The Dark Fruits kind of accidentally ended up with an album.

Three years ago, singer Jeff Wolosewich booked time at Jordy Walker’s studio, planning to record a single song. The next thing he knew, he’d laid down bed tracks for more than 20 songs.“The guys (Walker and musicians Micah Smith and Patrick Docherty) just played so well on those songs and I was so into it,” Wolosewich said over the phone a few weeks after the March 1 release of Authors of Affection, the album that came out of their efforts. “I got into it and it was like a feedback loop of them inspiring me with their playing and, I was hoping, me inspiring them to play better and better.”Wolosewich hadn’t written music since he was in his 20s. (In fact, the one song he had planned to record with Walker was written then.) At that time, he was in a band called The Scarfs that played around B.C., while he was attending Simon Fraser University. But as his 20s got away from him, so did the time to write.Not that he has loads of time these days either. Wolosewich is a department head at Yukon College and he also has four kids. Still, he said spending time in the studio reminded him how much he loves making music.“I love lots of things, but this is one of those things that’s a part of who I was and for many reasons, I just didn’t do it.”

The result is a 13-song record and (so far) three music videos, including one that won the audience choice award at the 2018 Yukon Film Society‘s 48 Hour Music Video Challenge.Wolosewich said there’s no intentional theme to the album, but that he feels a “coming of ageness” to the lyrics, even if he’s writing from a different place now.“A lot of rock and roll songs are about love and break-ups and I’m not going through break-ups right now, but it’s so easy because I have kids that tell me that they don’t love me anymore all the time,” he said.In fact, that’s what “hurt so bad” is about – a fight Wolosewich had with his then-five-year-old daughter, which ended with her telling him she didn’t love him anymore.“You clearly feel I went too far, ok, forgive me you’re my star, my words were not a gracious start,” Wolosewich sings on the track. He details the fight they had from opposite sides of the room and the way she walked away when all he wanted to do was hold her. It’s a touching tune that works on multiple levels once you know what it’s about.“I like love songs that are like collages, where the imagery is all over the place,” he said. “It can get a bit predictable otherwise.”When he compares his songwriting now with what he was doing when he was 20, he said he’s more intentional about the words he chooses.“The songs from before, they sound a little different. I think they were less cohesive. Often I’ll write a song and think about the sounds of the words … writing (in my 20s) I think they were less streamlined. Now I would think of what the whole song is about and it would all sort of lead to that. Everything in there is there for a reason.”Ultimately, he said he’s less concerned with what people think about the songs and more interested in just knowing that people listen to them.There’s an opportunity to do that on April 5 when The Dark Fruits play alongside Soda Pony, Paris Pick and the Pricks and more at Simapalooza, an opportunity Wolosewich said he’s grateful for.“We’re a studio-centric band, so to be able to get a live show like that is going to be a great.”Going forward, he said touring the record will be difficult. It’s hard enough to be a Vancouver touring band, let alone a band that has to spend $2,000 just to get to Vancouver. He said the Dark Fruits will be aiming for some local shows this summer, at festivals and events in and around Whitehorse.Find out more about their plans at TheDarkFruits.com.

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