Managing drumming duties for two award-winning local bands, Brad Tuck goes for the trifecta with his debut solo effort, On These Waters
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How do you top a spring where you work and tour alongside trad legends Shanneyganock and release the sophomore album of your award winning pop rock group Fairgale? Well, you release your debut solo album, that’s how! Or at least that’s the winning formula for drummer turned frontman Brad Tuck.
The Hant’s Harbour native has had a busy 2018, to put it mildly.
“I’ve said all along that you’ve kind of got to wear a lot of different hats if you’re looking to make it and make a living in the music business,” Tuck shared with The Herald. “Just try to dip your toe in a bunch of lakes or ponds.”
Debut Solo Effort
Tuck transitions from behind the drum kit to vocal duties for his debut solo effort, On These Waters. The album is best described as traditional Newfoundland fare, with Tuck returning to the roots that first led to him performing in small venues as a young lad.
“I always kind of sang,” he explains. “Between the ages of six and 15 I was always singing and goofing around playing acoustic guitar. You get away from it a little bit – I played in a metal band for a little while. We started Fairgale four years ago and I switched to drums. For the last couple of years it has kind of been scratching at me a little bit, to kind of dive back in. We made new connections and I had never really lost the love for that type of music. It was about finding the time.
“I picked up the guitar first when I was four or five. That was the music of my household,” he adds. “I can remember my mom and dad sitting down – no internet at that time – and it was just cassette tapes. They’d sit down and write out the lyrics for me. Play it, rewind and write. That’s what I’d use as my lyric books when I was really young. It was a different time, but that’s what I grew up on.” 
Balancing a winter/spring schedule that has included the On These Waters album release, a Canadian tour with Shanneyganock, and the Pillars launch and tour alongside Fairgale, has been precarious, to say the least. It does however allow Tuck the rare opportunity to paint with multiple colours musically, so to speak.
‘I love it all’
“There was a bit of a window, so I just dove in,” Tuck explains. “I turned my spare bedroom upstairs into a studio and just pumped the whole record out in about six weeks. I played everything myself, so it was basically my own schedule I had to work around.
“I love it all,” he says. “It’s a great thing to be able to balance everything. Luckily the Fairgale guys were thrilled for me to jump at the Shanneyganock opportunity. There’s no issue there in terms of working around that. Now my own thing on the side as well, it’s great to be able to pump in a few dates anyway that I can and try to make everything work together.”
For more on the new album visit Tuck’s social medias and official website, bradtuckmusic.com