Jim Galloway knew that he was going to eventually release a second album, thanks to the success of Good Times, which was released in the fall of 2014.
His new release is Fly Away, a five-song EP that has been available to the public since late November.
“In the back of my mind, I wanted to get back and write and create,” Galloway said in an interview with Lifestyles. “I think that’s something I have to do artistically is write and create at any level.”
Galloway describes Fly Away as a continuation of Good Times. He admits that he hasn’t had the time to sit down and go all out on a full-length album during the past couple of years, but he was able to sporadically record a few songs.
“After the Good Times album, I was out playing live, and between work and life sometimes getting in the way, it was about a year-and-a-half later, that I thought ‘Man, I haven’t started anything,’” said Galloway.
So every few months, he would record a song that he had penned.
“I don’t really do a lot of planning when I’m going to do the recording,” said Galloway. “My home studio is set up so that sometimes when I get home from work, or get a weekend … I’ll start doodling on my guitar, and just like an artist with a paintbrush, you start filling in all the spots and colours, and start building something.”
Still, he was pleased with the EP and how it turned out. Fly Away was recorded and produced at Galloway’s home studio and mixed by Allen Hunnie Audio out of Winnipeg.
And while he said there are similarities between Good Time and Fly Away, the new album is a little heavier than its predecessor.
“I was experimenting with different drum sounds and guitar textures, and a different approach to vocal phrasing with this one,” said Galloway.
But he recognizes that the way the listener hears the album can be different from what he will hear.
Two songs on the album stand out to him: the title track Fly Away, and another, Free, which was the first to be released for internet radio. Those are the songs that have been getting the most attention from consumers, and, according to Galloway, the songs receiving the strongest reviews.
The EP has been played on CBC Radio, an internet independent music station out of Regina named QC Indie, on college radio stations and other broadcast mediums. Perhaps the most interesting fans, though, are surfers from Dublin who travel the world, heard the Fly Away song, and quickly became fans.
“They’re going to be using Fly Away in one of their films this upcoming summer,” said Galloway.
People in the Oxbow area have been very supportive, he said, but he has also received excellent support from those in and around Estevan. Galloway is part of two bands, Two Sharps and a Flat, and Jimmy G and the Cable Guys, and they have made numerous appearances in Estevan in recent years.
Galloway hopes to record another full-length album at some point this year. He hasn’t decided on a format yet, as he wavers between acoustic music and edgier sounds.
“My problem is I love so many different kinds of music,” said Galloway.
At some point, he’d love to create an album with the members of his bands, since Gallaway views them as fantastic musicians, but he also recognizes it can be tough to find the time to get everyone to record, and to find space for that many musicians.
