by Sheldon Birnie
Northcote is the musical project of Victoria-by-way-of-Regina’s Matt Goud. With the recent release of his self-titled, sophomore album, Northcote expands on his trademark sound with a more confident, more fully realized LP. Backed by the largest band he’s ever taken on the road with him, Northcote is blazing a trail down the Hillbilly Highway, from one end of Canada to the other. With stops in Winnipeg and Calgary for Sled Island upcoming, Matt took a few minutes out of a traffic jam in Quebec to talk to Stylus about the new record, the Highway, and attending boarding school in Dauphin, MB.
Stylus: Hey man, how’s it going?
Matt Goud: Good! Just stuck in traffic here in Montreal.
Stylus: Bummer! Well, I wanted to talk to you about your new album, Northcote. Compared to your first release [2011’s Gather No Dust] it really feels like you’ve gotten very comfortable with your sound. How did the writing and recording process play out on the new album?
MG: I wanted to be a bit more of a free album. More physical, and less heady. With the last album, I was in a bit more of a shy time in my life. I was a bit more timid. With this record, I wanted to express a bit more of a breakthrough in confidence. I wanted it to be a bit more communal, rather than the traditional singer-songwriter, which is pretty isolated. You know what I’m saying? So I brought in a bunch of friends to collaborate with a bunch of different instruments. There’s definitely more full band songs than before for Northcote.
Stylus: How are the new tunes playing out live?
MG: Oh, it’s fun! There are certain cities which already have it and know what we’re doing. I think it will be fun to tour this record. We’ve done about ten shows so far, maybe more. I think it’s going to be a bit more interactive, a bit more physical. More sweat. It’s fun. I have three guys with me on tour right now. That’s the biggest band I’ve ever taken with me on tour. It’s all new territory on this one.
Stylus: What do you have lined up here for the rest of the summer, after this tour?
MG: I’ve got some festivals coming up on Vancouver Island, some pretty cool little town festivals. Then I’m playing Regina Folk Fest in August. (Sorry, there’s just an ambulance roaring by here.) I’m also going to Toronto later to play this festival called TURF: Toronto Urban Roots Festival. So it’s pretty scattered. We’ll probably reign everything in and come up with a plan for the fall after this tour is done.
Stylus: You’re coming to Winnipeg right away here [June 18 at the Park Theatre]. What’s your connection to the city?
MG: I’m from a small town in Saskatchewan, but I went to a religious boarding school in Dauphin, Manitoba, for high school. I did grade 10, 11, and 12 in Dauphin. At boarding school, we started kind of a punky, screamo, hardcore band [Means]. Basically, we learned how to play. There were some other guys there, and we leaned how to play punk rock together. Some of our first shows were in Winnipeg, in like random church basements and halls.
I definitely have an affinity for Winnipeg, starting out playing shows when I was 17 there. And also the fact that being a prairie person, Winnipeg boasts Propagandhi and Weakerthans, two bands in my Top Five bands I’ve listened to most in my life. There’s definitely a cool cultural thing going in Winnipeg. I have a lot of friends there, and I dig it.
Stylus: You’re also Sled Island on this run. What’s your show look like there?
MG: That’s a cool festival. They have a big outdoor mainstage, where they have the main headline acts. Then it’s essentially a barhop, club hop thing. We’re playing June 20, we’re supporting John K Samson at the Ironwood Grill. I’ll definitely be nervous for that one. I’ve never met him, and I’m a huge fan. Literally: an overweight fan.
Make sure to catch Northcote at the Park Theatre in Winnipeg, Tuesday June 18, or at the Ironwood Grill in Calgary during Sled Island. Both shows are bound to be great.