If a musical mad scientist mixed together the genes of Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, and Chuck Berry, adding a dash of Chet Baker and James Taylor, the end result might very well be East Coast singer-songwriter David Myles.

Sporting his black-framed glasses and wearing stylish suits, the 37-year-old New Brunswick native certainly bears more than a passing resemblance to Buddy Holly.

But when it comes to his music, it’s difficult to pigeonhole him into a single genre. Over the course of his career, he’s covered almost every genre, including jazz, folk, pop, rockabilly, R&B, gospel, and even hip hop.

“I have a hard time doing that too,” Myles says in a 2018 interview with North Carolina’ Asheville Citizen-Times. “Each record is a journey for me … a journey into a different genre.”

“I love the way that songs are built and love experimenting with all these different styles. My bread and butter is American roots music — a little bit of folk, a little bit of jazz — but I’ve done pop, hip-hop, gospel, R&B.”

VIDEO: “Real Love” – David Myles

Peterborough music fans have an opportunity to experience his eclectic music and entertaining live performance (he’s quite the dancer) on Wednesday, April 24th when Myles comes to the Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough.

He’ll be accompanied by his long-time bandmates Alan Jeffries on guitar (named the Atlantic Canada Bluegrass and Oldtime Music Association’s Bluegrass Guitar Player of the Year in 2005) and Kyle Cunjak on bass.

“I know that’s a lot of different styles,” he adds. “But because it’s just the three of us onstage playing the same instruments, it’s consistent. The vibe never changes. It’s all about making an accessible, fun, diverse show for the audience.”

VIDEO: “If You Want Tonight” – David Myles

Like many successful musicians, Myles was surrounded by music as a child. While growing up in Fredericton, his family had two pianos and his father, who was a biology teacher at a local high school, directed the school’s musicals.

With a particular love for jazz, Myles began learning trumpet when he was 10 years old, playing in school bands and even studying at The Royal Conservatory of Music.

Despite his passion for music, Myles decided he was going to become a lawyer. He attended Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, and graduated in 2003 with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in political science, with a minor in Chinese.

In was that minor in Chinese that ultimately changed his career decision. In 2001, at the age of 21, he travelled to Hangzhou in China as a foreign exchange student to learn Mandarin. While he was there, he bought a $30 plywood guitar and began writing songs.

VIDEO: “Night & Day” – David Myles

“All my spare time was spent playing”, he recalls in a 2007 interview with Sean Flinn of The Coast. “I went from not playing at all to getting completely into the idea of being a songwriter.”

When he returned to Canada, he decided to pursue a career in music after graduating rather than going on to law school. But Myles promised his father (who passed away in 2017) that, even if he wasn’t going to become a lawyer, he would wear a suit and tie at his job — which he continues to do every time he steps on stage.

In 2005, Myles released his debut album, Together and Alone, before moving to Halifax where he currently resides with his wife, CBC radio producer Nina Corfu, and their two daughters.

In 2006, he released his second album Things Have Changed, which earned him two Music Nova Scotia Awards and nominations for both the 2007 Canadian Folk Music Best New Artist Award and the East Coast Music Awards Galaxie Rising Star Recording of the Year.

VIDEO: “When It Comes My Turn” – David Myles

The song “When it Comes My Turn” from Things Have Changed went on to win the folk category at the 2008 Chris Austin Merlefest Songwriting Contest and the contemporary acoustic/folk category of the 2009 Great American Song Contest.

Since then, he has released 11 more albums, with his most recent being the 2018 acoustic version of 2017’s Real Love, which has a sound some listeners have described as ‘Elvis in Motown’.

“It is really reminiscent of the ’50s, early rock and roll country music,” Myles says in an interview with CBC. “It is hard to put a finger exactly on what it sounds like, but it takes you back and makes you want to dance.”

VIDEO: “Inner Ninja” – Classified featuring David Myles

Over the years, Myles has accumulated a slew of award nominations and wins, including a Juno Award in 2013 for Rap Recording of the Year for the song “Inner Nija” that he co-wrote with Nova Scotia rapper Luke Boyd (better known by his stage name Classified).

