When the 54th annual Grammy nominations were announced, there was a peculiar Canadian connection to the best hard rock/metal performance category: small-town Ontario’s James LaBrie.
Nominated along with Sum 41, Megadeth, Mastodon and the Foo Fighters were American hard rockers Dream Theater and their lead singer, LaBrie.
Born in the Georgian Bay town of Penetanguishene and raised in nearby Midland, LaBrie knows Grammy noms aren’t exactly common local happenings. Dream Theater’s nomination has been a big deal.
CBC Music contributor Aaron Brophy is from the same area, so he was uniquely qualified to chat with LaBrie about his Grammy nom and his formative teen years.
Aaron Brophy: So how does it feel to be nominated?
James LaBrie: It's phenomenal. We just thought things like this would more or less elude us due to the nature of our music.
AB: If you win, you could throw the trophy in Dave Grohl’s face.
JL: I wish. I absolutely love Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters, but I think he's up for like six Grammys or something like that. So I think that he can let this one go.
AB: Let's move on to hometown pride. The Penetang-Midland area is known for two industries: its superjail and its giant mental health centre. Do you know people who’ve worked there and have crazy stories?
JL: Yeah, yeah, I've heard stories over the years. It's definitely an altered reality, that's for sure. I guess it's great for employment, but it makes you a little uneasy at times when you think that you're however many kilometres or miles away from people who were rapists or murderers or whatever, the completely mentally unstable.
AB: Arguably the most famous people from the area are Olympic medallists Brian Orser and Russ Howard. Have you met either of them?
JL: Well, [figure skater] Brian Orser − I went to school with him. He's a couple grades above me. Actually, one of my brothers was in class with him. [Curler] Russ Howard, it's funny you say that. I actually took a golf lesson off of him one year. I'm thinking 1993. I know his brother Glenn. He's amazing, too.
AB: When I was a kid I used to go to Penetang Kings junior hockey games and throw pennies at the opposing goalie. Did you ever go to games?
JL: I did. But I wasn't throwing pennies. You're a cruel man.
AB: I was just trying to support my hometown.
JL: Yeah, I guess so.
AB: When you're a teenager the big thing is to go to the games and get drunk. Ever do that?
JL: Of course I did. But I wouldn't be going to watch the game. I would go to see what girls were there. I'd be slightly inebriated and I'd be looking for a girl.
AB: It's tradition to go to bush parties and cottages parties when you're a teenager in the area. Did you go to those?
JL: I went to all those parties. I went to parties on the beach, where we'd have bonfires two storeys high, and then all the OPP and the local police would be out there chasing away 500 people. I used to party down by what we used to refer to as “the piers.” Or else we'd just find a place somewhere in the middle of the bush so that we knew we wouldn't be bothered.
AB: And what music would get played at those parties?
JL: A lot of Zeppelin. A lot of Zeppelin. Tons of Zeppelin. Tons of Black Sabbath would be playing there, too. Also the Who. And Queen, definitely.
AB: I don't think that's changed to this day.
JL: Yeah, it's probably still going on.
AB: For sure. Well congrats on the nomination and hopefully you win, so you can parade down Main Street with the trophy.
JL: Yeah, that would be absolutely beautiful.