The Skydiggers

Iconic songwriter Harlan Howard believed that songs exist in the air all around us.

That’s how these new Skydiggers songs began — in the air.

There were no charts given in advance. There were no tunes that were road-tested.

These 14 songs were new.

It began with some off days during a busy November tour, with a revisit to the Tragically Hip’s Bathouse Studio.

This studio, a heritage home transformed into one of the unique recording rooms in the world, is not just part of Skydiggers history, but is also part of our Canadian Music DNA.

Surrounded by trees on three sides, and water on the fourth, it is a setting without distraction. The silence of the vast lake provided the perfect tone for what was to occur.

The creation would begin when each song was first played in the studio’s kitchen by Josh with a guitar and Andy’s voice — many of these songs heard by the larger group for the first time.

After a quick huddle, the musicians would move to their stations. There was little time to think. Most importantly, there was little time to overthink.

What followed was instinct. What unfolded is a magical euphoric reflection of the chemistry that these musicians have developed over years of beautiful nights in the nation’s most beautiful soft seaters and the country’s most gin soaked bar rooms.

Yes, their sound has evolved. The acoustic guitar, harmony guided Skydiggers sound of our youth is still an arrow that is in the band’s quiver, but now there is more.

Led by original band mates Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson, and featuring Noel Webb on drums, Derrick Brady on bass, Jessy Bell Smith on vocals, Aaron Comeau on guitars, and Michael Johnston on keyboards, Dreams & Second Chances reveals these Skydiggers at the peak of their ability - a collective with the intrinsic ability of finish each other’s musical sentences and weave a sound that is uniquely their own.

With 2 songs channeled from the nostalgic imagination of Jessy Bell Smith, 4 songs graced with keyboardist Michael Johnston’s curiosity, and brilliant new additions to the catalogue from Finlayson and Maize, the band’s vast influences are on display as never before.

Over the album’s journey, the band seamlessly moves to wherever each song needs them to. Roots, Rock, R&B and Country, all have a place. In the trust of these musicians, and steered by the guiding hand of engineer Nyles Spencer, each new musical journey is delivered from a place of confidence.

Together, the soundscapes and voices capture the emotions of characters at moments of catharsis — characters travelling to places that reside on the other side of boundaries never before crossed. Characters who navigate the challenges of adulthood and loss in a place where comfort and worry walk side by side. Characters who find comfort in introspection.

These are voices from our lives and imaginations that exist on the roadside of life’s journeys — voices that lift us when we feel the threat of doubt, and encourage us when we are weary.

On ‘I Love You, Too, Maybe…’, writer Maize brings us a meditation of grief, the wonder of the stars, and the never-ending love for one’s child. ‘Walk With the Stars’, penned by Finlayson and Jim Bryson, acknowledges and celebrates their mutual connection to Gord Downie, while the reassuring mantra of ‘Don’t Change A Good Mind’ stems from an expression overhead by Josh while on the road in Woody Point, Newfoundland. ‘All Good All the Time’ allows the band to mark the passing and revisit the joyful life of John Farnsworth, the man the music community knew as ‘Farns’.

As with all of these songs, we are gifted with the knowledge that on the other side of this journey, our spirits will arrive again at that place of hope and optimism that is still fueled by Dreams & Second Chances.

What started as a chance to work on some songs between live shows quickly became something more — an album in the truest sense. A document that captures that rare moment when the right people are in the right room at the right time. The result is a melodic collection where the wisdom of adulthood walks in step with the unbridled spirit and optimism of youth.

Dreams & Second Chances. A time of possibilities. A reminder that our best days are on the road ahead.

FIN