TORONTO BORN ‘NATE DAVIAU’ IS ALTERNATIVE COUNTRY ARTIST ATTENDING BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC AND WE CHAT ALL ABOUT HIS SINGLE ‘MISS HIM TOO’, WHY HE WENT IN TO MUCH AND MORE!

 

 

What is your names?
– Nate Daviau (DAV-EE-OH)

 

 

What is your genre of music?
– I’d call it alternative country

 

 

Give us a little bio about you.
I’m just a Canadian kid who loves country and folk music. I write for some other artists in pop and country and just recently started performing solo. So far I’m loving it. I’m attending Berklee in Boston right now but still think Toronto is the best city in the world.

 

 

What made you go in to music?
-I wasn’t good at anything else (That’s a joke).
-I do music because it’s just the coolest thing in the world to me. I cant express myself as clearly and as thoroughly with anything like I can with a tune and a couple clever words. I don’t know if I’d still be doing music if I didn’t find my calling as a songwriter. Songwriting for other artists and myself has brought more joy to my life then pretty much anything.

 

 

Are you a signed?
– I am not a signed artist. DO YOU HEAR THAT LABELS AND PUBLISHERS? I’m musically (and actually) single and ready to mingle.

 

 

You release your new single “Miss Him Too” tell us more about it.
– Miss Him Too is a song that tells a story of this guy who misses the version of himself that he once was. It portrays his struggle to get there and how far he’ll go to do it. The hook of the song really says it all, “you miss the man you fell in love with, well honey, I miss him too”.

 

 

What was the writing process like?
– When I was putting this tune together, I just pictured this guy coming to an apologetic revelation and making his way home as fast as he can to fix whatever went wrong with his special someone. When I say “him”, I mean me, the song is a personal one. When I was writing it, I sort of imagined the music as a sort of ‘chase’, and that came out in the groove.

 

 

What was the recording process like?
– It was super fun and easy. We just sat there and played the tune together until it sounded right. Then I laid down scratch vocals and then we recorded the bed track. Afterwards Joey did some overdubs. The next day I did the real vocals and later that week Lydia sang the backup. The arrangement we went with was pretty close to what I was hearing in my head. The guys had to talk me into shortening the second chorus but in the end they were right, was a great decision.
Joey Landreth 
Lydia Persaud

 

 

Who did you work on the Single with?
A fantastic Toronto producer named Robbie Grunwald. Also we got Canadian treasure Joey Landreth on the slide/electric guitar which was awesome. Joshua Van Tassel was on the drums and the lovely, Lydia Persaud on backup vocals.

 

 

What message are you trying to get out?
– I don’t have any sort of agenda; I just really like this music thing.

 

 

Can we expect an EP or album this year and if so can we have a teaser?
– YES! you can expect a short album this year. Should be coming out by the end of the summer. Here’s a little teaser: I believe the album is going to be called “This Rounds on Me”

 

 

Do you have gigs coming up or a tour in planning?
– I’ll be playing all around Canada this summer. Every month I’ll be at the Burdock in Toronto, likely on a Thursday, but will be doing a bunch of shows, festivals and radio tours this summer – check everything out on my website 

 

 

If so where are you thinking of heading?
I’d really like to play some shows in Nashville, Mexico, or Europe but I don’t see that happening any time soon.

 

 

Do you have any collaborations coming up with any up coming artists?
Yeah, I’m working on some tunes right now with a fantastic pop artist called Emilia Ali. Also, as always, I’m still writing with my musical partner in Crime, fellow Torontonian, and amazing musician, Miss Julia Gartha. There’s some other stuff in the works but too early to share 😉

 

 

Would you be up for collaborations if other musicians wanted one with you? and who would they have to contact?
– Yeah, of course, if they have cool music. They can contact me or my manager/brother Mr. Sam Daviau (samueldaviau@gmail.com)

 

 

What else do you have planned this year?
Have a couple fun music videos planned for the summer. Follow me on Facebook at @natedaviaumusic to see more

 

 

Do you play any instruments?
Yes, I’m pretty proficient on guitar but I dabble on some other musical machines as well. I obviously like singing as well.

 

 

Who are your influences?
Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton, Paul Simon, Sturgill Simpson, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Waylon Jennings and many others
And just recently this amazing artist called Tyler Childers

 

 

Which TV channel would you like one of your songs to be played on?
Probably one of the adult channels that you have to pay for
That was just a joke, I think I’d like to hear one of my tunes on a fishing show, that would officially make me a country sensation , Most of all, I wanna hear my song at a grocery store so I can turn to the person behind me in line, then wink, and be like, “hear that? that’s me”.

 

 

How do you get inspiration to write songs?
– I don’t entirely know how to answer this one. Before I used a fantastic musical lubricant that they call “alcohol” but now that I’m sober I just sort of find inspiration from hearing a great song. I hear it, and I say to myself “damn, I should try and write a song that good”.

 

 

Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
– Writing for artists I love, touring… maybe living in Nashville

 

 

When you’re not doing music, what do you do?
I watch a lot of shows about nature
I eat a whole lot
I used to run but that went downhill in the last couple months (hahah get it, it’s a running pun)
I’m still in school at Berklee College of Music, so studying takes up a chunk of my time

 

 

What was the song you listened to most that influenced you to go more in to the music scene?
– ‘Cover Me Up’ by Jason Isbell – it made the idea of recovery seem like a good one – pushed me way deeper into country/folk/americana

 

 

What’s the best advice you have ever been given?
“Quit drinking and doing drugs, you look like shit” – everyone
“Don’t rewrite the spark out of a song” – anonymous songwriter

 

 

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians not about the industry and just as an artist?

if you’re getting envious of another music person, just go right up to them and ask to work together. Then you have no reason to be jealous cause you’re a team. Great musicians are like beautiful girls, people are so scared to ask them out that no one ever asks them out. If you work up the courage and just ask, they might just say yes
Don’t write bridges in your song, they’re stupid.

 

 

What quote or saying do you always stick by?
Play your gigs right off the floor whenever you can.

 

 

 

Where in your hometown is a must go to visit?
Rol San for dim sum, or Kwan
Also the AGO
And the music bar/restaurant Supermarket in Kensington – but only when I’m playing

 

 

Your coming off tour;
1/ Where do you go first?
– I go home in Toronto
2/ Who do you see first?
– my mom of course and my siblings.
3/What do you eat first?
-dim sum all the way – maybe down in Markham, Ontario

 

 

 

When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
pre-show poop
guitar
Mentioning my instagram name and website (@natedaviaumusic) which I truly hate doing but I have to
The name of whoever is working sound/engineering that night
I have to remember not to swear too much

 

 

Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
Twitter

Name of my artist page on facebook
little link right there is my website
You can probably find me on twitter too but I wouldn’t bother with it if I were you
While you’re at it you should also follow @wheelerwalkerjr – really funny stuff

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