Julie Doiron: Road Life And Personal Songs

09/28/07 3:00pm

by Scott Bryson (CHARTattack)

She may be labeled "the singing mom," but don't be fooled into thinking that Polaris nominee Julie Doiron is a homebody. She's about to hit the road with a reunited Eric's Trip, and before that, spent a good chunk of the summer touring Canada and the U.S. in support of her latest disc, Woke Myself Up. ChartAttack caught up with Doiron as she relaxed in a van on her way to a show in Philadelphia.

ChartAttack: Do you get a warm reception from American crowds?
Julie Doiron: We've only played two shows so far but they've been amazing. The reception's been really good. Yeah, we're awesome.

Do you get the feeling that a lot of the people who turn up at your U.S. shows have been following your career for some time?
There's definitely a lot of people who have been following my career for a long time, but there are also a lot of new people who are just coming on with the new record or the record right before. And the Eric's Trip fans are coming out again, finally, so it seems like they've maybe grown up a bit and they're ready to see something else. There were a couple of young dudes out last night who said they were huge Eric's Trip fans, but they seemed pretty young to me, so I don't know when they discovered it.

Are you touring with a backing band right now, or are you going solo?
I do half the show solo and half with musicians. I'm touring with three dudes right now — Will Kidman, Steve Lambke [both of the Constantines] and Dick Morello [Doiron's former bandmate in Shotgun & Jaybird].

Is your family a big influence on your writing these days?
My kids and my family have always had a lot of influence on it. My husband and I separated about a year-and-a-half ago — basically right after the recording of the record, for some reason. They were always a huge influence because I was away so often. I did write a lot of songs about them for a while — about missing people and how I would rather have been with people. I think everything in my life influences me directly, even if it's just walking to the store.

When you're writing your more personal songs, do you ever stop and wonder if you should be revealing these things to the public?
I've often felt like it's a huge mistake to have revealed any of those things and I don't know why I've ended up doing that. For me, when I write songs it's because I really need to do it. I guess maybe the mistake I make is recording anything and letting the public hear it. But people seem to like them, so I guess I'd end up doing it anyway. It's the only kind of songs I know how to write.

Why do you think so many people are able to relate to your music, even though it's very personal?
I don't necessarily describe situations in a specific way. I describe the sentiment and give a general idea about what the situation is, but don't give a lot of details. I think that's how people are able to relate.