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Photo By: Wayne Tozzi / www.oprynorth.com

Opry North

Name: Vince Roy

Birth date: June 26

Birthplace: Montreal, Quebec

Hometown: Towns in Ontario and Quebec

Resides In: Toronto area

Instruments played: Guitar

Starting performing at age: 7 years old.

Most memorable performance: “ They’re all memorable for their own reasons, so it’s too hard to choose just one.”

What do you do to relax: “Socialize – I enjoy spending time with people, and eat.”

Finished CD’s : 1

Management: “Vince is in negotiations right now about deciding who to choose for management…Bill, George…anyone but ‘a boy named Sue”. (Ha – ha- ha).

Record Label: Independent

Website: http://www.vinceroy.com

Family gatherings filled with music are the most memorable events in many television shows, movies and in the hearts of many a country music performer. Canadian singer-songwriter Vince Roy is no exception to that rule; those memories are what have kept him going through varied and sometimes hard times. His father and uncles were immersed into their music (his dad being in a country band at the time) and those gatherings always turned into what Vince has called ‘jamborees’, with country, bluegrass and whatever fell in between being featured. With Vince being born and raised in Quebec, then moving to Ontario while still very young this grounding in music appreciation had traveled with him, to a degree. He has admitted to having some difficulty in music class in school and “not wanting to be there, because they didn’t play country.” Now that’s a serious case of music appreciation. Nor was he the only Roy child to be ‘bitten’. Family Christmas entertainment would feature his sister on drums, dad on bass and little brother on guitar, plus many cousins to join in whenever they could. These days only Vince and some cousins have carried on the musical traditions, still lapsing into those wild jamborees when they get together. In fact, just a few weeks ago a return from a ‘gathering’ revealed a voice that felt a little worse for wear from singing for the whole weekend.

They say that the way a person will turn out is pretty much shaped at a very young age and time spent at his father’s side, first learning to play the country songs of the 50’s and 60’s on guitar, then while helping to build the family’s home have taught Vince the value of many things. Hard work, patience, perseverance plus the appreciation of those you love. The strength of this young man was tested when he was only 17 and he lost his father in a plane crash; in the turmoil that followed it was love and support from his family and music that provided some comfort. While the loss was and always will be the heartbreaking event that no one should have to face, for Vince it was the start of putting his soul into his music and allowing that connection that he and his father had shared to help him through. One natural outlet was songwriting and it was at this time that the words and music came together as a way to express what was being felt, something that has continued ever since. The quote ‘out of adversity, happiness grows’ can’t really apply to this situation, but adversity did help in the development of a wonderful songwriter in this case. Hopefully he’ll always draw comfort from it.

Working with your hands is what a musician does, and when you have to make a living ‘in the real world’ (until that ‘magic time’ comes) you do what you must to get by. Vince was (and is) no exception. Following high school he took a few college programs and some vocational training, registering in apprenticeship programs for the various trades. He’s worked in just about every construction trade out there, from carpentry, plumbing to building log homes – so when he sings “Mr. Fixit”, he really qualifies for more than just hearts. Speaking of hearts, it was that very thing that led him out of Ontario to Vancouver a few years ago when the ‘subject of his heart’s desire’ crossed the country, with Vince in tow. It was during this relationship that Vince began to tire of working in the trades and decided to focus instead on his longtime dream of music. His affinity with children and his natural way with them also brought on a stint as a foster parent, something he remembers with smiles and fondness for the kids he’d been a ‘dad’ to.

Diving into a new career with both feet can prove to be disquieting to the person doing the diving but when you’re in a relationship it’s a doubly scary view from the top. That relationship ultimately began to unravel, even as Vince began recording demos of the songs he’d been writing and making his entrance into the country music network in Vancouver. Collaborations with some excellent songwriters resulted in a fair sized body of work, so when Vince met up with Kenny Hess it was arranged that a trip to Nashville would be in order. In 1999 Vince spent his allotted time in Nashville’s Germantown Studios recording the songs he’d written with John Peacox (“Mr. Fixit”), John and Kenny Hess (“Settle For A Dance”) and a song written by Ron Irving, Kenny Hess and the legendary Randy Bachman (“What’s Wrong With You”). The resulting CD sampler has been popular, with the single “Mr. Fixit” receiving some attention from Canadian radio and airplay in many European countries. At this same time Vince began performing at a large variety of events, from local establishments to the Merritt Mountain Music Festival. It was the final dissolution of the relationship that led to Vince’s decision to put everything he had into making the music career a reality, so he moved back to Ontario and things began to move ahead. On New Year’s Eve this past year Vince opened for Johnny Reid, followed by opening for Jamie Warren and John Landry. He’s been writing songs, lots of them and they are very popular with his many fans. He’s begun collaborating with songwriters who have had Top 10 songs released in Canada and it’s only a matter of time before his songs are up there too. Every time he performs he gains new fans and many of them travel out to see him, no matter where he will be. And they are rewarded, with a smile, some with a hug, and all with a great amount of appreciation from a man who really is all heart.

