Not hard to like and definitely easy to love is the young man with the addictive falsetto voice that everyone always wants to liken to someone, but never truly can. Gentleman Reg’s lilting melodies and witty lyrics are guaranteed to bring smiles and joy.
Toronto’s Gentleman Reg has just released his third and finest album, Darby & Joan. The album features 12 pop songs (mostly) about love and relationships—both being in a relationship and hoping to find that perfect someone. The album’s title comes from an old British sentiment about two people growing old together, a theme reflected throughout the album.
"Boyfriend, boyfriend, where are you? I ain’t got no money and I ain’t got no boyfriend," laments Reg on ‘The Boyfriend Song.’
Upon hearing these words live, I have to suppress a giggle. The lyrics are set to a jaunty, catchy tune that almost makes the song comedic. But when I listen to the recorded version of ‘The Boyfriend Song’, I think of Gentleman Reg a little bit differently.
The recorded Boyfriend Song is steeped in loneliness, with haunting pedal steel guitar and piano that somehow make the song less funny. But the song is still so catchy and cleverly tackles issues of sexuality and beauty expectations that I can’t help but listen to the song over and over again.
Gentleman Reg may be a queer boy (you may even recognize him from gay-folk-church group the Hidden Cameras), but his ways of exposing the nuances of love and lust break the boundaries between gay, bi and straight. When he sings about his love that has gone across the sea on ‘Untouchable,’ it doesn’t matter who you are or how you have loved—your heart aches in remembrance of the one(s) who got away.
Although Gentleman Reg is capable of breaking hearts on his own, he recruited a large cast of capable musicians to help him record Darby & Joan. His cast of characters includes members of Sloan, Royal City, The Constantines, the Hidden Cameras, and many others.
"I like playing with a band more. I feel like it’s easier to grab an audience and I think that a singer-songwriter with just an acoustic guitar is just so typical and overdone. With a band, you can show more what is going on in your head."
Gentleman Reg and his players (Greg Millson and John Sutton) are crossing Canada in November to promote Darby & Joan. They hope to win new fans everywhere, before they take a break before heading over to the United Kingdom and Europe. They play the Liberty Lounge in Calgary on November 6 and then play a free noon show at the University of Calgary on November 16. For more tour dates and free mp3s from Darby & Joan, visit www.gentlemanreg.com.
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Contributor
Basil Sioux Elliot |
Locale
Calgary |
Person
Gentleman Reg |
Topic
Celebrity Interview |
