender & Growing Night” (2011). Thanks to Jessica Jalbert for singing on the recording, Cam Boyce for the violins, and wizard Calvin McElroy for the amazingly snowy production. 

In 2017 Trish Halloran, a music supervisor, reached out requesting the use of ‘Snow Bank’ as one of Casual’s editors suggested. I do not know who this editor is, but thank you, whoever you are! It was a bit surprising to get the request because, as some of you know, around that time I started working semi-consistently as a background actor while we were living in Georgia; it felt as if there were strings being pulled to bring me towards visual media. Many of my friends and peers are musicians, several who are trying to land placements in movies, TV shows, ads, etc. It can not only be a decent paycheque in the economy of fractured pennies for streams, but it can also expose your song to a wider audience. When I was a teen, this would have been viewed as selling out. I wonder if teens these days would care about any of that. 

The amount that the opportunity paid was not particularly huge, but I will say this: it paid for a semester of school. I was enrolled in MacEwan University’s Hearing Aid Practitioner Program, partially remotely, and this placement came around when payment was due for a class. It felt like a direct transfer, as if my music ‘career’ was paving the way for me to take steps towards a more stable future in a new profession. It felt meaningful at the time, and it still does today.

— — —

I feel as though I could end this there, but it leads me to another memory a bit later, when we lived in Chicago. An online stock music company wanted to buy the non-exclusive rights to as much of my discography for their subscribers to use for whatever they wanted it for. Again, the pay might not sound life changing, but again it ended up being enough for a semester of school and some text books. I was a bit concerned, as I would be allowing the use of my songs for projects that I would have no connection with, but I eventually acquiesced when my Dad reminded me that most of my songs were several years old by now, and that they had ‘done what they could do’ financially. This offer may give them a new life. 

Well, in some ways it did! When visiting Edmonton I noticed some comments on a youtube page for my song “Haven’t Thought of You in So Long”. These comments all said similar things:

“The movie DFITW brought me here too. Good song...I hear they're making a part two to the film. I wanna' be in it!”

“lol yea the film brought me here. Not the kinda stuff i normally listen to. but i like it. Good song.”

“Heard this song on Dont fuck in the woods! :) Great song to bad I cant say the same for the film.....”

This last comment I asked what ‘Dont Fuck in the Woods’ was; they replied: 

“some horror movie that sucked ass! they used your song in there. Was it without permission?! Your song was the best part of the movie in my opinion! even if it only played for a few sec because now I found this song and discovered you! I think your great man. I'm going to share with my friends and family”

…weird, eh?

It turns out that this film used that licensing company. Do I regret licensing my music to them over this? Honestly no, I find it pretty funny. Not what I had imagined but humorous nevertheless. And to counter, I later received a message from a painter that makes stop-frame videos of her painting process and used some of my songs to compliment them. Things like that seem to balance the emotional spreadsheet. And again, it helped contribute to my current career as a Registered Hearing Aid Practitioner. But it’s a reminder that when you put yourself and your work out there, you’ll never know who will be paying attention.

— — —

Back to my birthday. I realized earlier this week that 1 year ago I had written a song called “Getting Older”, which ended up being the title track on my latest album (which came out in November, I wanted to drop it before baby D arrived). While I was making my breakfast I realized that I hadn’t written a ‘Doug Hoyer’ song since that one: I had been focused on finishing the record, preparing to move to PEI, working, and then having a baby. Learning how to be a father. Working in a new community. Omicron hitting the island. Throughout all of this, I hadn’t written a song for myself, other than some instrumental ideas and noodles. (Although I had written some commissioned projects). Frankly, I found this kinda depressing.

I’ve always believed that songwriting was a process that I routinely focused on, but that it would take the effort of starting. If someone sits down and wants to write a song, I generally believe that they can do it. It might not be good! It might not even be worth showing to anyone. But it might be a subconscious reflection of where the writer is, or something of the moment in our collective effervescence, possibly intangible. The air is all around us, but it is only useful if we take a breath; much like writing, inspiration surrounds us, but its gift does take some action on the writer's part. So how can I believe in that and find myself not having written a song in 1 year? Honestly, I don’t know. I suppose some of my creative juices have been spent trying to problem solve at my day job, helping people hear the world around them, counsel them when they have questions, troubleshooting and assisting. 

But that’s a bit of a cop out. 

