By David DeRocco

If you think country music is easily pigeon-holed, or formulaic, or stereotypical, then you a) don’t know country music and b) you certainly don’t know DEAN BRODY, or have listened to Brody’s rollicking new album, Beautiful Freakshow. Released in 2016, with the title-track single released April 12^th, the album is a mashup of divergent influences filtered through Brody’s stellar new country sensibilities. From the rap vocals highlighting the title track to the emotionally-charged smash hit “Time” to the good-old-boy vibe of “Bush Party,” Brody – a 13-time CCMA and two-time Juno Award winner – has once again hit the mark. 

With a tour kicking off April 25^th at Hamilton Place, Brody took time to chat with GoBeWeekly about his new album, life on the road and what it means to be a Canadian country star during the nation’s 150^th anniversary.

GOBE: Your new album Beautiful Freakshow has a title that seems more fitting for a Marilyn Manson album than a country album. There’s a lot going on in these tracks; a little hip hop vibe, references to Tarantino, big guitars, just a sonic stew. Are today’s country fans more open to the fact country artists are pushing the boundaries of country music?

DEAN:  I don’t know. This is definitely a risk for me I think. We were really nervous about “Bring Down the House” when it went to country radio, but it turned out to be one of my biggest songs. These days I don’t thing genres are as constrained as they used to be, especially country. I feel like it’s opened up so much. You get Chris Stapleton on one end of the spectrum and you’ve got Sam Hunt on the other end. It’s just a real exciting time to be in the writing world and being creative in country right now.

GOBE: How quickly do fans react to your music, whether positively or negatively? Do you hear from them right away when you’re taking chances?

DEAN: With social media these days you find out immediately whether people like it or not. And with country music radio, once it goes to radio they’ll be telling us whether people are loving it or hating on it. It doesn’t take long.

GOBE: Are you actively involved in working your social media streams, or do you try to avoid stepping into those waters?

DEAN: I do. I do post stuff. I don’t necessarily read it all the time. I try not to read too much about myself all the time.  I do make personal posts and try to keep up with that.

GOBE: You’ve just released the new video for “Beautiful Freakshow.” What’s the process for you to take your music to a visual level? Do you get presented with all kinds of storyboards? Is it a tedious process?

DEAN. That’s always a tricky thing for me, especially because a lot of my songs are visual songs, they paint a picture and tell a story. Sometimes I almost feel like some songs are better left without a video, especially if they have a story, people in their own minds will make up a story that’s consistent with their own minds or more relevant to their own experience. It’s tricky. Video directors, two or three or four, will present you with a treatment, which is their vision of what they’d like to do with the song. We got a treatment for Beautiful Freakshow from director Jeff Weinridge, so we went to Cabo Mexico and recorded and filmed it.

GOBE: That’s probably a great thing for you when a director wants to take you to Cabo in April rather than Edmonton in January to film a video.

DEAN: (laughing) Yes, it is nice to be warm on a video shoot. I’ve been on a few where it’s been pretty cold. I’d much rather be too hot than too cold on a video shoot.

GOBE: What’s your opinion of video? Is it a necessary evil or do you really find that it can be a great compliment to your story telling?

DEAN: I think that it can be a great compliment, yeah. Definitely I think the visual media you’ve got to have it, especially if you want to be successful and connect with people.

GOBE: Have you ever had to reject some of the suggestions from directors who may have wanted to put you in weird situations in your video? You know, “hey Dean, we want to put you in a dress.”

DEAN: No, I’ve never had to wear a dress, although I wouldn’t be opposed to that if it was the right treatment. You certainly get some really crazy treatments, directors get these really wild ideas what they want to do. Some of them are good, but some of them are really insane.

GOBE: I have to say the video for “Time” is a beautifully shot video, certainly evocative and emotional. As an artist, as a country music songwriter, is that still what’s at the heart of country music, those emotional connections to real life.

