Beacher Jerry Leger and Lori Yates set to perform Thursday night at Hugh’s Room on Broadview Avenue

By JOJO

Jerry Leger is a lifelong Beacher and recording artist who sat down with me and talked about his time in Toronto, his new recording and his up and coming concert at Hugh’s Room on Thursday, Nov. 7.

He was born at East General Hospital which is now the Michael Garron Hospital. His family still lives locally even though Leger has moved around in his lifetime he is back and happy here.

What he loves about this area is the fact that it is not as face paced as downtown. This community feels like a small town.  He loves how quiet it is and to be cliché, he loves going for long walks along the beach.

Other traditional elements that make the Beach special are the Fox Theatre and the Boardwalk.

“The theatre is 110 years old and the Boardwalk is just a nice place to be next to the water. Even walking along the side streets with the tree lines makes me feel like I am home,” said Leger.

I know Leger has his local fans here in Toronto, but is he popular anywhere else? I was surprised to hear that he is building a strong following in the United Kingdom as well as growing in the Netherlands and Scandinavia.

Leger got lucky and was in a popular magazine six times called Uncut over in Europe. He is now working on another tour there in April or May.

He has recently put out his new album called “Donlands”, which was recorded in the Pie in the Sky Theatre on Donlands Avenue.

He said he really wanted to create that old sparse sound like when you put on albums like the Drifters or The Platters. It was the space in between those sounds that created the largeness of the sound. The echo and reverbs they used on those recordings was something he really wanted to recreate.

“Our producer, Mark Howard has this old school approach. When he was young, he got to work with Daniel Lanios and learned a lot of techniques that he now incorporates in his work. His mixing and recording techniques really stand out when he works with artists like Lucinda Williams and Tom Waits,” said Leger.

“When we recorded this album, Mark brought his own gear to get the sound we really wanted. I even got to use an old RCA microphone that was used by Tom Waits. Together we knocked out this record in five days. It was live off the floor and has atonal art energy to it.”

Now, Leger does have a show coming up at Hugh’s Room. He has Lori Yates opening up the show and has wanted to work with her for a long time.

He thought this was a perfect way to get that relationship going. He will be dusting off a few older tunes for this show. So if you are a fan, Leger still has some surprises for you. This may be a good chance to introduce your children to his music as well. The show starts at 8 p.m. and does not run too late.

Leger not only is looking forward to his time performing with Lori, but he specifically chose songs that would fit Hugh’s Room as well for Thursday night’s show.

He heard they put in a brand new sound system and can’t wait to take it for a spin. They even have a grand piano that he would love to incorporate into the show, he said.

There is still time to purchase tickets to the show. Here is the link…  On Stage – Hugh’s Room Liv

• Jojo is a writer with Blast Toronto magazine.