TORONTO — Jim Cuddy says Blue Rodeo is still a live band at heart.

More than 30 years after they started playing bars in downtown Toronto, the singer-songwriter insists that giving audiences a solid show remains his top priority.

“I don’t think we’ve ever lost the work ethic we had when we first started,” he says.

“We still pride ourselves in being a good live band.”

Blue Rodeo will pack up their instruments and hit the road early next year with a run of 29 shows to support their 15th studio album, “1,000 Arms.”

The tour begins in Thunder Bay, Ont., on Jan. 11 before heading west for the rest of the month. They’ll circle back to Toronto in early February before embarking on an eastward leg.

Cuddy, 61, spoke to The Canadian Press about the latest evolution of Blue Rodeo’s sound and what’s next for both the band and his solo career.

 

CP: Blue Rodeo’s latest album “1,000 Arms” arrived back in October, and has been pegged as a return to the early days. What makes this album different from your most recent ones?

Cuddy: First of all, I think the record is more consciously energetic than some of our last few, which have been more vibe-y. And there’s a slightly different way that Greg (Keelor, bandmate and fellow vocalist) and I are singing that harkens back to the way we sang originally.

 

CP: That’s particularly evident in the harmonies you share on a number of the new songs. Those had almost faded away over the years.

Cuddy: Greg had been writing these new-wavey songs. He said, “We should make a record that sounds like late ’70s British pub rock bands — Nick Lowe, Brinsley Schwarz and Elvis Costello.” That was good directive and I started to write songs I thought would fit. And Tim Vesely, our co-producer and the bass player of the Rheostatics, said, “I’ve been listening to your early records and I think you guys should sing like you did.”

 

CP: So Tim convinced you that going back to harmony was the right choice. Was it actually that easy?

Cuddy: That’s interesting because it sort of gets to the nature of Tim Vesely. Tim is a very solid, quiet guy. Like, a truly quiet guy — he might say 20 things during the day. During the making of the Christmas record — the first we did with him — I don’t think he made any suggestions. With (“1,000 Arms”) we were sitting around talking and he (suggested the harmonies). Obviously when a person doesn’t say a lot, the things they do say have a lot of impact.

 

CP: You mentioned your 2014 release “A Merrie Christmas to You,” which was a relatively unconventional country-rock take on the holidays. Why make a Christmas album?

Cuddy: I think a lot of us really admire those unusual Christmas songs. In our household, Robert Earl Keen’s “Merry Christmas from the Family” is one of our theme songs. The idea of contributing to “alternative” Christmas albums was appealing.

 

CP: Some listeners assume Christmas albums are just an easy way for a band to burn off contract obligations with a record label. Was that part of the reason?

Cuddy: I think those days are over. And the quick cash grab is gone too. It’s nice to have a record that can be pulled out every year, as opposed to (an album) having its time and then moving into the catalogue.

 

CP: Blue Rodeo has toured for decades, but has road life changed for you over time? Does it still have a certain significance?

Cuddy: When we first started we were definitely a live band. Nobody thought they were going to get signed in Toronto, 1985. We thought if we can even (play) Hamilton and a gig in Halifax, that was great. Then everything happened (with getting signed). Touring is the way you keep your voice and your guitar skills intact. In order to do it we have to keep writing new songs, that’s our obligation to our audience. If we just toured with our catalogue I don’t think we would last.

 

CP: After Blue Rodeo’s tour what’s next?

Cuddy: I’d like to start writing a solo record. I just simply have to look at a calendar and say, “I’ll block out these four months.” I’ll listen to a lot of new music over the holidays. There’s sort of ones I go back to — I might go back to a Wilco, Hayden or Skydiggers record. Those give me a springboard to start.

 

CP: Are there any other Blue Rodeo plans? Next year marks the 30th anniversary of your debut album “Outskirts.”

Cuddy: There’s things I’d like to do and I’ll propose them to the band in the next month or so. It involves somehow either new music or recasting of music, so we’ll see. It’s still in formation.

 

 

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David Friend, The Canadian Press

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