A Perfect Match

Newcomer Danny Michel set to give Ottawa's Starling a boost

by Tralee Pearce

Putting out a stellar lodge-in-your-head pop album doesn't guarantee anything in today's music biz, especially speedy success.

Just ask Ottawa's Starling.

Since their October 1996 meteor-like burst onto the local scene -- backed up by a stunning debut album released this April -- the trio's infectious, melodic tunes have garnered them loads of hype in this city and beyond, not to mention ongoing label attention.

So much so that the band has been able to take its time with record and distribution offers, waiting for just the right bite.

Down side
The down side? Potential fans outside Ottawa still can't get their hands on one of the finest discs released anywhere this year.

Onlookers were wondering just how long Next Big Thing status could last when yet another slowdown transpired, this one entirely self-induced.

In August drummer Peter von Althen and lead singer Ian LeFeuvre parted ways with original Starling bassist Jon Reilly-Roe. Word has it it wasn't exactly amicably.

Kitchener-Waterloo singer/guitarist -- and longtime friend of LeFeuvre's -- Danny Michel moved to Ottawa and has taken on the job of bassist and is sharing songwriting duties with LeFeuvre. Reilly-Roe is busy recording his own material.

Sitting in their Dalhousie Street recording and rehearsal space in advance of their debut show at Barrymore's Saturday, LeFeuvre and Michel are like a pair of happy newlyweds wary of sharing the details of the breakup that cleared the path for their union.

Such a shuffle may be a risk for a band still trying to prove itself, but, when the conversation switches from the past to the future, LeFeuvre and Michel call themselves "cautiously optimistic" about Starling's fate.

Of course the only test will be the songs that put Starling on the map in what felt like seconds flat. Will they be as sweet, intelligent, and downright humble?

The band's counting on a renewal of longtime chemistry to carry them through on the new material front.

Guitar duels
Pals since their teenaged guitar-dueling days at summer camp, the pair say they were fated to hook up their talents.

"I remember the first time I saw Ian playing guitar, I was trying to figure out a song by Generation X -- Kiss Me Deadly -- and he, cocky, walked in the room and did it. And I was jealous of him," says Michel, whose considerable experience includes The Rhinos and Danny Michel and The Collectibles.

"We talked about being in a band ever since then. Finally at 28 years old, we're doing it."

Well, it's not exactly their first outing. LeFeuvre and Michel became family when LeFeuvre's sister married Michel's brother nearly a decade ago -- and The Wedding Band played its inaugural gig with von Althen keeping the beat.

"We learned 24 songs in one day and played them all the next night. I thought we were awesome," recalls LeFeuvre of the classic James Brown, Bob Marley and Joe Jackson tunes rolled out.

The Wedding Band -- consider it Starling's alter ego with Michel at the helm of an unplugged, mellow ship -- has been testing the waters for a couple of months. And Michel has been plying his solo singer/songwriter trade -- he's got three solo albums under his belt -- at regular Manx gigs.

"Starling is fun for me cuz I haven't rocked out in a while and it's like getting back on a bike again," says Michel.

His role may not have changed, but LeFeuvre predicts a shift of his own in the song-writing department. Despite the success of his poignant, introspective lyrics -- not to mention his extensive outside musical partnerships, including his Western swing outfit Slowpoke and Shaft (performing Sunday night at the Mercury, 56 Byward, by the way) -- LeFeuvre is looking to broaden his inspirations.

"Having Danny around is great because he'll tell me when a line is really stupid," says LeFeuvre. "He writes with a lot of imagery and a lot of outward stuff. I'm getting bored with my own take on things.

"At first I thought, write what you know. And I thought, well, I don't know anything about anything, so I might as well write about my own little petty problems, right? Now, I'm like, 'Shut up!' Who cares? I'm just some whiney idiot.

No flinching
"He makes stuff up, or he can say stuff about things he thinks but it doesn't come off as pretentious. He doesn't say, 'We should clean the planet up!' But it's got a bigger scope. I would really like to learn how to do that and not flinch."

Pairing up, it seems, has given Starling the momentum that's been lagging, even by their own estimations. The three musicians are cutting some songs from their disc, remixing others and adding material Michel has worked on.

"This record's been done since April and it's been in this weird purgatory. It's in everyone's best interest to update it so that we can give it a good shameless push and feel good about it."

If nothing else, the pressure is on. And the stakes feel high. With two potential record deals looming, even these close friends can spar.

Intense will
"We butt heads and we're gonna butt heads becuase we're both very strong-willed. The level of intensity of this band has really gone up," begins LeFeuvre.

"I'm gonna be 30 soon," interjects Michel.

"It's time to go here," continues LeFeuvre, "We've got all this group agenda that we want to succeed and our own individual agendas that we see ourselves getting to a certain place at a certain time.

"It's good because it drives you every day. But it's also dangerous because you set yourself up for being hurt and disappointed. Sometimes you can overstate yourself because you really care about things.

"That's my problem. I'm really, really controlly. I have to learn to pick my spots more. With Danny in the band I notice it even more, because Danny and Peter are similar so now I'm the odd man out. I'm the bad guy, whereas I wasn't before.

"But it makes the music better," notes LeFeuvre. "And that's the important thing in the end."

Despite their reluctance to discuss the details of Reilly-Roe's departure, both Michel and LeFeuvre are quick to admit replacing his impeccable harmonies has been no easy feat.

"Jon was really good at that," says LeFeuvre.

"They were hard at first," says Michel of those parts. "I've never sung harmony in my life. And starting with these songs was like going to get your drivers's license but you have to start with an 18-wheeler rig before you're allowed to drive a car."

LeFeuvre says the nature of the harmonies has evolved.

Honed harmonies
"It's sort of different now. If he's singing backup, it's almost like a duet now. He's not a blend-in-the-background kinda guy. If he starts singing, three-quarters of the room starts looking at him and I'm not even up there anymore."

And, as if the band's lineup change isn't enough, LeFeuvre says Starling is considering a two-guitar setup, shifting Michel to his first love, the guitar, and adding a new bassist.

Either way, Michel and LeFeuvre aren't letting themselves get carried away, even as they continue to win over past critics and naysayers.

"What I've learned in the last 10 years in the music business," says Michel, "is that you can't believe nothin' till it's over. I don't believe it till I've already spent the money."

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