Some years ago, I had the opportunity to catch an up and coming Canadian band, Dear Rouge, at a Canucks game. We knew they had a ton of potential which the husband and wife duo translated into a JUNO Award. Well, thankfully, we had a chance to catch up with Danielle McTaggart of Dear Rouge to talk about not just the JUNO Award, but about the beautiful city of Vancouver and, of course, their brand new album, Phases. (Photos by Chris Schoonover)
So without any further adieu, I would love to introduce to you: Danielle McTaggart!
Lemonade Magazine: Thanks so much for taking time of your busy schedule to chat with us! I had the pleasure of catching your performance a quite few years ago at a Canucks game and was hooked! And in 2016 you won a JUNO Award for Breakthrough Group of the Year. How did winning the Juno Award change your careers?
Danielle McTaggart: The JUNO Award was INSANE. We were shocked just because we really weren’t expecting this journey in general. We always 
wanted to do music for our lives but we felt like it would be like winning the lottery. It’s a hard career path. There’s just so much talent out there. So to win a notable award was amazing, and we were beyond thankful. It’s such a gift we were given. And also a challenge to step it up…to make Canada proud.
LM: Being based out of Vancouver, what should we know about the music scene in British Columbia?
DM: Vancouver is a vibrant place. Beautiful in its appearance but also it is building some amazing culture. There are new bands coming up all the time that are really killing it in music. We are proud to be from there and you should definitely come visit. It’s an incredible city.
LM: We love Vancouver and have been there numerous times! You recently released your second LP, Phases. Could you tell us a little bit about the inspiration for the album?
DM: We took the inspiration from very personal experiences and came up with the name from realizing how up and down our lives were during this process. We were experiencing some of the most amazing experiences while some of our family and friends were going through the worst. Life and death type stuff. It was heavy. But juggling these two total opposites got us thinking about that. It’s life to need to walk through this kind of thing and our time will come. For the amazing mountains and valleys. That’s why we called the album Phases.
LM: How has your creative songwriting process changed from your first EP, Heads Up! Watch Out!, to the new LP?
DM: We have changed a lot and yet were very much the same. We’ve included new perspectives and new voices in to the project but also have tried very hard to stay true to our original process. Still we feel the best writing we’ve done is at our family cabin where we forget about everything and just be, then learning work ethic and new ways of creating has been amazing for us. But the main thing we’ve learned is to just stay true to our personal process. It really is ours personally and that’s what makes us…us.
LM: We see that you are going to hit up Seattle’s Upstream Festival that has a huge lineup. Are there any bands or artists you are looking forward to catching?
DM: There’s so many it’s hard to choose! I did meet Flaming Lips in an airport one time and we LOVE them. So that’s gonna be epic! Such a great festival…we’re excited.
LM: After this festival, what other plans do you have for promoting your new album?
DM: We have a fall tour coming up that were so excited about. Check out the details on our website. Can’t wait to get out there and grind it out. We LOVE playing live. Excited to share the new album with everyone.
LM: Thanks again for taking the time to chat with us and congratulations on the release of Phases!
DM: THANKS SO MUCH!
Do not forget to check out the brand new alubm, Phases, from Canadian rockers, Dear Rouge on Spotify below and go pick up the new album on iTunes now!
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