This week, I lost a friend, a teacher, and a hero. On holiday yesterday in England, I
reluctantly checked my email, Facebook, Twitter, dreading the flood of bills and
business correspondence Iʼd ignored for the past week. Instead, I was greeted with the
news of the death of Jack Layton. Blindsided, I simply closed my laptop and hugged my
wife. We have all lost something great. One of the best, in fact.

Although I knew Jack as a dynamic, passionate and sometimes controversial city
councillor, I first got to know Jack Layton well when I began working with The White
Ribbon Campaign to counter violence against women in the 1990s. At the musical
events I was a part of, Jack would stir up the crowd and unite them in their desire to
improve themselves and the world around them. At the posher gala events, he was a
tireless fundraiser, as an auctioneer heʼd coax the patrons with the deepest pockets to
empty them for the cause.

After watching Jack in action, I would whisper to him and to Olivia that he needed to run
for the NDP leadership. When he decided to throw his hat into the ring in 2002, he
invited me to come to their house for the media announcement. We rode around the
block on his and Oliviaʼs tandem bike for a photo op, fitting, as he had been an early
crusader for bike lanes in Toronto. He made sure I wore a helmet.
I continued with Jack to Ottawa for his formal announcement. Both solo and with
Barenaked Ladies, I played concerts for him and the NDP to bring young voters into the
political sphere. None of this was cynical - Jackʼs idealism was real and heartfelt. He
believed that we as Torontonians, and we as Canadians had an opportunity and a
responsibility to work together to make our world a better one for all of us.

Jack was not just ours - he cared deeply about the world, and the tributes pouring in
from all corners attest that the world cared back. He was deeply respected
Jack loved music, and wasnʼt afraid to sing out loud and wasnʼt afraid to dance in front
of a crowd. In fact, he wasnʼt afraid of much. He loved to ride his bicycle with Olivia all
over this country he so loved, and he was a proud and close parent of Mike and Sarah.
My thoughts are with them now.

Jack taught me that idealism is not naïveté, that it is about finding a common set of
values with others, and a path toward realizing their fruition in society.

In the darkest of times, Jack could always find the possibilities of the future and lessons
we could learn from His respect for the true values and history of Canada - the link
between families of all stripes and labour, agriculture and industry, along with his tireless
crusade against poverty, showed us who Jack was, and acted as a mirror for all of us.

At last yearʼs Riverdale Share concert, a neighbourhood holiday fundraiser (Jack was
also my MP in Riverdale-Danforth), I proudly watched as he engaged my fourteen year
old son in a nearly hour-long conversation. He loved people, and nurtured relationships
with them, introducing them to each other. He would then stand back and watch new
networks and alliances grow from the seed he planted.

In my sadness, I want to say Jack is irreplaceable. As a man, he is. As a leader, his
vision cannot simply die with him. He took Canada and the NDP to new heights and
made us all better for it. It is right to feel such sorrow right now, but we cannot despair;
we are a nation schooled by Jack, and we can battle the anger and bitterness and
exclusion that is growing around us with the kindness, love and inclusiveness that Jack
exuded from every pore. Although Iʼd like to say we will not know his like again, I know
that we all must ensure that we do, in fact, know his like again. And soon.

Our sadness is justified, but the tribute that Jack would really want, and truly deserves,
is the growth of what he started in Canada.

Hey folks - sorry for the last-minute cancellation. It wasn't for health or family reasons, but because of a tour opportunity I got offered for February. Which we can't announce until Monday. Stay tuned and thanks for the good wishes.

Blog?  Oh how I’ve neglected you.  I’m sorry.  I’ve missed you; a little, at least.  But I haven’t been sitting around doing nothing, you know.  I’ve been busy – making records, rehearsing with my new band, doing occasional solo gigs, renovating my house, and then re-renovating after it flooded.  I’ll post descriptions of all of these things in the near future as I begin to gear up for the release of my new album.  Yes, my new album – that’s what I’m here to tell you about today.

First things first, the first single is called “Indecision,” and it will be available for download from the iTunes Music Store THIS TUESDAY, the 27^th of July, in the US and Canada.  It will also be available for download from the store at stevenpage.com for everyone around the world.  Well, everyone with an internet connection. 

“Indecision” was written by me and Stephen Duffy, with whom I wrote most of 2005’s Vanity Project album, as well as BNL songs like “Jane,” “Call and Answer,” and “Powder Blue.”  Most of the instruments are played by me and my co-producer John Fields, with drums by Elvis Costello’s long-time drummer Pete Thomas, and backup vocals by Esthero.  The track is a melding of Jobim-style Brazilian pop and classic Steven Page power-pop.  I’m excited about finally getting this music out to you, and I hope you like it.

The single has already been played by MIX 104.1 in Boston, for whom I’m playing a short solo set at their Mixfest 2010 on August 2^nd, and if you like the song, it would help me a huge amount if you were to call, email or tweet at your favourite station and ask them to play it.  The more they play it, the better chance I have of coming to your town and playing live.  Speaking of playing live, my next blog post will be about the new band and our first show last week.  I promise to post this soon, not months from now, as has been my habit of late.

But, perhaps more importantly, I can finally give you some album details.  My first real solo album is being released in Canada by Anthem/Universal and in the US on Zoe/Rounder on October 19^th and it’s called Page One.  I produced it with John Fields, and it features guest appearances from the aforementioned folks as well as Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket, The Hornheads (they were Prince’s NPG horn section), and the late Will Owsley, as well as members of my touring band.

Musically, the album is all over the map, as so many of my favourite records are – from the grand orchestration of “A New Shore,” to the folky “Clifton Springs,” to the big band jazz of “Leave Her Alone,” and the straight-up rock of “Marry Me” and the electronic pop of “Entourage” and “Queen of America,” Page One is a genre-hopping tribute to the music I love, and the music I grew up with.  I wrote a couple of the songs with my pal Craig Northey (Odds), a bunch more with Stephen Duffy, and the rest I wrote on my own.  The recording process was insanely fun, creative, and shockingly stress-free. I’m super-proud of this album, and I can’t wait for you to hear it all.  Hope you enjoy it even half as much as I did making it.

Track Listing:

1. A New Shore
2. Indecision
3. Clifton Springs
4. Entourage
5. Marry Me
6. All The Young Monogamists
7. She’s Trying To Save Me
8. Over Joy
9. If You Love Me
10. Leave Her Alone
11. Queen Of America
12. The Chorus Girl