Myles also appears alongside Classified in the video accompanying the tune, which went triple platinum in Canada, becoming the best selling rap single in Canadian history. The video has almost 4.5 million views on YouTube.

“After a Classified show in Edmonton, I ran into a fan,” Myles writes in a 2013 blog post on the Huffington Post website. “He looked at me, amazed, and said: ‘Hey, aren’t you the guy who plays the nerd in the video?’ I sure am. I don’t play the nerd, I AM the nerd.”

VIDEO: “Cry, Cry, Cry” – David Myles

Along with Classified, Myles’ friends and musical collaborators include Joel Plaskett, who produced Myles’ 2010 album Turn Time Off, and fellow native New Brunswicker Measha Brueggergosman, the acclaimed Canadian soprano.

Last fall saw a few firsts for Myles. He released his first francophone record Le Grand Départ, along with the acoustic version of Real Love. He debuted his first radio show, ” Myles From Home”, on CKUA in Alberta.

And he published his first book, Santa Never Brings Me A Banjo, a the children’s picture book illustrated by Murray Bain. It’s based on a Christmas song Myles wrote in 2014 (one of his daughters suggested he make the song into a book).

VIDEO: “Out of Love” – David Myles

Currently, Myles is working on a new full-length album he’ll be recording in June after his current tour, the first stop of which is at the Market Hall on April 24th.

“The most important part of my career is to be an entertainer, showing up where no one knows who I am and playing for a couple hundred people,” Myles tells the Asheville Citizen-Times. “They’re taking a risk spending money to come see me, and my job is to make sure that they have an awesome time — whether they’re 80 or 20.”

Tickets for David Myles’ April 24th concert at the Market Hall are $28 for general admission, or $33 for an assigned cabaret table seat, and are available at the Market Hall box office, by phone at 705-749-1146, or online at markethall.org.

Ask anyone who has met success and a common denominator quickly emerges: at some point in his or her journey, someone stood in their corner, had their back, and did what they could to help move things along.

For American singer-songwriter Carrie Alice Williams, that someone is Omemee’s Bob Young — the older brother of legendary musician Neil Young.

As Neil’s brother, Young has enjoyed unique access to the world in which the talented roam and make their living.

Over the course of decades now, he has met and heard countless singers and musicians perform in venues ranging in size from the most intimate of clubs to theatres and arenas that seat thousands.

So when Young says we should pay attention to a particular artist, we should listen. His endorsement carries a considerable weight.

Such is the case with Carrie Alice Williams. Speaking from Florida where he is finishing his book entitled True Golf – Mind Power and the Art of the Direct Hit (which details his golfing experiences with his longtime friend, the late Canadian professional golfer Moe Norman), Bob Young’s excitement is clearly palpable as the conversation turns to Williams.

“She can sing with anybody,” Young says. “The poetic depth of her writing and her songs have struck me as being in the same league with established and known international singer-songwriters … Joni Mitchell, a lot of the songs Sarah McLachlan performs. Of all those who have crossed my path, she is the one whose talent is magnetic.”

When it comes to endorsements, that’s as good as it gets. But it’s not just an endorsement; Young is also on a mission to introduce Williams’ talent to as many people as possible.

So it is that, on Wednesday, June 5th, Young will present Williams in concert at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough. General admission tickets to the 8 p.m. performance cost $37 or $42 for assigned cabaret-style seating (service fee and taxes included in price) at the box office, by phone at 705-749-1146, or online at markethall.org.

Peterborough musicians Melissa Payne and Evangeline Gentle will be opening the show.

VIDEO: “September Skies” – Melissa Payne

VIDEO: “The Strongest People Have Tender Hearts” – Evangeline Gentle

“Bob has been forever supportive of my songs and my songwriting,” says a grateful Williams when we reach her in the Palm Springs, California area where she has a gig “working in the sun by spa mineral pools of varying temperatures.”

“Bob knows a lot. He has been around Neil his whole life and knows what’s what. When he says something is good, it’s a big compliment. I’m very grateful. You don’t just walk through those doors easily.”

