Dallas Green: An Introspective Look
Diana Outos

Dallas Green is no stranger to the Canadian music scene. Green, a household name in the indie scene, has experienced success with his band Alexisonfire but now is gaining more attention with his latest project, City and Colour. With “Save Your Scissors” and “The Grace” in heavy rotation on Edge 102 and Much Music, his popularity as a solo artist has soared. The biggest indicator so far was selling out four shows at the Harbourfront Centre during Canadian Music Week. Although the album Sometimes was released late in 2005 by Dine Alone Records (the same label that released his previous work with Alexisonfire), Dallas has been gaining media attention and it doesn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon.

Part of his success may be due to the strong support he’s received by his friends and family throughout this new artistic endeavour. His other band mates have shown their support at the first Harborfront Centre show: “It was great, it was really fun. Wade from Alexisonfire, (my band) he opened, it was cool. My sister, my friends were here, my brother-in-law…” Two of Green’s cousins lent a hand at the show, one played accompaniment on keyboard while another flew in from Vancouver and shot photography. George Petit of Alexisonfire also made an appearance at Friday night’s show.

With new sound comes new venues. The acoustics and atmosphere of the locales being played this time around are a stark contrast to the usual rock club. “Well with Alexis we play really big clubs. Mostly rock clubs, this is a whole different thing. This is just me being a goof on stage. Yeah it’s a lot quieter.” The ambiance of the locations is much more intimate and the fans much better behaved, but rest assured a few “I want to have your babies” were still yelled out by die hard Dallas fans in the crowd. Green takes this all in good stride, telling the crowd: “well I know you all want to have my children, but really, something would have to happen first.”

There has been some cross over between the Alexis fans and the Green fans. Although the hardcore punk purists may turn their noses up to the somewhat more emo-ish digression from the hard and heavy hooks of Alexis, the response has still been good, exposing fans to a genre they might not normally listen to. Still Green’s toughest critic is himself: “I don’t think there’s a lot of pressure from people as there is myself to keep doing well and getting better. I can usually pick apart something every night in a set that I didn’t do well. It will never be like ‘oh that was great’. I put pressure on myself all the time to be good all the time or try to at least.”

This departure of a more folky acoustic sound is a sign of more experimentation but Green still remains passionate about his work with Alexis, as their next release nears completion. “I love being in Alexisonfire, I love being in a rock band but I also like this kind of music a lot too. A lot of people wonder why I’m doing this, am I trying to distance my self as far away from heavy music. But that’s not what it is, I really just like music.”

The release of City and Colour has not been his only musical endeavour this past year. The rising popularity of the Never Ending White Lights has boosted awareness not only of his vocal talents but that of writer/producer Daniel Victor. In addition to recording “The Grace”, Green has also worked on additional songs for NEWL that may be released as bonus tracks in the future. Working with Victor was a positive experience for Green and in fact a number of songs on Sometimes were laid down at Victor’s home. “It was great. We got along really well. We work hard and we both like the same kind of music so we kind of bonded over that. But I recorded a bunch of the songs that were on this record in his house and I did that song for him. But it was cool. It was a completely different thing, to just have to go in and sing someone else’s song with out a lot of pressure. It was very cool.”

When you pick up the cover of Sometimes the first thing you notice is the tattoo-like art work by artist Scott McEwan. Although the tattoo drawings on the cover are not copies of ones Green currently has, he still may decide to have some of them inked at a later point in time. Tattoos work as an excellent metaphor for Green. Not only does he don inked sleeves, but tattoos like his music, are an art form that is created through experiencing pain, but the result is one of absolute beauty.

“The best music for me is sad music. The reason is that most people turn to music is to sort of make them happy. I love music to sort of escape to. And when you hear music that’s sort of sad you can identify with it and it lets you know that you’re not the only one who’s feeling bad. A lot of those songs are written on some of the experiences I’ve been through and stuff and that’s just how I deal with it. I just write songs when I’m bummed out and I feel happier. It’s a good analogy.” Melancholy and minor, Sometimes takes its listener through an emotional journey of pain, love and everything in between.

Rest assured City and Colour and Alexisonfire will not be the only musical channels you will see Green through. He still maintains a diverse musical repertoire from alternative to R&B. He is ready to work with just about any artist out there that’s willing to give him a chance: “I wish Jeff Buckley was still alive so I could meet him and tell him that I really like his records, but as far as collaborating, I’d love to sing with Image and Heat — she’s really really great, and I’m going to try to do some stuff with my friend Jully Black who’s awesome. And basically anyone who thinks what I’m doing is good and wants me to do something, I’d be willing to do it.”

He would even work with the material girl herself: “Madonna? Sure, sure if she asked me to sing, I’d be more than happy to sing with her. But I think that’s it, if people respect me enough that they would want me I’d be honoured to do something with them.”

Although his musical tastes may be diverse, Green still remains true to his roots and waves the Canadian flag. “That song, I wrote, “Coming Home”. I talked about Canada a lot in it and I love being Canadian and I love Canada and when I grew up a lot of the music I listened to was Canadian bands. And a lot of that became a big part of who I am.”

What’s next for Green? The pending release of Alexis’ next album, along with a tour.

Though he’s dabbled in a wide range of musical endeavours, fans shouldn’t hold their breath, expecting forays into any other entertainment mediums: “Oh no I don’t see myself doing anything else other than music. Music is what truly makes me happy.”