Credit: Aaron McKenzie Fraser

Girl Wonder

Julie Doiron’s  sort-of happy record

Critics are calling I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day Julie Doiron’s happy record. True, it does open with chirping birds and Doiron singing that she’s “living the life of dreams” and closes with “Glad to be Alive,” but the East Coast singer-songwriter says she isn’t sure it’s an entirely cheery album.

“I thought it was at first, but then after I did a few interviews and people were saying how positive the record was and how happy it was, I listened to some of the songs again and was like, ‘There’s at least four on there that are pretty sad,’” she says. “I was worried for a minute that I’d made a completely 100 percent happy, positive album. But no, in general I’m a pretty happy person, and I’m feeling pretty good, so I think the record reflects that.”

Indeed, Doiron’s music is very much a reflection of where she is at a current moment—songs about raising her kids, splitting with her husband, finding love again and all the feelings of bliss, sadness and regret that can go with those things have populated her last couple albums.

“With this record, I decided to write about whatever I was thinking about while I was walking back from a swim or in the market or whatever,” she offers as way of explanation as to this album’s somewhat cheerier tone. “I’m not heartbroken right now, so I guess that’s part of it.”

I Can Wonder is also a slightly more amped-up affair, continuing in the vein of 2007’s Woke Myself Up. Her former Eric’s Trip bandmate Rick White produced both albums and played bass and keyboard, while Fred Squire—who will be joining Doiron on tour—played drums and guitar. The touring band is rounded out by Jay and Jesse Baird on drums and bass, making for a fuller sound.

“The last two tours we’ve done, [Squire] has been on drums and just myself on guitar as a two piece,” says Doiron. “I’ve been enjoying doing it as a two piece because it’s really liberating, but I’m also looking forward to having other musicians carrying the structure of the song along so if I want to do a guitar solo, I can do it.”

Hitting the road when you’ve got kids at home can be tough, but Doiron says she and her three children have struck a pretty good balance so far—her eldest, Ben, who is almost 15, might even do merch for her in the near future, she says, and being a rock-star mom is a bit easier when you’re friends with some of your kids’ favourite musicians.

“My teenaged son hasn’t rebelled against me yet, but if you look at his iPod, his music collection is pretty great and some of his favourite musicians are people I know and actually work with, so I think he thinks it’s pretty cool,” she says, “I did a show with Chad Vangaalen in Calgary for the fifth anniversary Flemish Eye [Records] party. Chad backed me up on a bunch of songs and then I sang with him for most of his set. My daughter Charlotte actually did a presentation on Chad Vangaalen at school. He’s her favourite musician. So things like that, they’re okay with me going on tour. They’re kind of into it.”

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Julie Doiron
(with Dog Day)
8pm-10pm Sat., June 13
Lucky Bar, 517 Yates
Tickets $17 • 250-382-LUCK