We had a chance to chat with Tebey earlier this week while he was preparing to put his new single #WhenTheBuzzWearsOff off to radio this Monday (April 6th in Canada). It was great to catch up with such an incredible Canadian talent and to see what 2015 has in store for him.
Corey: So the last 12 months has been pretty good for Tebey, maybe tell us a bit about how the ride has been?
Tebey: Ya, it’s been a good 12 months for us. We are taking it one single at a time, it’s kind of been a consistent climb and that’s fine with me. I would rather have a long career that takes some time to get going. I call it the Dierks Bentley effect. But ya man, we’re doin’ great and we are happy where we are at.
Corey: So, we know you’re working on new music because the newsingleWhen The Buzz Wears Off drops on Monday April 6th to Canadian Radio. Can you tell us how the album is coming along?
Tebey: Well, really we have just been taking our time with it. It has been about 6 months since we had something on the radio and that’s fine with me. I just wanted to make sure we come with something super strong. And re-visit the sound a little bit and maybe tweak things a smidge. At the end of the day it’s about writing or finding the best song possible. It’s not a race, I just want to have the best quality of music I can put out there. I am really excited to come out with this new single When The Buzz Wears Off and try and finish up this album.
Corey: So are you leaning towards an EP later this year and possibly a full album in 2016?
Tebey: Ya, I think so. I really like what Dallas Smith did with the TIppn’ Point EP putting 5 songs out with maybe an acoustic version of a previous hit. I think a blue grass version of the Wake Me Up might be kinda cool. So that’s something we are working on then aiming for a full album towards the end of the year.
Corey: Your most recent video Now I Do was shot last summer out at Cavendish Beach Festival. What was that experience like shooting a video with such a big crowd and family there?
Tebey: It was great, we knew we wanted to do a live video for that song. We looked at our tour dates on the schedule and I had heard that Cavendish was a pretty crazy festival and it was going to be a good crowd for us. So we ended up just shooting the video out East and it was really great for me for exposure. And it was also great for the festival, because I must get 20 messages a day when people watch the video and they say “Just watched the Now I Do video and am I so excited for Cavendish”. So I am really happy we were able to shoot out there and the crowd really was fantastic. There was something like 20,000 people. And having my daughter and my wife in the video was great. We also just had a new baby boy about a month ago. But it was great to have them in the video, and its shows like that, that we get to make it more of a family holiday and we traveled out to PEI and enjoyed it as a family.
Corey: So you have been doing this little thing called TebeyTV for the last couple months. I know a lot of artists are doing something similar. What was the idea behind what you were trying to achieve with yours and what do you have planned for future episodes?
Tebey: TebeyTV was started to really just take people behind the scenes at shows, radio visits, festivals and photo shoots and all that good stuff. I think fans love to see that kind of thing and it’s not just seeing an artist on stage at a festival or in a music videos. I started doing it because I started watching other artist’s webisodes like Luke Bryan and Cole Swindel. I thought it was kind of cool what they were doing. So we just tried to replicate what they were doing to a similar level. I am looking forward to the future episodes where we have the recent photoshoot and a video shoot that we are doing in Vegas. So just stuff like that but it’s really cool to watch the viewership grow.
Corey: So, let’s change gears a bit and get into what I would call the meat of the conversation. You’re an outstanding song writer and have worked with some pretty heavy hitters in the music world. The new album / EP is coming soon who did you write with while putting this one together?
Tebey: Well, I really keep a close knit group of friends that I like writing with. If I am to be honest I am not the easiest person to write with. I am really hard on myself and on my cowriters as well because I really want to push us to write the best song possible. I am definitely a re-writer, I like to go back in and make fixes and tweaks. The writing process for me really is hit or miss. I can have great days where it kind of just goes really well. But, then I can have those days where I just know it’s not happening and I just turn to the boys and just call it. It ain’t happening. Those are the days you end up heading to the bar. So, really like I said song writing is hit or miss for me. The hardest part when you’re trying to make a new record and your trying to grow the sound and experiment a little bit. That’s the hardest part because you don’t know where it’s going to land. So you end up writing a bunch of stuff and try and figure out what feels right. I also really enjoy working with my good buddy Danick Dupelle of Emerson Drive. Danick really is my best friend and co-producer and we write a bunch together. I wrote the new singlewith Kelly Archer who is fellow Canadian who has been down in Nashville for many years already. She has songs recorded by Jason Aldean and Dustin Lynch and people like that. So, I have been working a bunch with Kelly and wrote the new single but I am all over the place and writing with a bunch of people that I normally write with.
tebey-cne-2014-august-23-2014 – photo by Trish Cassling
Corey: So that’s music you’re writing for your new album. What about stuff your writing for other artists? Is there anyone you’re working with now that you’re planning on going to a specific artist?
