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Deon in conversation about select songs from Lessons…

Francois Marchand, edmontonjournal.com

Published: Monday, November 12, 2007

Little Things, from Lessons (and Other Things Learned)

"It's a really old song - it's been around for about five years," explains Blyan. "It was probably one song I wrote very soon after recording Try To Be Kind. I played it now and again live, but I never thought it had the strength to be an album song. "There was a song that I heard that inspired me to play it - a Ben Harper song or something. I used to play very slow, very mellow. It probably came out of some ending of a relationship or whatever, but a moment where I had a clarity where you look back on certain situations in a relationship. I was looking at these big-picture things and looking too far in advance, not seeing what was happening right there at the time. It's a reminder: it's the little kind things in life that really matter."

Shine Again, from Lessons (and Other Things Learned)

"It was a real catalyst to this album actually happening," he explains. "It was a situation where I had writer's block for about a year. It's so cliche because it always comes back to relationships. I was in a long-term relationship that I hoped would get more serious and it ended. "Through the process of dealing with that, I spun through life for a couple of years dealing with it. Shine Again just came after I bought a Teddy Thompson album and listened to one of his songs. I just sat down and wrote Shine Again in its entirety. Immediately I drove to Edmonton and played for Chris Wynters at one of his open stages and said, 'OK, I really want to do this album.' The whole idea behind it is that I'm singing to myself, asking myself, 'When will the light shine again?' You've been sad long enough."We wanted to have it as a duet with Volya (Braziuk) - kind of a June Carter/Johnny Cash sort of thing where it's a bit of an argument going on in the verses. And then the chorus is asking that question: Let's stop being sad and angry, when will the light shine again? There's kind of a hope there, you know? I think in all my stuff there's a hope and a faith sort of thing."

New Sounds - Vue Weekly

Edmonton, Alberta. Oct 24 – 31. 2007

Deon Blyan Lessons (And Other Things Learned)
Shameless

EDEN MUNRO / eden@vueweekly.com

From the opening notes of “Little Things,” the lead-off track on Deon Blyan’s Lessons (And Other Things Learned), the warm tones of the record surround and comfort as Blyan’s voice soothes with a gentle reminder that it’s the little things that count. The next track, “(Tomorrow) It’ll Be Alright,” keeps the album moving with a bouncing rhythm that all but lifts you up and carries you along. Lyrically, things are still hopeful, if a shade darker, with Blyan singing “I want to change / It’s going to take me more than one night.”

There’s an unmistakable feeling of familiarity with the music, with pop-influences offset by a gentle twang that reminds of the work of Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy. Like Cuddy, Blyan has a bent for catchy, laid-back melodies and lyrics that capture the small struggles of everyday life. The rootsiness sometimes gets obscured by the wall of sound that many of the songs are built with, and the best moments happen on tracks like “Shine Again” and “Don’t Pass Me By,” both of which sound as though Blyan is right there in the room singing, but that’s not to say that something like “War and Peace” doesn’t hold a few surprises hidden away in its soaring organ and tight horns.

Deon Blyan is playing at Axis Café on Fri, Oct 26.

Quick hits (and misses) The Edmonton Journal

Published: Saturday, November 03, 2007
Album: Lessons (And Other Things Learned)
Artist: Deon Blyan
Label: Shameless Records

Rating: 4

Review: Wowee! Where did this guy come from? Even though Deon Blyan's been skittering about the Edmonton and Calgary music scenes for a while now, he's always been more of a ghostly presence than a name rolling off every Albertan's tongue. But that's all about to change. Lessons (And Other Things Learned) is cooked with small-town geniality, prairie ponderings and nightclub shimmers, making for an album just bursting with sleek folk-pop tunes. Right from the moment The Little Things opens the disc, you'll be hooked. For life. Every track is light yet rich, with golden brown melodies cuddling right into banjo rock-outs and Blyan's sophisticated vocals. Lessons sounds so good, you'll want to gobble it up in one bite. Just remember to remove the plastic first.

Amanda Ash

* deon.blyan@shaw.ca * or * info@shamelessrecordscanada.com * or * Phone: 780-231-3913 *