Available on all services April 19th. Please pre-save right away HERE.
Hello love,
I've been working toward sending out this smoke signal for four years. We lost Scott Hutchison to the curses of mental health in 2018. For those who didn't know his work, he was the front-person for the iconic Glaswegian band Frightened Rabbit. We'd only met once at Glastonbury in 2012, and I did not know him well, but it broke me. I have a vivid memory of pouring cereal for my kids that morning - my face a mess of tears.
He was about my age, and quite close with pals of mine in Wintersleep and Broken Social Scene. He was an incredible songwriter. Cuttingly funny. Smart. Warm. Kind. A poet. I have come to believe that we shared a similar north star with our musical intentions - that it should help make people feel less alone.
One of my favourite songs of Scott's was The Woodpile. He describes the social anxiety of feeling alone in a sea of people - seeking refuge in the corner of a bar. The chorus reads as such:
Will you come back to my corner?
Spent too long alone tonight
Would you come and brighten my corner?
A lit torch to the woodpile high
This song always spoke to me. How it feels to need the presence of someone with which you know you can be yourself. To feel like an arid pile of wood that could light up the sky if only someone had a match. He follows up:
Come find me now, we'll hide out
We'll speak in our secret tongues
Secret tongues. The language spoken or unspoken. The familiarity of a shared nuance that fosters a sense of belonging. It's beautiful.
In Your Corner is my response to The Woodpile. It all came together in a few hours, shortly after he passed. It just made me crazy to think that he either didn't understand how loved he was, or - perhaps worse - he didn't feel worthy of the love. Reminded me of Robin Williams' passing - how can someone foster so much joy for others but not accept it for themselves?
Here are the lyrics in full:
IN YOUR CORNER (FOR SCOTT HUTCHISON)
Why?
Why can’t the see-ers see a way out?
When they drown in information,
When they’re stranded at the station,
When their film begins to fade out?
Now we’re crying in the shower
Crying in the car park
Crying in the office towers
And we’re trying not to get dark
Trying hard to fight that darkness
Trying not to count the hours
So come find us if you can
We’ll be unified and sad
We’ll be in your corner
Leave a light on when it’s bad
And we will congregate and make a plan
And we’ll be in your corner
We’ll all be in your corner
Why?
What leads the best of us to suffer?
And do they know their pain and write it down
To help the rest of us recover?
Now we’re crying in the shower
Crying in the car park
Crying in the office towers
And we’re trying not to get dark
Trying hard to fight that darkness
Trying not to count the hours
So come find us if you can
We’ll be unified and sad
We’ll be in your corner
Leave a light on when it’s bad
And we will congregate and make a plan
And we’ll be in your corner
We’ll all be in your corner
Leave a light on if you can
Until it’s crystal clear, and you understand
We’ll all be in your corner
In Your Corner will be out everywhere in all the usual places like Spotify, Apple, Google, Amazon, Youtube, etc on April 19th.
It would mean a lot to me if you'd go ahead and pre-save it. I'm told that somehow within the quagmire of metadata, it might help the song reach more ears if the robots in the sky have evidence that there is quantifiable demand for it down here on the soil. And here I dance for the "algo".
In other news, there are several more BIG announcements coming next week! Particularly if you are located in Europe! And we've just announced a show in Huntsville, ON for August 4th (see below!).
We begin our tour of Western Canada in a week's time! I am champing at the proverbial bit. Get me on a stage. Dates are below. Some of these shows are close to selling out but tix are still available. Jump on it!
SHOWS ON SALE
ALL TOGETHER NOW 2022 (CANADA)
Apr 26. Winnipeg, MB @ Park Theatre | TICKETS
Apr 27. Saskatoon, SK @ Broadway Theatre | TICKETS
Apr 29. Calgary, AB @ Bella Concert Hall | TICKETS
Apr 30. Calgary, AB @ Bella Concert Hall | TICKETS
May 2. Edmonton, AB @ Winspear Centre | TICKETS
May 5. Fernie, BC @ Northern Bar & Stage | TICKETS
May 7. Nelson, BC @ Spirit Bar | TICKETS
May 8. Kamloops, BC @ Blue Grotto | TICKETS
May 3. Red Deer, AB @ Bo's Bar and Grill | TICKETS
May 9. Kelowna, BC @ Community Theatre | TICKETS
May 11 Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre | TICKETS
May 12. Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre | TICKETS
May 15. Campbell River, BC @ Tidemark Theatre | TICKETS
May 16. Victoria, BC @ Royal Theatre | TICKETS
May 17. Nanaimo, BC @ Port Theatre | TICKETS
Aug 4. Huntsville, ON @ Algonquin Theatre | TICKETS *JUST ANNOUNCED*
Aug 5. Ottawa, ON @ Algonquin Commons Theatre | TICKETS
All above shows supported by Georgia Harmer
As always, thanks for your ears and your eyes. Oh, and go pre-save In Your Corner :)
Much love,
x
Dan