Two years ago I was at a Lee Aaron concert at The Rockpile in Mississauga, Ontario. One of the opening acts that night was 15 year old singer/guitarist Lyric Dubee. I had never heard of Lyric Dubee but after that night I never forgot him.
His music is described as “a soulful blend of pop/rock with an infusion of blues/jazz”. Dubee captivated many new fans that night. Watching Dubee was a delight and I was sure this wouldn’t be the last we heard from this young and talented musician. Afterall, he had already released two albums at this point – Broken Dreams at the age of 12 and Alive at age 14 – both written entirely by Dubee. And this young kid was just getting started!
The last two years have been busy for Dubee who continued writing and co-writing new material and playing shows. The result is not one but TWO albums – Combat of Love and Black Ice – both being officially released on September 19, 2015 in his hometown of Barrie, Ontario at the Moving Art Center. Dubee will be joined by bandmates Bobby Rosson, Steve Costello and Hunter Craig.
I caught up with Dubee to find out more about him, what he’s been up to and what he has planned for the rest of this year. Here is my interview with the one and only, Lyric Dubee:
JOEL – Thank you for taking the time to do this interview. When did you get into music? Do you have any siblings? Is anyone else in your family a musician?
LYRIC – I started guitar lessons at age nine and I am an only child. My parents love music but do not play any musical instruments or sing (other than to the radio!)
JOEL – You released your first album, Broken Dreams, at age 12. Did you know at that point you wanted to have a career in music?
LYRIC – I didn’t realize that I wanted this as a career until my second album. That’s when I really started thinking about it seriously. The first CD was really just a keepsake of the songs I had written so I could listen to them later in life and show my children.
JOEL – Your parents, Ordell and Tamara Dubee, seem very involved with what you do. How involved are they and how much support do they give you?
LYRIC – They are completely involved with the business side of things and always give me 100% of their support! They warned me
that the road to becoming a musician wasn’t an easy one and that there will be times of hardship. When I said that I still wanted to pursue it they backed me up and here I am today!
JOEL – On September 19th you’re having a CD release party not for one but two CD’s! Black Ice and Combat of Love are both being released simultaneously. How come you decided to release two at once?
LYRIC – I completed my third album (Black Ice) and started releasing singles – three in total. The first single, Black Ice, caught the attention of my current manager (Robert Knight). He put me in contact with Grammy Award Winning Producer Warren Huart (Aerosmith, The Fray, James Blunt, Korn, Hot Hot Heat, Daniel Powter) to record my fourth album. They put the release of my third album on hold as my fourth album took a different direction. My true fans wanted to hear the unreleased 3rd album and kept asking about it. I believe that it is a great album and needed to be released so I decided to put it out together with the fourth album Combat of Love.
JOEL – How do the two albums differ musically? Did you record with anyone we might know?
LYRIC – The biggest difference is that the third album was recorded with four different producers whereas the fourth album was recorded with just one producer. I recorded with a lot of well known people on both albums. On the third album I worked with Bobby Amaru (Saliva), Nolan Neal (Hinder) and Dave Dunlop (Triumph and Rik Emmett). On the fourth album I worked with Tim Pierce (Rick Springfield, Bruce Springsteen) and Matt Starr (Mr. Big, Ace Frehley)
JOEL – You just shot a music video for your first single off Combat of Love for the song Young and Restless in Barrie. Did you choose that song as your first single? When do you hope to have it out?
LYRIC – It was a joint decision to release Young and Restless first. The video was shot September 13th while the whole band is here with a release date of September 19th at the CD release party. There is a teaser online now!
JOEL – Do you write your own songs? Did you collaborate with anyone?
LYRIC – Yes, on the first two albums I wrote all the songs myself. On the third and fourth album I wrote some myself however I decided to try co-writing with a variety of different people from the USA and Canada. I even did a few covers for the first time!
JOEL – Combat of Love was produced by Warren Huart. How did you hook up with him?
LYRIC – My manager Robert Knight hooked me up with Warren. I visited L.A. three different times recording all 12 songs from September 2014 till April 2015.
JOEL – You mentioned your manager Robert Knight, who is best known as a legendary rock photographer. How did you hook up with a music photographer from the U.S. to manage you? When did he take you on?
LYRIC – Robert was messaged by a fellow photographer from Toronto who was shooting one of my live shows. Robert checked out my Youtube videos then contacted me to come to Beverly Hills. Robert runs the Brotherhood of the Guitar and introduced me to some great sponsors when we met in July 2014. He had managed other artists and bands before and signed me in August.
JOEL – What are some of your biggest highlights so far in your career?
LYRIC – There has been a few like meeting Slash and having a sit down backstage with Santana. However, just recently I attended and walked the red carpet in NYC for Les Paul’s 100th Anniversary with the likes of Joe Bonamassa, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and others. I was invited to sit in and play with Lou Pallo and the Les Paul Trio at the after party held at the legendary Iridium. That was awesome!
JOEL – Who are your influences/idols musically?
LYRIC – Jimi Hendrix, 30 Seconds To Mars, Linkin Park, John Mayer, Plini & Django Reinhardt
JOEL – I understand you’re heading to Japan to tour. When is that and how long will you be there? Are you headlining? Supporting anyone?
LYRIC – I am in Tokyo, Japan with my band the third week of November and then we head to China on the 20th for a few weeks. We are playing a variety of shows both alone and with other artists.
JOEL – Are there any other shows or tours in the works in U.S./worldwide?
LYRIC – I am in Seattle, Washington the last week of September at Django Fest and in Nashville late October.
JOEL – Is there anything else you want to add or promote?
LYRIC – You can check me out on my website www.lyricdubee.com. I am on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter of course! Hope you enjoy the music!
JOEL – Thank you Lyric and all the best to you!
Lyric Dubee’s release party for Black Ice and Combat of Love PLUS the release of his new video, Young and Restless, happens this Saturday, September 19 at 5:30 p.m. at the Moving Art Center, 125 Anne Street South, Barrie, Ontario. Tickets are $7. For more information visit www.lyricdubee.com or Facebook.
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