Tebey: Not really, I have really tried to turn the page a bit recently. 9 times out of 10 when you try and write a song for an artist that isn’t in the room it typically doesn’t go to them. I didn’t even really write those One Direction songs for those guys. They were written for another boy band in the UK and somehow One Direction got a hold of them and recorded them. But the process of writing for other people is a lot different than writing for myself. There is a big difference in writing a pop song compared to writing a country song that’s for sure. It’s just a completely different process in the pop world its more about the melody and getting that catch phrase but in the country world its more about the lyrical content typically but we seem to have gotten away from that a bit recently.
Corey: Funny you say that, Country music has changed or evolved is a better word over the last 5-10 years with the likes of Sam Hunt writing more Pop-centric country songs. Is that kind of where you’re trying to get to with your new stuff or staying a bit more on the traditional side of things?
Tebey: I think I am all over the map. If you listen to the records, I have music that leans more to the Keith Urban sound but then other songs are leaning towards I wouldn’t say traditional sound but maybe a has a bit more lyrical content. I just have to do what I do. I have to write the songs and record the songs I love. Wake Me Up, I didn’t write it but even that was a huge risk. That was such a big pop song. I had a lot of people tell me that I shouldn’t do it. There were a bunch of folks at radio and in the industry that were worried about it. But I just follow my gut and just go with it and I think that’s why I’ve done it. Sam Hunt should be commended, his stuff isn’t melodically super country however he has to be one of the best lyricist I have heard in a very long time. The lyrics are just absolutely incredible it’s like Kacey Musgraves level of lyric writing.
Corey: Taking what you have done with your new music and then hitting the road this summer to perform some of the new songs maybe tell us how the new music will affect your live show?
Tebey – Cavendish 2014
Tebey: That’s something I have been really conscious of over the last 6 months of putting this album together. I really want to bring a little more energy. That’s why I admire guys like Dallas, Dallas’s show is absolutely fantastic. We are two completely different artists and he rocks a lot harder than I do. But we want to maybe add a bit more up tempo stuff and turn the velocity up a bit in this year’s show. And my band we are with each other day in and day out every show we play we are just getting stronger and stronger. We are looking forward to hitting the road this fall with a Co-Headlining show with a US act across Canada. So that’s pretty exciting to.
Corey: That’s great to hear, we are looking forward to that. It’s nice to hear you’re pairing up with a US act to tour Canada similar to what Dallas Smith did as well with Sundy Best and Charlie Worsham.
Tebey: It’s good to go out with an American act across the country and build a larger fan base. It’s great to go out and play for people who may not know you, but when you break it a song they go… Oh ya, they sing this song. So we are excited to hit the road this fall on 25 dates across Canada.
Corey: So the Festival season is upon us can you let us in on some of your planned dates this summer? I do know one that isn’t public yet but was able to put two and two together from one of your tweets last month.
Tebey: (Laughing) You are right on that one. But really this summer we don’t have a pile of shows because of our fall tour plans. But we do have some dates. June 16th we are at the Red River Ex in Winnipeg. Then we have a few other dates out west one being Rockin’ River Fest where I am a direct support on that one with Lady Antebellum on July 31st. I know those guys and have written with before so that should be fun out there.
Corey: What are you currently listening?
Tebey: You know I get asked that and never have an answer… I can tell you, I am not listening to myself that is for sure. Once I am done with the album I am done with it I don’t listen.
Corey: I don’t normally go out on a limb here but I know you live in Nashville and have likely seen a pile of shows who would you say was your favorite performance?
Tebey: That’s a big questions I know but I would have to say Dierks Bentley, that show he put on at Boots and Hearts a couple years back was pretty good. Don’t know if you saw that or not but that was up there. He just knows how to break it down. When to play a song and when to interact with the audience. And the really cool thing about him is he is so personable that’s what I love about him so much. I had some friends over the other night and I was talking to my friend Slim who plays with Lady A, and they were on a flight somewhere and Lady A and a bunch of other artists were up in 1st class while Dierks sat back in Coach with everyone else. But that’s just the type of guy he is. Such an awesome dude so ya I would have to go with Dierks on this one.
Corey: Tebey, Thanks so much for doing this with us. We are really excited to hear who your hitting the road with this fall and hope to see you at a few shows this summer.
Corey Kelly / @CoreyKelly76
If you’re looking for more information on Tebey you can find it here:
Website: www.tebeymusic.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/tebey
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Tebey
