LISTEN HERE: Coutts in cahoots with 15th Century French monk
Singer-songwriter-guitarist Paul James Coutts, who has been active in both the Edmonton and Calgary music scenes for more than 25 years (currently based in Edmonton), is taking a bold leap with the release of his solo debut album, Utterances.
It’s crunchy on the outside, sweet in the middle – and deep all the way through.
The perfect example is the first single, Giant Outside. You might be tempted to call it “power pop” – and then you learn the song was inspired by a 15th Century French monk named François Rabelais, who experimented with this new literary form called “satire” in his sly criticisms of the church in his Gargantua and Pantagruel collection. Surprisingly, François was not beheaded. Coutts read a story of a giant who to tries to get along in a normal-sized world – and came up with this lyric: “When I was a baby I could eat 100 pounds, when I went to school, I could crush the whole town, when I went to college there was nowhere left to hide, when I was feeling giant outside.”
Surprisingly, Coutts never went to college, save for a year of art school, and learned music “on the street.”
François Rabelais’s giant story hit him hard.
“I think we’ve all got to be a little bigger than we are just to get up in the morning,” Coutts says. “To get by, fumbling around in the world, you have to be a little bit giant. It was an anthem for me.”
Coutts and his wingmen – Tom Murray on bass and drummer Scott Lingley, who are both well known in the local scene – perform the LP release party at the Empress Ale House on Thursday, Aug. 1. Opening will be Caity Fisher at 9 pm. Tickets are $10 at the door.
Until then, LISTEN HERE:
