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East coast singer stops in Coquitlam for Christmas tour

David Myles didn’t want to make a Christmas album he would come to regret.
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David Myles plays in Coquitlam on Dec. 9.

David Myles didn’t want to make a Christmas album he would come to regret.

For years, the Fredericton-raised singer-songwriter had toyed with the idea of producing a holiday recording but eschewed its novelty factor.

Instead, he took his time and crafted a CD worth pulling out every December.

“I love playing it,” he told The Tri-City News last Friday. “I still love playing it. I was worried I was going to make a record that would haunt me, meaning that it was going to come back every year and I would think, ‘Oh no, not these songs again’ but it hasn’t been like that at all.”

Myles clearly loves this time of year and relishes the chance to get on the road to share the tunes from his 2014 work. 

Two years ago, Myles and his band of two travelled around Quebec and Ontario to promote It’s Christmas. Last year, they hit the Maritimes. 

This week, the trio is on the west coast and will include a stop in Coquitlam on Friday at the Evergreen Cultural Centre before circling back to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia for performances to raise money for local food banks.

The 13 tracks on his festive album have an acoustic charm that deliver a punch of energy. He offers up the goods for such classics as The Christmas Song and Let It Snow — the latter of which has a Dixieland feel. There’s also a bluegrass version of Sleigh Ride and he provides thrree originals: It’s Christmas, Santa Never Brings Me A Banjo and The Gift. 

A resident of Halifax, Myles has built quite a reputation over the past decade. Not only does his trio tour extensively but, since 2005, he has cut 10 albums — all of which have garnered high praise. 

This year alone, he was the winner in the folk/Americana/roots category at the International Acoustic Music Awards for Need a Break and he received four more nominations from IAMA and the East Coast Music Awards. Last year came five more nominations and accolades while in 2013, his single Inner Ninja (with the rapper Classified) went triple platinum in Canada and won a Juno Award. Today, it remains the biggest-selling rap single in the country’s history.

The 35-year-old folk jazz musician talks of his career as being “a slow build. “It’s been lucky. It’s never been one particular year that’s been insane. It’s just every year has been better than the year previous. I love doing it and I suspect I’ll be doing it for many more years, which is a good feeling.”

As for the musicians he tours with — Kyle Cunjak on bass and Alan Jeffries on guitar — Myles said they’re a well-oiled machine. Only having two players gives him the flexibility to weave in and out of different genres easily, Myles said.

 

SEE HIM LIVE

Tickets to see David Myles: It’s Christmas at the Evergreen Cultural Centre (1205 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam) are $37/$32/$16 by calling the box office at 604-927-6555 or visiting evergreenculturalcentre.ca.