Post by Jimmyzz on Oct 4, 2019 3:52:38 GMT
torontosun.com
Jane StevensonMore from Jane Stevenson | Published: October 3, 2019
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Canada’s Avril Lavigne maintains she’s keeping her Head Above Water — also the title of her sixth album released earlier this year.
“I certainly am and I’m quite the warrior,” said Lavigne, 35, referencing another new song, Warrior, co-written with her second Canadian ex-husband Chad Kroeger of Nickelback fame. (Her first ex is Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley.)
Lavigne, the pride of Napanee, Ont., hasn’t released an album since her 2013 self-titled effort and hasn’t toured in five years following a 2014 Lyme disease diagnosis.
In fact, the title track from Head Above Water was written at the height of that health battle and a dollar from every tour ticket sold goes to the Avril Lavigne Foundation which supports people with Lyme disease.
“Yeah, it was when I was feeling at my worst and I felt like I wasn’t going to live,” said Lavigne. “And I felt like in that night in particular I was going (to die). And it was just an intense moment and I just felt like I was drowning, like I was going under, and I was like, ‘I feel like I’m trying to come up for air and just like struggling and fighting.’ And then all those lyrics and the song concept came to me in the middle of that.”
We spoke to Lavigne down the line from her home base of L.A. before she stops at Toronto’s Meridian Hall (formerly the Sony Centre) on Sunday, Oct. 6, for the only Canadian date of her North American theatre tour.
How is music re-entry feeling?
It feels really good like to have stepped away and come back and started working again. It’s like falling in love with music all over again.
Did songwriting prove helpful?
Songs were just coming to me naturally which when I was going through a lot of tough stuff. It just showed me how much music is just such a part of who I am at the core, as a person, just so there in my soul. The songs were healing for me in the sense of like, ‘Okay, I’m talking about these things that I’m going through and acknowledging them, and finding strength and trying to make it a positive message.’ My music really helped me a lot.
Which is why the message on the new disc is ultimately positive?
A lot of these songs are about empowerment and that’s a consistent theme on this album. I just like was hoping to encourage people and lift people up with
whatever they’re going through in their life.
Who inspired the latest single, I Fell in Love with the Devil (whose video features Avril driving a hearse with her also in the coffin)?
That song is also about empowerment. So you kind of have to be careful about certain people who come into your life ‘cause not everyone’s trustworthy and it gets scary. It’s important to know your worth, be strong and confident about what you deserve, and don’t let people take advantage of you. Yeah, that’s something I went through where it was basically like an unhealthy situation and I’d never experienced anything like that before and so what I did naturally is write a song about it. But when I was writing the song, I’m also thinking like a guy can relate to this who’s like dated a crazy chick.
Is the thought of touring again daunting or exciting?
(During) band rehearsals, hearing the songs, performing the new songs live, bringing them life, has just been like awesome to hear, and I’m excited to perform them for the fans.
And the old stuff too?
Of course, we’re playing all the old songs too throughout the last 17 years, the big ones. And so it’s been really fun, rehearsing those as well, because they have a different energy. It’s even nostalgic for me. It reminds me of that time in my life. And I think the concert is going to be this really dope journey.
Can you believe you’ve had a career for 17 years?
Yeah, I know, when I hear that, I’m like, ‘What?’ It’s gone fast. I was 16 when I made that first album (2002’s Let Go) and 17 when it came out and then from that point on, I was gone. Like I left Canada basically and went to New York and L.A. to make that first album, and I guess that would have been 2000, 2001, and then the first song, Complicated, went massive and from that point on it was like, album, promo, tour, album, promo, tour.
You’ve obviously still close with Chad, from whom you separated in 2015?
He recorded Head Above Water for me. And helped write Warrior. And he helped demoing and recording the songs I was writing. He was very encouraging. We’re still close. He’s always there for me. Sometimes, when I write I song, I’ll be like, ‘Oh, my God! You’ve got to hear this song I wrote!’ And I’ll send it to him. Chad’s like family. He’s a great guy. And he’s still close to my family.
And the same for Deryck?
Yeah. The cool thing is we’re all from Canada. My mom’s friends with his mom. And Deryck and I are still in touch. Like I’ll visit with him and his wife once a year or whatever. Deryck and his wife are coming to my show in Los Angeles. They’re coming to the Greek Theatre. So it’s cool. Like I was with two musicians. Deryck was at one point in my life. I was with him when I was like 17, we started hanging out. And that was like a long relationship at that time. And it’s cool because we had so much in common like music and being Canadian. They were great relationships. They were like my long-term relationships. But you know how it goes, life is a journey.
He recorded Head Above Water for me. And helped write Warrior. And he helped demoing and recording the songs I was writing. He was very encouraging. We’re still close. He’s always there for me. Sometimes, when I write I song, I’ll be like, ‘Oh, my God! You’ve got to hear this song I wrote!’ And I’ll send it to him. Chad’s like family. He’s a great guy. And he’s still close to my family.
And the same for Deryck?
Yeah. The cool thing is we’re all from Canada. My mom’s friends with his mom. And Deryck and I are still in touch. Like I’ll visit with him and his wife once a year or whatever. Deryck and his wife are coming to my show in Los Angeles. They’re coming to the Greek Theatre. So it’s cool. Like I was with two musicians. Deryck was at one point in my life. I was with him when I was like 17, we started hanging out. And that was like a long relationship at that time. And it’s cool because we had so much in common like music and being Canadian. They were great relationships. They were like my long-term relationships. But you know how it goes, life is a journey.
Do you wave the Canadian flag when other Ontario artists have done well more recently?
Absolutely. I’m always like bragging about everyone that comes out of the Ontario-Toronto area especially. I mean, because it’s true. There are so many huge musicians like The Weeknd, Justin (Bieber) and Shawn (Mendes), yeah, absolutely. I’m very proud of all of them.
Have you seen any of them live in L.A.?
Last summer I went and saw Shawn Mendes at a cute little club out here like the Whiskey (a Go-Go) or something like that. And then said hello to him. Met him. Went to his show. He’s nice and he’s so successful right now. It’s so great to see. He’s super-talented. And he’s from Ontario!
How often do you get back to Canada and will playing Toronto be particularly special for you on this trek?
I don’t get back very often. Maybe like once or twice a year. Yeah, it’ll be nice because all my family will come out to the show. And like old friends from growing up and stuff like that. And the Toronto shows are always so great, like that’s my hometown show basically. And the Toronto crowd is such a music crowd, they’re music lovers. Toronto shows are always just really good, really fun.