DEAN: Yes, I think it’s crucial, the storytelling, trying to put yourself into other people’s shoes and try and tell their story. I’d say that’s what country music is all about is that connection and that story, the real life aspect that country celebrates.

GOBE: There’s a great vibe on this album, you’ve teamed up with Alan Doyle on one song, there’s a classic Sam Cooke cover. How much fun was it to make this album?

DEAN: It was a lot of fun. We’re kind of all over the map on this album, but creatively I was just having a lot of fun. I wasn’t trying to pay too much attention to trying to keep everything in the same vibe. I just kind of went all out. Usually when we have fun in the studio and fun it the writing it translates to having fun out on the road and for my fans. We’ll see if it translates this time as well.

GOBE: You’re at a point in your career where you’ve enjoyed some great success. You’ve got the #1 selling Canadian digital country song of all time, you’ve got CCMAs, you’ve got Junos. At this point in your career what brings you the greatest amount of personal satisfaction. What brings you the greatest joy outside of the awards and accolades?

DEAN: I think my fans. They mean the world to me. When I write a song and it connects, I feel that music is something that should be shared. When we can all share an experience, whether it’s live or through radio, I just want to see that connection happening all the time. And when somebody like you telling me what “Time” meant to you. That’s what it’s all about. That far outweighs the awards.

GOBE: You’re obviously someone who knows how to put things in perspective. You’ve got the Dean Brody Foundation. How do you approach your work with your charity? What’s your role in directing its efforts?

DEAN: In the beginning I was really hands on. But now I tend to let Matt Roper direct the activity as he’s the guy who’s on the ground in Brazil. I can’t be on the ground all the time so it’s really great to have someone I can trust on the ground to do the heavy lifting. My job at this point is to pretty much raise the funds and help ensure their vision continues. We started in 2011. We’re six years into this and it’s really rewarding to see lives changing.

GOBE: You’re out on tour, kicking things off in Hamilton. Why are we so lucky? Was it just scheduling? And given who you’re touring with it looks like it’s going to be a great summer for you.

DEAN: Man, it IS going to be a great summer going out with several different artists. There’s different people on the road with us for different dates. We’ve got James Barker Band, we’ve got George Canyon and Aaron Pritchett up north in Alberta or BC, and in Ontario we’ve got High Valley. It’s going to be really cool.

GOBE: Are you a tour dog? Do you love being out on the road?

DEAN: it takes adjustment for sure when you first get out on the road, it’s a lifestyle change. It’s all of a sudden you’re in venues, you’re in hotels, you’re on a bus, you’re doing media. The first week you’re just trying to get sorted and then it’s off to the races. Me and my band are really close, me and the crew are really close. So it’s like a college dorm on wheels for a couple of months.

GOBE: What’s the #1 diversion when you’re travelling?

DEAN: We’ve got a little workout routine we stick to. We bring out some boxing stuff, some heavy bags, we just try to keep in shape, especially with all that after show food showing up, five or six pizzas on the bus at 1 oclock in the morning. Eating like that you have to keep in shape.

GOBE: For those who haven’t seen you, define a Dean Brody show.

DEAN: It’s high energy for sure. I’ve had some ballads in my career, but we mostly we’re loud and aggressive and we have fun. We bring it down for those moments like “Time” or “Brothers” or “Bob Marley.”  But it’s mostly high energy, we make sure that kick drum is hitting them right in the chest and we have a good time.

GOBE:   It’s Canada’s 150^th this year. As a Canadian country artist, someone who writes from the heart and understands the connections Canadian feel to this land, any thoughts on what it means to be a country artist in Canada this year.

DEAN:  it’s just amazing to be able to see this country, especially when you tour. When you go coast to coast and get to see this country in a condensed timeline, it’s just an amazing place to be. I’m proud of our diversity, of our open spaces, and just the way we live. We look out for each and other. And just something about being a small country, yet with all of this space. It’s neat how we have a common understanding of what it means to be a Canadian even though we’re so spread out over millions of square miles.