David Usher: New York City Boy

04/19/07 6:00pm

by Shannon Whibbs (CHARTattack)

David Usher is something of a citizen of the world. He was born in England and has lived in Thailand, Malaysia and, of course, Canada. There's also all that time he's spent on tour over the years since Moist broke onto the scene in the '90s.

For this reason, it's not surprising that he's put roots down in yet another country: New York City. That's no typo. Face it, New York might as well be its own country. Usher has been living there for three years, and the place is in his blood.

The singer/songwriter's latest album, the bombastic and soaring Strange Birds, was conceived in the Big Apple, with most of the lyrics inspired by day-to-day living on the lower east side.

"A lot of it is based on my neighbourhood," Usher says. "There's old-school New Yorkers in my neighbourhood, people who've lived here for 50 years.

"And then it's an influx of, like, you can't walk down the street without hearing five different languages. There are the stockbrokers, the homeless, the models, the new Russian models. There's such a crazy melee of people down here. It's very inspiring."

Usher's Toronto-based band travelled to New York to help compose the music to go along with the lyrics. With rehearsal spaces being scarce, they played in Usher's apartment.

"Funny enough, in New York, who would think that you'd be allowed to rehearse with a drum kit and a full band in your apartment?," Usher asks. "For some reason in my apartment, you can.

"I don't know why. The neighbours are very nice people there and they're all very supportive."

Supportive, indeed. And they say that Canadians are overly accommodating.

Usher seems to have settled in nicely, but can a person feel like a real New Yorker after only three years?

"At times I feel right at home, and a lot of the time I feel like a little Canadian boy who's on a day pass," Usher admits. "I have my neighbourhood and my friends and I do feel quite at home in my neighbourhood, for sure.

"It's a big city and it's constantly changing and moving. I am the ultimate city boy, so, for me, it's comforting. I like being sort of lost in things."

Usher talks like a true ex-pat: a person who's left their native land for experiences elsewhere, but, in their heart and soul, have never fully assimilated into the new surroundings. It's always observing from the outside with the aura of otherness.

"There's a bit of desperation to America, I find, because it's probably got the biggest ego," Usher muses. "There are no safety nets here and everyone has to, if you don't make it, you know exactly where you're going.

"There is that aspect that makes it a bit more intense, I think. The sheer size of it has a bit of intensity to it, for sure."

If Usher has taken on New York to challenge himself, it's safe to say that he's succeeding. Strange Birds is an album to be proud of, and it has come out of what Usher describes as one of his most prolific periods of creativity. However, he's always welcome back home, and he knows that. Maybe that's his safety net after all.

Here are Usher's Canadian tour dates:

April 19 Trois-Rivieres, QC @ Le Maquisart
April 20 St-Felicien, QC @ Hotel Du Jardin
April 21 Chicoutimi, QC @ Transit
April 25 Quebec City, QC @ Le Dagobert
April 26 Sherbrooke, QC @ Bar Le Magog
April 27 Tring-Junction, QC @ Hotel National
April 28 St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, QC @ Metric Bar