Originally from Manitoba, Nicole Byblow currently lives in Toronto. She is a recipient of the Fred Sherratt Award (presented annually by CARAS and the Juno Awards) and has shared the stage with C.R. Avery and Juno Award winner Stephen Fearing. She also performed a rendition k.d. Lang's "Constant Craving" during the 2011 Juno Awards Dinner and Gala.
Cendrine Marrouat: Hello Nicole, thank you for answering my questions. First, tell us a little more about you.
Nicole Byblow: Sure. There are two things in my life that I am decent at. One is music, the other is a very fast card game called Slaps. I am not joking or trying to be self-deprecating. That's actually it.
CM: Is there a particular event that triggered your desire to take your music to the next level?
NB: Not really. I do remember one particular time when I realized that everyone I had entered university with (I had since quit) would be graduating with a degree that year, and I kind of had an “Oh shit, I guess I'm really doing this,” moment. But it didn't give me a desire to keep going with it, because I've always had that. It just made me realize that I wasn't a kid anymore and it wasn't a hobby anymore, it had become my career choice.
CM: You released your second album, titled "Nicole Byblow Plays All the White Keys," a few months ago. Would you tell us about it?
NB: It's a six-song EP that my friends and I recorded together at the end of music college. I found myself in the nice position of having a bunch of songs I liked and a bunch of musician friends I respected. Melissa McWilliams played most of the drums and Ben Nixon played most of the bass, but a lot more friends helped out on vocals, extra percussion, and strings. (That's the nice thing about being in a music school; you're surrounded by nothing but talented people.) I didn't even have an idea as to what I wanted to do with the songs, or if they would even turn into anything, I just wanted to do it. So we set aside four days, took breaks for beer and ice cream, and we did it with no pressure or agenda whasoever.
CM: Why did you choose such a title?
NB: I had been hearing a lot of album titles kicking around with the artist's name included in the title, and I thought it was neat. My drummer/roommate and I were standing in the kitchen making up nonsense titles with our names in them and I just said it. It sounded good. I also liked it because it became kind of an homage to vintage 50s, and 60s albums where somebody did something. “Chubby Checker Does the Twist”, “Bill Haley and His Comets Rock Around the Clock”, things like that. I liked the sound of it.
CM: How different is this album compared to your first one?
NB: Very. It's sharper, it's fresher, it's tighter, the songs are better and my playing is better. It has a clearer direction, stylistically it's much more defined. Can any of us really speak to our first try at something? "Unabashed" was an important step for me, but it almost feels like it was just kind of a warm up or practise for "Nicole Byblow Plays All the White Keys."
CM: If you had to choose one song in your repertoire, which one would it be and why?
NB: A favorite song you mean? I'm proudest of "February." It sounds like a song I want to be able to write.
CM: You define your genre as 'indie pop piano'. What is it, exactly?
NB: I read that phrase once as a description for a piano-based pop band called Jukebox the Ghost. I thought it sounded cool, and thought how much I would love it if people called me that. So I just started calling myself that.
CM: You have what I like to call a "smiling" voice, with a tinge of Chantal Kreviazuk in it. Did you receive any formal training?
NB: What a cute description! One lesson in college when I was 25.
CM: Which achievement has made you the most proud so far?
NB: Winning the Fred Sherratt Award, because the nomination came from Selkirk College. I entered that school at the bottom of the ladder, and I worked my ass off.
CM: What is next for you?
NB: Toronto. Being on tour made me realize how much I missed it, and how little I've actually done here. I want to keep touring, but I'm excited to start spreading the album around here.
CM: Where can people find more information on you and your music?
NB: The album is on iTunes, as well as my website. The whole EP also streams on www.soundcloud.com/nicolebyblow, CBC Radio 3, Facebook, and Twitter. All there.
End of the interview.
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Cendrine Marrouat may be contacted for potential interviews, reviews and general enquiries at info@cendrinemarrouat.com. Website: www.cendrinemarrouat.com.
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