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Sometimes funny, sometimes sad

Graham Nicholas talks humour in music prior to EAGM show

Graham Nicholas found his country community in the city.

A Toronto native, Nicholas was drawn to the thriving folk and country music scene in the Ontario capital. Now, his music, which includes his latest full-length album from last fall, Sometimes Chicken, Sometimes Feathers, can be visited as comfortably from a Saskatchewan ranch as it can be from a downtown Toronto bar.

Nicholas began a tour of northern Ontario last week, and for the first time he will be performing west of Manitoba, when he stops in Estevan this Friday evening for a show at the Estevan Art Gallery and Museum.

Nicholas’s music, like a lot of country, centres on stories, and Nicholas picks things up with common characters to the country genre. He said he uses a lot of the clichéd, archetypical country music characters and tries to put a new spin on them.

“It’s kind of like using clichés and then making them feel new by applying them in a different way and making them funny again,” Nicholas said.

“I try to make sad songs funny or funny songs sad. I like to walk the line between the two and maybe show humour to show another perspective on darker emotions or sadder stories. I really like using humour in that way. I think it’s really effective because it broadens and riches the emotional scope of a song,” he added.

Coming from Toronto, Nicholas noted the country and folk musicians create an encouraging atmosphere.

“There’s a pretty vibrant and rambunctious community of country singer-songwriters and musicians in Toronto. They’re all based out of The Dakota House or the Cameron Tavern,” said Nicholas.

“When I moved back to Toronto I started plugging myself into those venues and hanging out there, having a great time meeting everybody. I was addicted to the creative energy for awhile.”

He has found the scene to be filled with ambitious and supportive musicians. It’s a place that makes him want to work harder, he said.

In that vein, he is always writing, whether it’s a song a grant application, he joked.

And when he isn’t writing, he’s performing. He began a seven-stop tour in Sault Ste. Marie on June 11.

“I’m having a good time playing some shows and playing the songs for people,” he said told the Mercury on June 14 about touring the material from his latest album.

“It’s nice to take a little dip,” he added about performing in Estevan and Saskatchewan for the first time.

When Nicholas performs a solo show on Friday, an intent audience is what he may find at the EAGM. Doors open at 8 p.m.