It's all part of the world domination plan of action, but it isn't the typical way bands become stars. Dear Rouge has etched a deep impression on music critics and penned some of the hottest pop songs on the Canadian airwaves, in the past few years, all without a single album.
On Tuesday their debut, Black To Gold, went on pre-sale with an official launch date of March 30 circled on the calendar. So how can this duo of Drew and Danielle McTaggart, backed up by a set of stylin' Vancouver-based bandmates, already be one of the nation's hottest acts? Two letters: EP. Dear Rouge has issued a pair of these small packages - EP discs - to get themselves established in manageable doses.
Heads Up! Watch Out! was the first, a four-song collection they made in early 2012 sold primarily on their Bandcamp web page. The title track became a fan favourite in Lower Mainland clubs and festivals, and established their personality. It was perhaps the definitive Vancouver sound: a little poppy (even new-wave) with the keyboards, a little punky in the percussion section, edged in rock up front in the guitar section, with literate lyrics and enunciated vocals. It was punchy, substantial and good-hearted.
They followed that up about six months later with Kids Wanna Know made explicitly for Vancouver's seminal rock contest The Peak Performance Project. And things went boom. Their song Thinking About You caught a fan wave and Dear Rouge sailed to victory in the contest, the top prize being more than $100,000.
"It's pretty cool," said Danielle about pacing their success.
"Not to get too technical into the business stuff, but EPs are like a soft introduction," said Drew. "If you put out your debut album, you want to make sure you make a good first impression. When we did our first EP, we were a newly married couple and we didn't have as much money as we wanted to put into it, and then our second one was rushed because we were in a contest. We are proud of them, and proud of the songs, but everything has gone into this first album so we make that good first impression (in the broader marketplace). I think the EPs helped us get where we are, by making little introductions as a new band."
Even before Black To Gold hits the market, it is already surging with positive fan energy. They teased the nation with the first single, I Heard I Had, in 2013 and it leapt high off the shoulders of Thinking About You. I Heard I Had became the third most played song in Canada in the indie-rock genre that year.
Which set up the release of Best Look Lately a few months ago. It has also seized a hold on fans, and makes the full album's release a high anticipation music event scheduled for the end of March.
It can only help that they are going to be seen across the nation on live television from the 2015 Canada Winter Games opening ceremonies tonight. For their fans that can't get in to see the CN Centre spectacular, they do a free show Saturday night at Canada Games Plaza outside in front of the Civic Centre.
Drew and Danielle admitted they were extra excited about playing in Prince George for the Games events. Both are veterans of the touring lifestyle, but they have only performed once before in P.G.
"We came to Cold Snap last year," said Drew. "Prince George is never on the road to play anywhere for us - we typically go from Vancouver to Calgary, then to Saskatoon and on east, that route - so we can't get up there as much as we like, and last year in February was amazing. We had so much fun at Cold Snap, everyone was up dancing, the crowd was awesome."
It will be a rare way for them to introduce their new material and remind fans of their familiar stuff in a crowd that embodies the entire cross-section of Canada at once. Drew said he hopes people will enjoy what they are likely only hearing for the first time as much as he enjoys the process of creating new music.
"The cool thing is that - and it's a tough thing for a musician to learn - our best songs are ahead of us. And we always need to think that way," he said. "We already released our old material, and everybody who wants it can get it, but we want to give everyone new and change. And also as a band, too, we hope that over our career that we grow and we get deeper and we experiment in a few areas and ideally we become better and better as a band."
Danielle said it was she that leads the duo's rockier, edgier side and Drew explained that the synth-pop parts were more his forte. By meeting the two in the middle, it gives Dear Rouge an overall wide appeal and a lot of room to lean into different genres in the future.
It is material born as a consequence of their unique position - the rare husband-wife combination in the writing sessions, production sessions and live performance sessions. It makes for a constancy few couples of any description ever experience.
"You know the phrase 'choose your battles'? For us there's a lot of weight on that," said Drew.
Danielle added, "We are getting better and better at it and we are knowing more about our strengths and weaknesses, so the more you do it the better you get."
Drew likened their relationship to the characters on House of Cards.
"That's a really weird example," Danielle said, wrinkling her nose at the comparison to the dark scheming of that TV couple - the fictitious president of the United States and First Lady played by Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright.
Drew clarified he meant only that they like to put their heads together to plot their next moves in the songwriting, production and band management areas.
"Yes, they are independent business people, but they are married and working together," she agreed, catching his drift.
"Just, minus the evil part," Drew added again.
The power of politics isn't at stake, but the McTaggarts do suffer from the to-and-fro of the creative process, which can be highly emotional territory for any artist. For the composer, building a song is done by picking out parts of your memories and perceptions and personality and massaging that in amongst bits of melody and rhythm that emerge from the mind.
"Some people think, because we're married, that we get candles and a bottle of wine, and pour our hearts out to write these beautiful songs," said Drew. "Actually, early on we struggled to write with each other because there's opinion and preferences and you have to be vulnerable with each other, and it was really difficult at first. We would often end up bickering or fighting. But now, usually every May - because you don't play a lot of shows in May because of all the festivals you do in the summer - we go up to our cabin, just Danielle and I, and we write. And those have been some of our most enjoyable times with music."
There are a lot of nieces and nephews and extended family in their lives. They often park the tour van and head straight over to look after the little ones when they get back from a tour. It keeps them grounded, connected to sincere people, and focused on true priorities, they said.
The Canada Winter Games represents, for each of them, that other more personal side.
"I snowboard, I know how to skate and play hockey from growing up in Alberta. Drew snowboards," said Danielle. (Dear Rouge is a play on Red Deer, her hometown.)
When you're a Canadian band, you're probably going to be in touch with your winter side. When they bash out the tunes in the great outdoors at Games Plaza, they will be in their element in every sense.