VIDEO: “My Baby Left Town” – Carrie Alice Williams

One of those doors opened for Williams last year in California at a private gathering of Neil Young’s family and friends. Williams, who attended the gathering as a guest of Bob Young, was given the opportunity to play her song “How ‘Bout The Moon” to a group that included, besides the Young brothers, Stephen Stills, Lukas Nelson, and the members of Young’s band Crazy Horse (Billy Talbot, Ralph Molina, and Nils Lofgren).

After Bob Young told her she could play a song or two that evening, Williams had some time to dwell on the prospect of sharing her music with such venerable musicians.

“I asked myself ‘Are you going to fold under this or are you going to stand up to the challenge?” All you can do is step up to the plate and be yourself. If they don’t like you, well, too bad. You are who you are.'”

As it turned out, Williams didn’t fold under the pressure. In fact, according to Tim Mulligan (Neil Young’s sound man since 1972) who recorded her at the gathering, “She nailed it” — a sentiment echoed by everyone who was there, including Neil Young himself, who expressed particular admiration for her piano playing.

As if that wasn’t special enough, Williams also had a chance to meet and chat with her idol, the legendary musician Joni Mitchell.

“There’s this big black car and there she is. Bob introduced me to her. She has been my idol forever. She was instrumental in my starting to write songs and there she was. She was just the sweetest person ever. It was a beautiful experience for me and I’ll be forever grateful Bob did that for me.”

Fast forward to late January 2019, where Williams had another opportunity most musicians can only dream of: she opened for Neil Young at two concerts in Minneapolis, Minnesota — the first at the historic 2,500-seat Orpheum Theatre.

“The Marx Brothers played there,” notes Williams. “When I got on stage, I said ‘Hey, I guess I’m the only person I know who followed The Marx Brothers.’ They all cracked up.”

For his part, Bob Young clearly remembers the impact Williams’ performance had.

“The audience came to see a singer-songwriter they had probably been following all their lives and here’s this individual they had never heard of,” he recalls. “Every song she sang was an original, so they had never heard any of the songs.

“There was a little set of steps off the front of the stage. I said to Carrie ‘Let’s go back to the sound board and watch Neil’s show from there.’ So we went off the front of the stage and into the aisle toward the back of the hall. It took quite awhile to get there, because all these people who had just seen her wanted to say how much they liked what she was doing. It was quite interesting but it was real. It was sincere.”

There’s no question Williams made quite an impression when she opened for Neil, because she’s been invited to do it again during his West Coast tour in May. She’ll be opening for him at his May 17th show in Portland, Oregon.

As for Williams’ June 5th concert at the Market Hall, Young sees it as “a building block” in his quest to give more audiences that same experience.

Another major step in the process came last October when Peterborough-based SLAB Productions hosted two intimate performances by Williams as part of its Visiting Artists Series.

Both shows sold out, causing series founder and organizer Phil Connor to remark afterwards:

“It is extremely rare to find an artist who can play, sing, and compose at a high level. Joni Mitchell is one. Laura Nyro is another, Carole King and, in today’s pop music, Lady Gaga. Carrie Alice Williams is one of those. Her performances are transcendent. It is no wonder she was invited to open for one of Canada’s most iconic artists.”

If you’re getting the impression that all reviews of Williams’ performances are over-the-top in a similar vein, you’re right on the money. There’s a reason for that, notes Young.

“There are very, very few people who have this kind of talent. I’m sure there are others across North America, but the only people that know they exist are the people where they live. That’s basically Carrie’s position except it’s now shifting. It’ll be very interesting to watch what happens in Peterborough.”

For her part, Williams is looking forward to her second visit to the city, buoyed by her experience the first time around. Her stay included a recording session at James McKenty’s studio — “He and (wife) Kelly are the nicest people ever. I adore them.”

On her way to Peterborough last fall, crossing into Canada from New York State, she admits to having taken a wrong turn but quickly notes the added driving turned into a blessing. It gave her more time to form the lyrics for her song “Anywhere but Home”, which she later recorded with McKenty, the first take being the keeper.