I pledge to write more this next year. Frankly, not for you, not for the streaming service algorithms that give and take, but for myself. A reminder not to cut off this vestigial trait, this muscle that used to write (songs? prose? Comics? stories?), but to flex it and see what kind of surprises it can bring me. 

Doug Hoyer 

April 30, 2022

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Album #6, ‘Getting Older’, is out now! Feel free to listen on bandcamp, or wherever you enjoy your music. 

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'Here With You' is a gentle, personal, meditative song that I wrote about upcoming changes in my life, and the general unknown. I'd love for you to listen. I think fans of Sufjan Stevens, Four Eyes, Angelo De Augustine, & Jose Gonzalez might enjoy it. It was mixed by Jesse Northey in Toronto, ON, and mastered by Jesse Mangum at the Glow Studio in Athen, GA.You can find it wherever you like your music. If you like this song, please pass it on to a friend. Thanks!

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https://doughoyer.bandcamp.com/track/dancing-by-the-light-of-the-refinery Thanks to Rich Aucoin for singing gang vocals and Nathan Burns for adding pedal steel to my odd synth pop criticism of Alberta, my home. You can listen to it at the link above or wherever you stream music.  You can also now pre-order my 6th album, ‘Getting Older’ at bandcamp!

Photo of the refinery by Kurayba  https://www.flickr.com/photos/kurt-b/

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10 years ago today, I released my album Walks with the Tender and Growing Night. 10 years on, and I’m still so proud of it. I feel like I should be writing an essay about the recording process, what this album meant to me, etc.... but honestly, I’d just like you to hear it again. Stream it where you stream things, or if you like bandcamp I can offer you 25% off by using the code “10years” Take care, walk tender

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Oh, hi

Hello, whomever may be reading this. 

I hope you’ve made it through the pandemic decently okay. Although I have had some frustrations, when I step back I realize that I’ve been doing quite well over these times. I feel quite lucky.  I thought I’d let you know that I have a new record on the horizon. There are a few titles kicking around, but nothing is concrete. 9 or 10 songs. A few have been previously released; spoiler! I’m debating if I should release it on vinyl. It seems a bit much these days, as the planet heats up; do people need another piece of something to put in their homes? To be made, pulled out of nothing into something? I haven’t released anything on vinyl since 2013′s “To Be A River”. Maybe I should just go digital... what do you think?  A friend recently asked me what the album sounds like. Although it isn’t quite finished, I will share with you what I said:  “You know my other albums? It sounds a lot like them.” 

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I started working on this song when I lived in Chicago, piecing together the album "Character Witness". At the time, I thought this song would be from the perspective of a citizen living in a fictional world of superheroes, just trying to get to work while train lines were upended by clumsy heroics. It didn't quite work, so the song sat on my shelf (well, in my hard drive). After the US capital attack on Jan 6, 2021, there was a viral photo of Rep. Andy Kim collecting garbage from the floor of the rotunda. Doing the work. Picking up the pieces. It really stuck with me, reminding me of this song I had started, and inspired me to rewrite it. Thanks to Joe Gurba for helping me tweak and revise some of the lyrics. As simple and naive as this may sound, please try to be a hero in your everyday life, in whatever ways that you can. Enjoy this song, thanks for listening. A portion of the sales of this song will be donated to Calgary's Centre for Newcomers www.centrefornewcomers.ca Lyrics Am I the star of my own story From my own point of view How I long to be the hero But some days I'm the villain too I don't always feel so brave Staring danger in the face Behind every movement made The risks are there to take Anyone can be a hero Nominate the nobodies Find the quiet in the riot Pick up rubble in the streets Rebuild the world with our dignity There's ashes in our hair There's oceans at our feet There's work left to be done Work that'll never be complete The Crusader's Call Doesn't wait for night Everyone has a mission Everyone thinks their right Anyone can be a hero Nominate the nobodies Find the quiet in the riot Pick up rubble in the streets Rebuild the world with our dignity Rebuild the world with our dignity Rebuild the world

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Listen/purchase: We Used To Have Fun by Doug Hoyer

My new single, “We Used To Have Fun” is out now everywhere.  https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/doughoyer/we-used-to-have-fun

Logging on to the party Everyone is there It's so good to see your face Wish we could share the same air

We used to have fun, we used to have fun But something's changed We used to have fun, we used to have fun Things don't feel the same

Spill a drink and soak it up But our jokes stay dry Punchlines linger in the room Can't seem to land them this time

Are we getting older? Or did the whole world age? Are we getting colder Living in this cage?

