In a live setting, Emilie Steele & The Deal are about as infectiously buoyant and entertaining as you could hope for. The talented and uniquely timeless sounding trio has been a fixture on the Kingston, Ontario scene since forming in 2017, building a reputation as not only a fun band onstage, but for creating a compelling blend of music styles and developing unique sonic compositions that at once hearken back to bygone times, but which are infused with modern sensibilities and a stylish aesthetic.
Steele was born in Guelph, Ontario and came to Kingston in 2005 to study Phys Ed at Queen’s University. She soon became intrigued and enamoured with the local scene in the city, and started going to open mics and attending shows at the plethora of music venues in the community that has produced the likes of The Tragically Hip, Moist, Hugh Dillon of The Headstones, Sarah Harmer, The Glorious Sons and many more.
After working a few different jobs after graduation, Steele drifted back to Kingston and soon became an integral part of that scene. After working with a few other musicians in various configurations, she found kindred musical spirits in baritone guitarist Jack Lockridge and drummer Jon Irwin to create Emilie Steele & The Deal in 2017. Each member of the trio brings their own varied influences into the creative mix, which is bound together as a unified whole by the band’s catchy melodies and Steele’s exceptional and emotive vocals.
“I think this EP really does represent where we are right now as a band. I call it a grab bag of six songs, because I find that the influences that me and my bandmates have all been affected by really shine through from one song to the next. There could be a country song and then there’s a folk song, and after that more of a punk rock song. I call it a grab bag of catchy tunes and lush tones. We’re a bit of folk rock, with a bit of artsy retro rock going on, a bit of indie rock and a bit of country,” said Steele.
“I bring mostly a folk/country influence for sure; most of my songs before recently were started on acoustic guitar and very basic verse/chorus at the beginning. That’s just how I approached songwriting. But working with the band, it’s definitely evolved and help me explore more of my guitar skills and learning more about theory, because I was never trained, I have always just sort of winged it.
“Jack brings a lot to our sound as well because of his playing. He comes up effortlessly with these catchy little hooks, he can find that right groove on what I am doing, and he just complements it and elevates it and his tone adds a real retro vibe to the songs as well. A lot of people suggest we should get a bass and let Jack do lead guitar and that would maybe be something that comes in the future, but we have a really solid dynamic right now with just the three of us. That baritone guitar sound is so unique to us and Jon’s drumming as well definitely helps to guide the groove of the song. I always seem to slow it down when I first approach a song, but Jon is really good at finding the right tempo and is always up for playing around with the tempo to make sure it fits the music.”
Much of the material for the EP was penned primarily by Steele, with some of it pre-existing the band. Even before coming to Kingston, she was already a devotee of Kingston’s Sarah Harmer, who continues to be a major influence, especially other women singer/songwriters.
“Right around the time I was picking up the guitar in high school was when Sarah Harmer’s album You Are Here came out, and I pretty much learned the guitar by learning that album. I look up the guitar tabs and I got familiar enough with the melodies and the lyrics. So, she was foundational to how I learned melody and songwriting in general and I continue to be inspired by her. She sings about the environment a lot, which is something I also try to connect with as an important aspect to me. I derive great joy from my time out in nature, so that is an important subject to me,” Steele said, adding the likes of Feist, Emily Haines, Arcade Fire and country legends such as Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris as other artists that help shaped her as a musician and songwriter.
“Usually melody comes first, and I find I derive most of my writing out of the subconscious. I have been writing differently of late because I am working closely with the band. For the EP, these were all songs that I had written previously and then brought them to the band. But now it’s more collaborative and things are happening simultaneously, where Jon or Jack may start a song and then I will come in and tap into that subconscious to find a melody to go along with their initial idea, trying to find something that rings true, I guess.
“I write about the people I interact with during my days, and what’s going on in my life. But I have also been trying to do story songs, working from a fictitious place where you can just create something totally original. That said, most of the songs that I find really strike a nerve with people are the most honest, real songs, the more self-revealing, vulnerable songs, ones that maybe show a little bit of heartache or a little of that human connection we all have”
Hard to Hold is one such song, that is sort of a coming age story involved first love and first heartbreak.
“I wrote that song about four years ago, and it’s a reflection of my late teen years. It’s the Catcher In the Rye of my collection right now, a bit of a coming of age song. It’s the first real deal where there’s going to be heartbreak and strong emotion and all that comes with it, that there’s going to be twists and turns and tragedies that are going to happen, it’s when reality starts to kick in. For some people, it happens a lot earlier and they’re like, ‘oh, so this is life.’ It’s not going to be a breeze and it’s going to have its challenges. For me, when you go through stuff like that, you come out a little stronger and more emotionally grounded in reality and you know who you are and you understand better what makes you happy,” Steele explained, adding that Spring Song is more of an ode to the season of renewal, and more importantly of the end of winter.
“I live over on Wolfe Island, and where we live there’s a cistern that collects water because we don’t have any municipal water on our road, unfortunately. It was a particularly f***ing cold winter in 2016, let me tell you, and the cistern was really low, and we kept having to order water, so you’re just trying to get through it. And it was the day that spring broke and it was the first drops of water into the cistern. I wrote the song fast; it took about 15 minutes.”
Steele, like her idol and inspiration Sarah Harmer, isn’t afraid to get a little political, which she does aptly on the song Hollow Man.
“I wrote the original version of it when Obama got re-elected [in 2012] and then when this current president came in, I felt reinvigorated, I just felt like, wow the bottom of the seas are stirred up again, and I remembered this older song, so I tackled the chorus in that one, which definitely talks about the Cambridge Analytica controversy and the situation where social media was used as a tool and targeted to influence people’s thinking and voting. So, yeah, it’s a political song and am trying to shake it up a bit. It’s got a little bite to it,” she explained.
“With that song, I definitely put a little more time into it because I rewrote parts of it and tuned it up. There are sometimes when I really hem and haw and struggle with lyrics. Other times I kind of surrender to them. I feel that maybe this isn’t saying something important enough or is it what I should be standing for, but at times, it’s just another piece of me and it has its part in the collection. I kind of let it flow naturally, and I find that often good wordplay comes naturally, and when it feels right, you can kind of trust that.”
Steele feels that she has been fortunate to find her musical home in the Kingston community. It’s provided her with her exceptionally talented bandmates, and also been a source of support, encouragement and experience. It is little wonder that the community continues to produce bands of quality and diversity, from blues goddess Miss Emily to the punk potency of The Meringues and many more. Emilie Steele & The Deal are undoubtedly part of this new vanguard of quality songcraft from the Limestone City.
“Kingston is just so inspiring. When I go out, and I go out to a lot of live music events, and I see my peers getting better, making awesome music, building an audience and killing it. And you can watch people grow and it allows you to stay on your path and you realize that it’s possible, it’s attainable. You have a lot of self doubt along the way, as we all do, but I have been finding this community has always got my back. I am getting a lot of positive reinforcement, and it’s so great and validating,” she explained.
For more information on Emilie Steele & The Deal, including upcoming shows, visit https://www.emiliesteelethedeal.com, or https://www.facebook.com/emiliesteelethedeal.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
