Luke Doucet (born June 9, 1973) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. He has written and performed as a solo artist and as a member of the indie rock band Veal and the folk rock band Whitehorse.
In 2006 and 2011, Doucet was nominated for Juno Awards in the Adult Alternative Album of the Year category for his albums, Broken (And Other Rogue States) and Steel City Trawler.
Early life
Doucet was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and raised in Manitoba. His parents divorced when he was young. When he was 11 years old, Doucet travelled solo from
Winnipeg to Nova Scotia and at 13, he took a
Greyhound Canada bus from Winnipeg to
Vancouver, British Columbia.
[ "String theory: Guitarist Luke Doucet to explore and experiment at National Music Centre residency". Eric Volmers, Calgary Herald January 6, 2017]
Doucet had planned to become a lawyer before deciding to focus on guitar. He got his first guitar later that same year,[Havranek, Carrie "4 to Watch: Luke Doucet" . June 1, 2006] He played in bands throughout high school.
Career
Doucet joined the folk music group Acoustically Inclined shortly after the band from Winnipeg released its 1991 album
Are You Inclined? He moved to Vancouver at 19 and joined
Sarah McLachlan's band.
Veal
In 1994 Doucet became the front man for Vancouver rock band Veal.
[Mason, Stewart . "Luke Doucet Biography". AllMusic.] Along with Doucet, Veal consisted of bassist
Nik Kozub and drummer Chang.
Howard Redekopp and Barry Mirochnick had also played bass in the band. Veal released three albums,
Hot Loser in 1996,
Tilt O'Whirl in 1999 and
The Embattled Hearts in 2003.
[Carruthers, Sean. " The Embattled Hearts", Allmusic. Retrieved March 31, 2012.] In 1999, Doucet signed with music promoter Shauna de Cartier, who shortly after formed Six Shooter Records.
[ "How to be a force in the Canadian music scene: The story of little Six Shooter Records". Brad Wheeler, The Globe and Mail, January 13, 2013] The band is now defunct.
Solo career
In 2001 Doucet released his first album,
Aloha, Manitoba.
[Wagner, Vit. "A return to rootsy roots; B.C.-based Luke Doucet in town for four gigs". Toronto Star – Toronto, Ont. May 31, 2001, Page: J.05] The album consists of songs written for Veal that his band-mates felt were "too soft".
A departure from his work with Veal, Aloha, Manitoba has a mellower, more folk-influenced sound. Bazil Donovan, Barry Mirochnick, Lloyd Peterson, Christine Fellows, Sky Onosson and Gilles Fournier performed on the record.[ Aloha, Manitoba liner notes] Aloha, Manitoba was the first official release for Toronto record label, Six Shooter Records, with a catalogue number of SIX01. Doucet is still with the label, and has released all of his solo albums with Six Shooter.
In 2004 Doucet released Outlaws: Live and Unreleased, a collection of mostly live songs and two unreleased studio recordings. Most of the album was recorded in February 2004 at the The Rivoli in Toronto, Ontario.[ "Luke goes live". The Varsity, January 26, 2004. By Lukas Kus]
In 2005 Doucet released his sophomore studio album, Broken (And Other Rogue States). A break-up album, Broken focused on the heartbreak of a failed relationship. Broken was nominated in 2006 for a Juno Award in the Adult Alternative Album of the Year category.
The Fokestar EP was released as a digital-only EP in 2006. It contains five songs, two of which ("Long Haul Driver" and "Bombs Away") are early versions of songs that would be re-recorded for Doucet's next album, Blood's Too Rich.
In 2007 Doucet moved to Nashville where he wrote Blood's Too Rich.[Devlin, Mike "Luke Doucet delves deep on new album". January 11, 2008] Despite being excited about living in such a musical city, Doucet was homesick and "longed to be back in Canada".
While Doucet's earlier albums are simply billed as ‘by Luke Doucet', Blood's Too Rich is credited to both Luke Doucet and The White Falcon. Doucet wanted to express how important the band had been to his creative process. He worked with them so closely and for so long that they became much more than just hired musicians.
In promotion of Blood's Too Rich, Doucet toured across Canada and the United States with Blue Rodeo, toured Europe twice with Oh Susanna and Melissa McClelland, and toured across Canada supporting James Blunt. In February 2009, Doucet headlined a Canadian tour with opener Amelia Curran.