She has since shot a video to accompany the song, which was done in rural Pennsylvania with her brother along for the ride, but the song itself came together “in the wilds of Canada.”

VIDEO: “Anywhere but Home” – Carrie Alice Williams

To see the complete video, visit www.carriealicewilliams.com.

Despite the praise that has followed her, Williams is as grounded as they come.

“When people ask me who I am, I say ‘I’m myself,'” she laughs, admitting to being excited over her Market Hall appearance but far from nervous or overwhelmed.

“It gets back to the concept of being interested or being interesting. If you’re really interested in other people, you’re interesting to them. I don’t think about myself a lot. It’s heartening that people want to hear my music. My purpose is to make people feel good. So many people come up to me at gigs and say ‘Oh my God, you just made my day’, that makes me feel good.”

As for her songwriting — she has one album, A Bird In Hand, but her original compositions number several hundred — Williams keeps index cards close by to jot down thoughts and musings as they arise. She adds penning lyrics is not a process she forces to happen.

“The minute you try to put a lot of effort into something it takes creativity down a notch. For me, the practice is creation. I don’t mess with it. When it comes, it comes. And if it doesn’t come, so be it … I’ll just do the dishes or something.

“When I did Flowers From The Sky at Neil’s gig, I walked out into the audience and people came up to me saying ‘Oh my God, you just made me feel so good. I have a four year old, I have a two year old, I have children, you made me cry.’ People are the same everywhere.

“I’m just being myself but it’s their reality. I don’t talk about myself. I let them talk and I say ‘Thank you’ and then I move on.

“I’ve played to two people and I’ve played The Orpheum Theatre. It (the Market Hall show) will be what it is and I’ll do the best I can. That’s all I can promise. But this time I’m going to check out the roads before I go.”

Young, meanwhile, says it’s a different time than the late 1960s and early 1970s when artist development was a record company thing and venues for up-and-coming musicians abounded. Musicians today, he says, “are sitting in their houses with computerized recording equipment and recording all these songs.”

“I’m functioning as the manager, the agent, the promoter here. I’ve got many hats to wear but that’s okay because in this situation it directly involves my family: my brother and his management company. It’s difficult for anyone to walk into the middle of that and use it the way I can. Nobody objects to what I’m doing or saying because they all think Carrie is really good.”

Young adds his famous brother — Bob brought him back to Omemee in December 2017 for a Coronation Hall concert and, back in 2010, the pair visited the now closed Youngtown Museum — “is well aware of what I’m doing with Carrie and trying to be helpful. That’s a very useful direction to have help coming from because it’s effective. But it’s based on the fact that Carrie has the talent to back it up.”

For more information on Carrie Alice Williams, visit www.carriealicewilliams.com.

Every Thursday, we publish live music and performance events at pubs and clubs in Peterborough and The Kawarthas based on information that venues provide to us directly or post on their website or social media channels. Here are the listings for the week of Thursday, April 18 to Wednesday, April 24.

If you’re a pub or club owner and want to be included in our weekly listings, please email our Nightlife Editor at nightlife@kawarthanow.com.

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

– Isaac Asimov’s “Three Laws of Robotics”

Beginning Thursday, April 18th, The Theatre on King (TTOK) in downtown Peterborough invites audience to enter the futuristic world of Isaac Asimov in Escape from I. Bot.

Adapted from Asimov’s short story “Escape!”, Escape from I. Bot was written and is directed by local artist Eryn Lidster and features Kaitlyn VanKoppen, Addison Wylie, Bradley Boyle, Dan Smith, and Derrek Bell blasting off into their own mystery in space.

First published in 1945 in an issue of Astounding Science Fiction under the title “Paradoxical Escape”, Isaac Asimov included the story under his original intended title “Escape!” in his 1950 hallmark sci-fi anthology I, Robot. It tells the story of the attempt of robotics company U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men, Inc. to enter the space race by developing the first successful hyperspace drive.

