Canadian Country recording artist Justin Fancy, from Conception Bay South, Newfoundland, released his second single Laid Back Kinda Night on Oct. 7 from his forthcoming sophomore studio album due out in the Spring of 2023.
Music Life Magazine recently caught up with Fancy to talk about the new single, his new album, and more.
Congratulations on the release of your new single, “Laid Back Kinda Night”. What can you tell us about the song and what inspired you to write it?
Hey! Thanks so much! I had been thinking about what style of song I hadn’t released yet and was looking to write a summertime, in-the-moment kind of song, and “Laid Back Kinda Night” was born. I remember boating on Conception Bay, where I do a lot of soul-searching and spend most of my days relaxing, and that hook just came to me which is now the title of the song. It’s about living in the moment carefree just taking it all in for the night not worrying about tomorrow.
“Laid Back Kinda Night” is the second single off your forthcoming album, due to be released in the Spring of 2023. What can you tell us about the new album? How many songs will be on it and did you write all the songs or co-write with anyone? Who else worked on the album with you as far as writing or producing?
We’re having so much fun recording this one. It’s a little outside of what “Sure Beats a Good Time” was, I feel I’ve grown substantially as a songwriter and producer in the same breath. Working with Clint Curtis, my co-producer from Springdale, Newfoundland has been nothing short of a dream and I believe we’ve grown so much since releasing the album over the pandemic in 2020. I am still arranging the song list for the album, but I’m suspecting it will have no less than 7 tracks that will be either fully written and arranged by me or co-written with some amazing songwriters. We’re currently about 50% complete and can’t wait to share it with the world!
What are your plans from now until the album is released? Any plans to release follow-up singles?
I really want to tour. I think it’s the only thing I’ve missed since launching a country music career back in 2020. I couldn’t tour during the pandemic but I’m ready now, more ready than I’ve ever been. We will certainly ride this album out and try and release as many singles as possible from the record, seems like it’s the way to do it these days. Gone are the days when you drop a CD off to the radio station and ask them to pick a song. I think we will have several songs off this record that will be radio-ready and we’ll make those decisions as they come!
Your debut album, Sure Beats A Good Time, came out during the pandemic in September 2020. As someone who was starting out in Country music with a debut record, what challenges (or advantages), if any, did you face trying to get your name and music out there since you weren’t able to tour or do in-person performances?
There were so many challenges when this all began. I released “Long Time Comin’” in January 2020 and I remember the pandemic hitting hard in April of that year, just before releasing “Think About You”, my second single. I knew there were big-time challenges ahead, but I decided that now was my time and that I had a plan and I was going to execute it. On a positive note, the pandemic allowed me to meet a lot of industry folks that I otherwise wouldn’t have the regular opportunity to do over a Skype or Zoom call. Traditionally, you’d book a radio tour and travel across the country to meet them, but with the pandemic, technology really changed the ways we communicated traditionally. I was able to schedule a lot of time with Music Directors right across Canada and introduce myself to them. The biggest challenge for me was not being able to travel and tour the first record. That was hard for me because I had the band to do it and we were itching to play live. I’m hoping now, post-pandemic that I can dig into touring this second album and make some new fans.
Once things opened up again and you were able to play in-person shows, were you able to get out much to play and promote Sure Beats A Good Time before you started working on your new album? What was your schedule like once things opened up again?
Yes, of course, but mostly restricted to local/provincial shows. Scheduling a tour once things started opening up again was just too risky but we were able to play several ticketed shows in the St. John’s area that went over very well and most were sold out. We’ve performed at the George Street Festival two years in a row and got to open for The Reklaws and Brett Kissel which was a real treat. I also traveled to Boots & Hearts this year as a top 8 finalist in the Emerging Artist Showcase, which was also a real eye-opener for me. I’m hoping to turn up the jets in 2023 and tour the new album and I’m so excited to do that.
Is there anything you did differently for the new album than what you did on the first album as far as writing,
recording, etc?
Yes, absolutely. Well, to start, my debut album was recorded 100% remotely with my producer, Clint Curtis, who lives about a 7-hour drive away. With the pandemic, we agreed we would do this thing remotely through Facebook messenger and emails and we couldn’t be happier with the results considering the challenges it introduced to us. This time around, I’ve finally met Clint in person and have been spending a lot of time with him chatting about the arrangements. My songwriting approach has stayed the same, however, I’ve started co-writing which is something completely new for me and I’m enjoying it! Getting someone else’s perspective on a song is always a benefit!
How long have you been in music and was it always Country music?
I started playing guitar and singing when I was 13 years old. I’ve been a country music fan for as long as I can remember. My relatives gave me an old songbook that had just about every country classic in it that I learned from start to finish. It must have had 300 songs in it. Everything from Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, and George Jones, to the Eagles. I was drawn to the crying of a steel guitar and it’s something that made me love country music. That, and seeing the look on people’s faces when you start in on an old favorite. To me, the fact that I was able to make some smile and sing with a guitar, it’s something I cherish to this day.
Who are some of your musical influences?
Merle, Waylon, Willie, George, more modernly in Alan Jackson and Brooks & Dunn, Keith Whitley, Randy Travis, and the list goes on. These voices were and still are the best in country music and I really learned my craft through these artists playing back their songs to audiences big and small throughout the years.
You’re the winner of the 2022 East Coast Music Award for Fan’s Choice Entertainer of the Year and you are nominated for MusicNL’s Fan’s Choice Entertainer of the Year, to be handed out at the end of this month. Do these recognitions mean much to you or have any influence on what you do?
Absolutely! To receive a Fans Choice award is always exciting and a very special one for me receive. It tells me folks are not only listening to my music but enjoying what I’m doing as an artist, and there is no greater joy for an artist. Getting any recognition at all for doing what you love is just so special, it’s hard to put it into words but it never gets old. Thank you to all my fans that continue to support me and my career.
Once your second record comes out next year, what plans do you have as far as touring? Is there anything in the works for a cross-Canada tour and beyond?
Yes, for sure! As I said earlier I’m itching to get out on the road. Ideally, I’ll land a direct support slot on a national tour, but in the meantime, my team and I are working on booking dates for Spring and Summer 2023 – we’ll go east to west hitting every province we can!
“Laid Back Kinda Night” is released on Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. What are you most thankful for?
I continue to be thankful and blessed to be able to do what I love, which is writing and releasing music. It’s a passion that has been with me ever since I can remember, but I can’t do that without the support from my family who I love dearly. Without them, this would still be a pipe dream.
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