Blood's Too Rich was listed on "best of 2008" lists, including a mention from the Independent (UK),
Doucet also got the number one spot on a Toronto Star list of "unforgettable recordings, performances, and moments in 2008"[ "Winners" Canadian Folk Music Awards website]
In 2010, Doucet released his album Steel City Trawler, also credited to Luke Doucet and the White Falcon. The album was produced by Andrew Sloan[ With new CD, Luke Doucet is off and running". Brad Wheeler. The Globe and Mail, September 1, 2010] The album appeared on the !Earshot National Top 50 Chart.[ "The National Top 50 For the Week Ending: Tuesday, October 26, 2010". !Earshot.] A small comic book by David Collier is included with the album.[ "Luke Doucet pens a tribute to Ontario's steel city". Metro News, Graham Rockingham Metro Canada Published on Fri September 3, 2010]
Production work
Doucet has produced all of his solo records and has worked with several other artists as a producer. His production credits include Melissa McClelland's albums
Stranded in Suburbia (2004),
Thumbelina's One Night Stand (2006) and
Victoria Day (2009); three albums by
NQ Arbuckle, including
Hanging the Battle-Scarred Pinata (2002),
[Wagner, Vit. "Luke Doucet pulls some strings; Quartet joins singer tomorrow First- ever show in a church". Toronto Star – Toronto, Ont. January 13, 2005, page G.03] The Last Supper in a Cheap Town (2005), and
XOK (2008);
Hoserista (2000) by
Captain Tractor;
Rose Cousins' 2009 album
The Send Off; and
Tanya Coghlin's
Astral Is Annie. Doucet also co-produced the first two albums by his band Veal,
Hot Loser (1996) and
Tilt O'Whirl (1999).
Session and touring work for other artists
Doucet has appeared as a guest musician on albums by
Sarah McLachlan, Chantal Kreviazuk, Oh Susanna,
[Wagner, Vit. "Oh Susanna brings out the band; Vancouver native turns to rock New album adds audible punch". Toronto Star – Toronto, Ont.
December 11, 2003, page: G.02][ "Singer creates spare, haunting sounds". Pop Reviews Toronto Star – Toronto, Ont. January 13, 2001, Page: 13] Veda Hille, Melissa McClelland,
Delerium,
John Bottomley,
Maren Ord,
Captain Tractor,
Mae Moore,
Major Maker and Lindy Vopnfjörd. Doucet recorded with Bryan Adams and Kathleen Edwards on a song produced by Colin Cripps in 2009 that had a limited release. He also toured the United States and Europe with Blue Rodeo in 2011, replacing Greg Keelor when he was ill.
Personal life
Luke Doucet married Melissa McClelland on June 24, 2006. The couple announced their marriage on the CBC program
Sounds Like Canada on June 23. McClelland and Doucet have since put their respective solo careers on hold, and now record and perform as the musical duo Whitehorse.
[ Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland Find Their Sound as Whitehorse . Exclaim!, August 29, 2011.][ "Whitehorse-Power Couple: Luke Doucet, Melissa McClelland Will Steal Your Heart". Huffington Post, By Michael Bialas January 14, 2013]
Doucet has one daughter, Chloe, who is also a musician; she has performed with Doucet on albums and in live performances.
Discography
Studio albums
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Aloha, Manitoba (Six Shooter Records, 2001)
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Broken (And Other Rogue States) (Six Shooter Records, 2005)
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Blood's Too Rich (Six Shooter Records, 2008)
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Steel City Trawler (Six Shooter Records, 2010)
Veal
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Hot Loser (Divine Industries, 1996)
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Tilt O'Whirl (Released on Square Dog Records, 1999 and re-released by Six Shooter Records, 2000)
-
The Embattled Hearts (Six Shooter Records, 2003)
Whitehorse
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Whitehorse (Six Shooter Records, 2011)
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The Fate of the World Depends on This Kiss (Six Shooter Records, 2012)
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Leave No Bridge Unburned (Six Shooter Records, 2015)
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Panther in the Dollhouse (Six Shooter Records, 2017)
External links
