From opening for the Rolling Stones in Marseille to embarking on a cross-country Canadian tour, Ontario rockers The Glorious Sons are riding a thundering wave of success. Given such explosive popularity, it’s reasonable to assume their lives have changed dramatically, but vocalist/guitarist Brett Emmons says he’s focusing on staying grounded through it all.
“I would say I probably had the most trouble three or four years ago, when we started getting that stuff on the radio, and we could go and play anywhere in the country in front of a bunch of different people. That can change you a bit, but I feel like I’ve done a good job of not letting it change me in the end,” says Emmons. “It might have changed me for a while, but I’ve been quite good at feeling like the guy I felt like before it all.”
This dedication to staying true to themselves and to their roots is a big reason The Glorious Sons appeal to such a wide audience, but Emmons says the path hasn’t always been an easy one.
“I think more it’s been the decision to stop drinking a bottle of wine on stage every night, to stop staying out until four in the morning every night partying, to pare your friend group down, to see your parents more, to be a good boyfriend,” he says. “All these things, they’re conscious decisions that you have to make, and it’s a little harder to make them when you’re on the road constantly, and away from the people you love, and surrounded by—I don’t want to use the word, but—temptation.”
While this may be a different attitude compared to a lot of rock stars, it’s one that comes across strongly through Emmons’ lyrics, and it lends the band’s music a raw honesty. Rather than contradicting it, Emmons’ message about showing love and loyalty—both to oneself and others—adds a powerful complexity to the wild intensity of his stage performance.
“Maybe it’s not as cool, or maybe it’s not as exciting for the fans to hear, or for people to think about, but it’s what keeps me healthy and motivated and happy. I’ve realized I’m not willing to risk losing myself and losing the things I love and the people I love for this whole thing,” he says. “At the end of the day, I love to write songs, but I don’t necessarily love the lifestyle, and I definitely don’t love it as much as I love my girlfriend, my family, my brother at home. I don’t want to lose those real things that are important.”
Emmons’ passion for songwriting can be heard clearer than ever on the band’s most recent album, Young Beauties and Fools; Emmons says it’s that passion that motivates him, especially when he finds himself struggling with the realities of fame.
“Believe me, I have to songwrite. It’s what I love to do; it’s my favourite thing in the whole world. But songwriting is a totally different thing than being famous or putting on a persona; that’s not what songwriting is. You don’t sign up for the rest of it,” he says. “I’m a songwriter; that’s what I love to do. That doesn’t mean that I don’t want to be famous, that I don’t want to play in front of the biggest crowds that I possibly can; it just means that I don’t want to mortgage my entire self for that situation.”
Whether they’re ripping out blistering rock for a crowded stadium or slowing it down for a nostalgic ballad in an intimate club setting, Emmons says the most important thing is that their audience come away from shows feeling like they had a real, meaningful connection with the band.
“I want them to feel connected to us,” he says. “I want them to feel like they just saw a man be vulnerable, and be himself, and exciting, and sad, and psychotic, and sweaty, and dirty. I want them to feel the emotion that goes into performing in front of people.”
The Glorious Sons
7 pm Thursday, November 1
Various prices, Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre
sofmc.com