Jason Benoit is somewhat of a an anomaly today he has 4 charting singles at radio and yet no full length albums to follow up. We talked about that and a whole lot more while he was pulling into Thunder Bay the other day to play the 2nd date of the Get A Little Crazy tour with Tim Hicks and Sony Music Canada label mates Cold Creek County. I personally had been following Jason for the last I would say 2 years or so. He had posted something on Facebook and we had a short dialogue at that time and I have been watching as things have just exploded for him on the Canadian Country music scene. Here is our chat. Corey: Jason, thanks so much for doing this. We want to start of by congratulating you on all the success to date.
Jason: Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
Corey: Lets kick things off with maybe the 2nd single you released to country radio Crazy Kinda of Love and the success that it had and how it kind pushed you.
Jason: Ya, the 2nd single Crazy Kind of Love went to #29 on the Country Billboard charts here in Canada. I didn’t really expect that mainly because when you’re a brand new artist you can only hope to get into the Top 40 on that first single and I was really blessed and really happy with how that all went.
Corey: Then came your 2nd single Gone Long Gone can you tell us how that one kind of got put together?
Jason: Ya, that one I wrote the song myself back home in Newfoundland and I really wanted to put together a resume of what somebody from the country would be lookin’ for in a mate if you were lookin’ for love. I kinda had an idea one day, I was actually writing a post on twitter and it was actually the first lines of that song. I looked at and thought geez there could be a song there. So I actually just kept going with it and ended up writing the whole song. It caught me completely by surprise and sometimes that happens when you write and when it does it’s really awesome.
Corey: Ok, so like you said the inspiration came from a tweet how long did that song take to get from being tweet to a song to recorded?
Jason: It was probably only eight months on that one. When Sony heard it and my manager Jensen heard it they both thought it would be a great follow up single and we ended up releasing that one.
Corey: And now you are currently promoting Cold Day Coming your 3rd single to date. We have to be thinking about an album at this point or at least an EP.
Jason: (laughing) Definitely we are actually working on an album right now with the release date set for early 2016. We are hoping for a March / April release on that. We don’t have an exact date yet but we do know that is the time frame we are releasing it.
Corey: With the success of the first singles it has gifted you some pretty great opportunities one being hitting the road on the Get A Little Crazy tour with Tim Hicks and Cold Creek County maybe tell us what it’s like to hit the road with this calibre of talent for a cross Canada tour?
Tim Hicks Get A Little Crazy Tour 2015
Jason: Awww, man it’s amazing. I mean coming from a small town in Newfoundland and I still live in a town of about 200 people. So to get out and play all these shows with Tim and Cold Creek it’s just a dream come true for me. There are more people at these shows then there are in my hometown (laughing) but its true. It’ very very surreal to me, I have to pinch myself all the time.
Corey: So you just kicked things off in the Soo last night how did it feel stepping out on stage knowing you are going to do this for a month solid in a whole bunch of places you have never been before?
Jason: Well, I have some experience doing big shows. I did Cavendish Beach Music Festival this past summer and I performed all weekend and that’s what really threw me into performing in front of the big audiences. So I kinda knew what to expect on the first stop in Sault Ste. Marie. But you know when you have that many people in front of you and they are all singing along and cheering and really into it you can’t help but just get into that vibe. It’s so exhilarating and a real rush. You know, some people like to jump out of airplanes. Well, I like to sing in front of thousands of people (Laughs). But being on tour is a brand new experience, especially this size of a tour. You just have to take it day by day and take each show as it’s your first. There is a rhythm you have to get into as well. There is a lot of traveling and preparation, you really have to take care of yourself on the road and make sure you don’t drink to much and that stuff. It’s defiantly a lot bigger than anything i have done before and from that point it is very exciting to have this type of experience. Especially with the likes of such great talent like Tim Hicks and Cold Creek County. We actually first got to meet out in Halifax at the CCMA’s and had a chance to get together for dinner a couple of times with the guys from Cold Creek and they are such great guys and the same with Tim Hicks he is so down to earth and I really am so lucky and it’s definitely a blessing.
Corey: Let’s maybe talk a bit about Social Media and how a guy from Newfoundland can post a video on YouTube and get music out faster than it was ever done before. What does Social Media mean to you and how do you think its helped you?
Jason: Wow, ya Social Media really is everything today in the music industry. That’s really how my manager found me. If I hadn’t been posting videos of my original songs on youtube I honestly can say I don’t think I would be where I am today. It is one of the best mediums you can use right now. Posting videos on YouTube and Facebook can help build a fan base and allows you to get your music out there with so many platforms like SnapChat and Instagram you really have to know what’s going on and be up to date on that stuff. Because the more you pay attention to that type of stuff the more fans you earn.
Corey: Jason, buddy thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us and good luck on the rest of the Get A Little Crazy Tour.
Jason: Thanks so much for doing this. Can’t wait to see you on the road.
We want to thank Jason and Sony Music Canada for getting this interview all set up.
Corey Kelly / @CoreyKelly76
Follow Jason Beniot on the following Social Media outlets
TWITTER – FACEBOOK – INSTAGRAM
