Local Songsmith Shawn Hewitt Makes Heartfelt Impression With Long-Awaited Debut
If there's ever any doubt that Shawn Hewitt is a GTA product, his Jojo Chintoh impression should quickly put it to rest.
The Scarborough songsmith - whose long-awaited full-length debutfinally dropped in late September - casually launches into the belovedformer CityNews anchor's patented delivery (among others), evenbefore he starts talking about the record he's spent most of his younglife creating.
Then he gets way into it.
Spare Hearts is the major label introduction for Hewitt andhis band The National Strike, a group that produces a soulful blend ofindie rock which is quintessentially Toronto in its diversity.
In fact that seems to be Hewitt: a city boy with a worldly perspective that's reflected in every note of his music.
And there's certainly been time for reflection.
Hewitt and The National Strike released a well-received EP in 2005,but fans have been waiting impatiently for more ever since. Still, thesinger says the wait was unavoidable. And valuable.
'The album is a touchstone in terms of my growth as an artists and a person,' he told CityNews.ca.
'It took a long time to go through the peaks and valleys of makingan album. You go through creative slumps, you go through writer'sblock.'
Fittingly it's the city's own perpetual renewal that pushed him over the top.
'With this record, I was inspired by architecture and a lot of things that weren't only music,' Hewitt admits.
'In this city there are amazing things that are being built ... theAGO going through its transformation ... you see how people react tothese wonderful new buildings and you see how they can make an impacton our city.'
Not that Spare Hearts is merely an album about shiny newstructures. It's a collection of songs that speaks to the growth of atown and its people. Hewitt's music, like the art of many others, isonly what results.
'In the west end we have a lot of gentrification, in the east endthe same thing, so that whole process of a city renewing itself sort ofinspired me to say, 'hey what would it be like to gentrify mysongwriting process, gentrify me as a person and my heart as well,'' heexplains.
And while his music's not overly political, Hewitt's album comes atan interesting time, coinciding with the lead up to a federal electionin which arts funding has emerged as a contentious issue.
Hewitt refers to a network of Canadian musicians when asked how heand others continue to survive and in some cases even blossom in spiteof it all.
'What's happening in this country is a lot of anxiety,' heacknowledges. 'We rely on ourselves to really get by, throughout thecuts, throughout everything the industry here still thrives in a lot ofways.'
One of those ways is through mutual support.
Hewitt joined forces with Broken Social Scene producer Dave Newfeld on his disc and received tremendous support from Toronto stalwart and good friend K-OS who has helped push him into the spotlight.
Then there's Montreal outfit The Dears, good friends of Hewitt's who joined forces for a special date at Toronto's intimate Music Gallery Thursday night (pictured).
In dim church light with a small and captive audience all but silent, Hewitt's already emotional songs were even more moving.
And it's connections like those - with fellow musicians andaudiences alike - that lend Hewitt's album its substance. Whether youenjoy the disc or not it's inarguably original Canadian art from anoriginal Canadian artist.
'I'm a small patchwork in a very big canvass,' Hewitt humbly states.
'What we have to say in this country is very important and thankfully I'm a small voice in that.'
Which is what it all comes back to and what it all started from.Even his group's name is a nod to Toronto and the country thatsurrounds it.
'We thought, 'what name could we use to set the tone for what we want to achieve?''
'(It's all about) striking across this country and really impacting people with what we can do sonically.'
Canada will likely have plenty of opportunities to check therecording artist out in person as tour plans are made and carried out.
In the meantime, Hewitt admits ideas are already brewing for moresongs and videos, hoping the next album won't take another four yearsto create.
'Thankfully this is just the beginning,' he said, ironically in closing.
Be sure to check out Spare Hearts if you get the chance and if you ever happen to get Shawn Hewitt alone, make sure you ask him do some impressions.
To watch CityNews.ca's interview with Shawn Hewitt, click on the video link.
http://www.citynews.ca/news/features_27795.aspx