Led by Dr. Susan Calvin (Kaitlyn VanKoppen) and her assistant Dr. Robert Levan (Addison Wylie), the spaceship is built by a supercomputer named Isaac (Bradley Boyle), who has a whimsical personality and a childlike mind. Upon the spacecraft’s completion, two inspectors, Powell (Derrek Bell) and Donovan (Dan Smith), enter the ship and find themselves unexpectedly blasted into hyperspace by Isaac.

As the pair struggle to survive, Dr. Calvin is tasked with getting the men back while determining why supercomputer Isaac seems to have broken the First Law of Robotics (“A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm”) by knowingly sending the inspectors to their apparent deaths. What follows is truly a journey with an unexpected end.

“Escape!” is an interesting Asimov story to bring to the stage, and Eryn Lidster and her company create an imaginative and visually interesting production. Filled with comedy, fun characters, and tons of intrigue, there is a sort of over-the-top whimsy to the show that keeps in the spirit of the pulp sci-fi that inspired it.

While watching Escape from I. Bot, I was often struck by the narrative and visual sensibilities of classic era Doctor Who, which in its golden age was beloved by fans for its imaginative plots yet cheap production values.

The relationship between Dr. Susan Calvin and Dr. Robert Levan in many ways mirrors that of classic Doctor Who characters as well.

In Dr. Susan Calvin, Kaitlyn VanKoppen plays a woman whose scientific mind is so advanced that she relates more to machines than to people. Her dialogue is filled with so much techno babble that she often doesn’t make any sense.

Her joys come from solutions and discoveries, which is when she actually shows any sort of humanity or excitement. Albeit likable, she is not always relatable.

Thus, Addison Wylie’s function as her assistant Dr. Robert Levan is — much like the Doctor Who companions of yore — to have someone for Dr. Calvin to talk to, translate the techno babble into a language the audience can understand, and be relatable. The dialogue between the two characters is often at risk of going over the audience’s heads, but somehow maintains enough reality for the audience to grasp.

If Kaitlin and Addison are the brain of the show, Dan Smith and Derrek Bell as the two men lost in space are the heart. The actors play Powell and Donovan a classic comedic duo, with Derrek as a brash and mouthy wise guy and Dan as a cold and calculating genius.

Together, they create a sense of comedy and drama as the two men hurtle through the vast unknown to an uncertain fate. However, no matter how dire the circumstance, Derrek and Dan always manage to bring a sense of comedy to their scenes, allowing the production to never get heavy handed.

The most inspired casting in the show is Bradley Boyle as the robot Isaac (called “The Brain” in Asimov’s original story), who becomes the audience favourite. His first time ever on stage, Bradley steals each scene he is in with his child-like innocence, his sense of irony, and his expressive nature.

Trapped in a static computer construct complete with working arms and monitors, Isaac again reflects the look and feel of classic Doctor Who with his ridiculously campy yet still somehow sophisticated-looking contraption. Bradley brings a ton of personality to the stage, and his performance is the highlight of the show.

One of the special aspects of Escape from I. Bot that makes the show stand out is the creative use of projection with a pair of original films brilliantly created by Adam Martignetti.

The opening film is a creative and hilarious commercial introducing the audiences to US Robots and Mechanical Men, Inc., and the second, longer film becomes a creative and haunting centrepiece to the production that adds to the mystery of hyperspace and the fate of the men in space.

Beautiful and well done, Adam’s film work is an inspired idea that really works.

I also want to give Eryn Lidster another shout out for her creation of the fantastic set. Simple yet complex and sophisticated yet campy, the set brings together the era of cheap sci-fi and the sleekness of higher-budget productions into a delightful mishmash that comes together beautifully.

A rotating space cone puts the inspectors into a claustrophobic state, increasing their desperation and discomfort, while the scientists drink coffee from a sleek space-aged dinette set. Meanwhile, Isaac is more of a set piece than a prop or character in his large immobile state. It’s an extremely inventive set that moves and surprises the audience.

An inspired and fun production, Escape from I. Bot runs from Thursday, April 18th to Saturday, April 20th at The Theatre on King (171 King St., Peterborough). Performances start at 8 p.m., with an additional matinee at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are $15 at the door or pay what you can.