Learning to fly solo has been a daunting, but fulfilling experience for Red Deer’s Damian La Grange.
The local indie rock/hip-hop artist, who performs with Repartee on Tuesday at Bo’s Bar and Grill, has been setting his own course as a solo singer and musician since his band, Half Chance Heroes, broke up late in 2014.
While he’s loved taking full creative control of his music, La Grange admitted it wasn’t easy leaving a band he was in since he was a 15-year-old Notre Dame High School student.
The difficult emotions surrounding the split are explored in three songs on his debut solo EP, Plot Holes, which was digitally released in March.
Starting with catchy lead single, Logic Tells Us, the EP tells of the battle that’s often waged between the human heart and brain.
La Grange, who went through personal relationship turmoil at the same time as his band was dissolving, explained, “Sometimes you know you have to make a tough call,” but resist making the decision because emotions are at play.
In the end, you can’t stay in a situation that isn’t working and leaving becomes the logical solution, he added.
The two other tracks, Too Twisted and Dancing on a Minefield, explore different aspects of the same introspective theme.
Back in 2014 when he was bailing out of a band that had gotten into festival lineups with Mother Mother, USS, Awolnation and Classified, “I felt I was falling in love with messing everything up,” admitted La Grange.
But the 23-year-old believes, “I had to find myself and, hopefully, find a new identity … I spent a year writing and trying to figure it out …”
While La Grange remembers “feeling kind of lost” at first, he has attained peace of mind over his decision to go it alone.
“I feel like I’ve been twisting it into something good.”
Among the things La Grange has learned is: hire experts when needed — such as CDBaby.com, which is distributing his EP through iTunes, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Spotify and Facebook — and become self-reliant in key areas. He’s now a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer.
La Grange also figured out how to balance friendships and business relationships, maintaining both with his former band mates, bassist Jordy Bryce and drummer Ryan Schultz, who will perform as backup musicians at his show at Bo’s.
He also feels he’s attained this balance with videographer Chris Vaillant of the local company CV Creative, which produced on his YouTube videos.
“I’m always open to other people’s perspectives and ideas, but in the end, I go with my instinct,” said the singer/musician, who’s already working on his next yet-untitled EP.
It’s being produced by Juno Award-winning Toronto engineer Jason Dufour and Juno-nominated producer Michael Sonier (Repartee, Autumn Hill, Alyssa Reid). La Grange is also getting songwriting tips from Nathan Ferraro of Ontario band The Midway State.
The upcoming six-song EP, expected out early in 2017, should be more upbeat musically, predicted La Grange, who will be busy songwriting for most of the summer.
Having steered clear of making other concert bookings in the near future, he’s really look forward to the upcoming local gig with Newfoundland pop-electronica band Repartee.
There’s a $10 cover charge for the 8 p.m. show.
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com