When you write a lot of reviews, articles or profiles about people that you admire but don’t know that well it can be a challenge. It’s funny, but it’s more of a challenge when you actually do know the person you have to write about, harder still when you know them quite well. What to tell about, how much to tell and how to tell it become all the more important because while you want to give your impressions and viewpoint, you don’t want to spill any secrets or seem to be too biased. And all of that is very true as I sit to write this section of Vince’s profile. In my usual way of ‘telling it like it is’, I decided to be upfront about the dilemma facing me and those who do know me well will know that I never say what I don’t mean…I feel that to be a waste of my time and a bigger waste of yours. And if we’ve learned anything from the bio section of this profile it’s that time is a valuable thing, not to be wasted.

So if you feel that I may be looking at the world of Vince Roy through rose coloured glasses think again…not this girl. I’ll leave the ‘romantic notions’ stuff for Vince to write about, he’s much better at it than I am – I’m not in the least a ‘romantic’ sort of person…give me flowers? Please! Give me something useful, like a book by one of my favourite authors. No, I won’t use any flowery sentiments to tell you about Vince. Words that come to mind first are words like courageous, determined, dependable, loyal, insightful, shrewd, intelligent, shy, appreciative, witty and creative. And not in any particular order. When you see Vince, don’t be fooled into thinking that what you see is what you get. That man has more layers than an onion, and as you get to know him and they are ‘peeled away’ you will see why he is so valuable – as a performer, as a songwriter and as a friend.

The fact that he can be so optimistic about things when he’s had his share of ‘butt kicking’ puzzles me sometimes as we’ve had our share of discussions about the music business and what opinions we both have about this’n that. One thing he’s told me about the performing part of things is that he’d learned early on (while still a kid) that if you screw up just keep playing because “people don’t care so much, they just want to be entertained”. And it’s true. I’ve been to many a show where someone forgets the words, comes in late, sings the chorus twice or something similar and as long as they keep going, no one seems to mind. They still get their share of applause at the end, no matter what.

Vince has also admitted that there’s a lot to learn about the music business, something that I’ve also heard from artists like John Landry, and they’ve both told me no one could ever learn it all…just when you think you’ve got a grasp, you find there’s more to it yet. So when I asked Vince what he felt would be the assets that would help an artist to succeed and I gave him four choices, he chose ‘organizational ability’ and being able to create enough ‘buzz’. Now, those of us who know him might wonder about the ‘organizational ability’ choice – he can be forgetful - but when he says he’ll bring something when he plans to see you next he always remembers, and if he says he’ll find out something for you he always does…and as for ‘buzz’, just go to one of his shows and you’ll see what ‘buzz’ is all about. He’s also mentioned that first entering the industry is a bit like “walking in the dark”, which is why he has no problem with helping anyone starting out who might ask for some advice. Yes, the business can be very competitive but Vince likes to try to help everybody while he does acknowledge that what has ‘worked’ for him might not work for someone else. “Go by your gut, it’ll happen for you the way it’s supposed to happen,” is how he puts it.

One thing he has no problem with is being creative, regularly coming up with the songs that please the fans so much at his shows. Recently I called one morning to hear a rather excited songwriter asking me if I had “time to listen to something?” What am I, nuts? Of course I had time (and if I didn’t I’d make the time – that’s what friends do) so in no time a recording was playing his latest composition into the phone, only half the lyrics were there and it wasn’t near finished but it was clearly the beginnings of a beautiful song. How he does that I’ll never know…his kind of writing and mine are similar only in the way we put how we feel into what we ‘write’. And when necessary, he can inject just the right amount of humour into his songs to get his point across and paint the picture a little clearer. To me, that’s talent enough, but to sing them too is another thing again. For those of you who haven’t been able to hear Vince sing I’d have to describe his voice as ‘traditional but with a unique change-up ability’ that I have to admit I never get tired of hearing.

On a personal level I’d have to say that I’ve only had a handful of friends that have ‘struck a chord’ with me like Vince has. I’ll tell you how we met…it was November, 2000 at the O.C.P.F.A. Awards weekend. On the Saturday there was a guitar pull featuring, along with Vince, John Landry and Rich Baker – another two I admire a great deal (plus I like them very much, they’re great guys). So when they went down the line and each had their turn singing to just their acoustics I was so impressed with the songs and the voice of this ‘stranger’ that I took the chance to jump out in front of him and introduce myself afterwards, so I could tell him what I thought of his performance. We didn’t chat long, but I gave him my card and left him to make his way around the room. Shortly afterward I got a Christmas card from him, then we began to ‘talk’ via email. That turned into phone calls and went on from there. In the months since I’ve learned a lot about Vince, and we’ve become very good friends that I feel can always depend on each other.

We’ve had some pretty insightful discussions about some things, like self-sacrifice for staying true to our dreams. Many people reach a point where they have to choose between staying true not only to that dream but to themselves and the same is true in Vince’s case. He had to choose between his relationship with a woman or his music and his fans. Although it tore him up, for Vince there could be no other choice – he’s still writing, he’s still singing and the fans are still coming out. So when you see him next, remember that behind that wide smile and firm handshake is a man who puts you first, always. Now, that’s love.

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