We used to have fun

We used to have fun, we used to have fun But something's changed We used to have fun, we used to have fun Things don't feel the same

Logging off of the party No one else is near It was good to see your face My god, what a year

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Music video for Canadian stalwart Doug Hoyer's track 'Hive Mind' off of 2019′s album Character Witness. A techno-bug pushes through the Cloud to emerge from a futuristic Hive Mind. Alone and exposed to the natural world for the first time it struggles to retain its sanity and mindless sense of purpose. Finally swayed by the beauty of nature, the machine barely has time to explore this new world before its program is repaired and it’s sucked back into the Machine, where at last it realises what it means to be trapped in a system. Director's statement: The choreography takes its cue from the Japanese dance style of Butoh, a post-war exploration of death and decay through precise, slow movement, employing cadaver-like body paint and pained facial expressions to convey human suffering and mortality. Transposing this style to a science-fiction setting, our performer looks not to the past but to the future, a future where Artificial Intelligence screams silently at its digital prison. The struggle for identity and self will become a personal war as society becomes more digitised, until all of us scuttling ants are reduced to numbered barcodes. Direction - David Mahler Produced by Carmen Hau and David Mahler Production - Studio Rin & Intothehole Productions Cinematography - Tong Woon Lam Performer - Cool Gaia Costume design - Leung Sum Yee Label - Mangled Tapes Copyright 2019 doughoyer.com facebook.com/DougHoyerMusic https://open.spotify.com/artist/3DfG9... doughoyer.bandcamp.com mangledtapes.bandcamp.com miasgard.com facebook.com/intothehole.cinema.and.productions studiorin.com.au

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Character Witness, my 5th album under my name, and 13th release, is now out on all streaming platforms as well as bandcamp. 

https://doughoyer.bandcamp.com/album/character-witness

https://open.spotify.com/album/05PPe7HYGmRLyupeFU62XC

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This is art I made for my new album, “Character Witness”. It comes out May 17th!  Pre-order digital & tapes:  https://doughoyer.bandcamp.com/album/character-witness

Pre-save & order for streaming:  https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/doughoyer/character-witness

Thanks!

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Hey!

I hope that things are well on your end of the internet. Over here…

…well, where is here?

At the end of January I had a great opportunity in Calgary, so we decided to make the move back to Canada. From Chicago, to Calgary, in arguably one of the coldest winters in history. 

With two screaming cats bemoaning how cramped their carrier quarters were. And honestly, who can blame them. 

Although I’m excited to be starting a new chapter of my life working at a fantastic hearing aid clinic, I have a lot of mixed feelings about leaving Chicago. We made a lot of fast friends there, and found a community that we really clicked with. Leaving was tougher than I expected it to be. While I was in Chicago, I bought a small, funky piano at a Mt. Sinai Thrift Store for $30. It’s SUCH a gem! The resonator lay fairly low, so the height of the upright piano was only 3 feet, and it had such a warm, rounded sound. I recorded my new single “Runaway” on it, as well as several other songs from my upcoming album “Character Witness”. But once my time with those 88 keys ran its course, my friends Alec and Emily were kind enough to adopt it. I’m sure they’ll both make some beautiful music with it. 

 Back to “Runaway”. It’s a song about leaving. About having to make the move. Stepping forward in life.

 The album is mostly from the perspective of other people, but I let myself through a bit more on it. The tenor sax was pulled out of the air by Fallon McDermott, my bandmate from Chicago’s Impulsive Hearts, a band I had the privilege of playing bass in. They also gave me free range in the studio, bless their…impulsive hearts. 

 Anyways, I gotta go. Thanks for reading, thanks for listening. It’s on bandcamp& all those streaming platforms. If you like the song, please pass it along or put it in a playlist. If you don’t dig it, don’t worry! I’ve got some fun tunes down the line. 

love ya,  Doug Hoyer

https://doughoyer.bandcamp.com/track/runaway

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Speed Dating for Ghosts came out a year ago on Valentine’s Day. They’ll soon be releasing some bonus levels, and asked me to create some music for it! Think “beach vacation on the shores of hell”.