Landing in Elora on July 25, Fraser Walters, Clifton Murray, Victor Micallef and Remi Pereira were bursting with energy like four kids let out for recess.
The Canadian quartet, known by their fans as The Tenors, took a break from the studio in Toronto where they are currently recording their fourth album, to light up the stage of the Gambrel Barn at the Elora Festival last Friday night.
The chance to get up in front of an audience again had them buzzing with excitement as they sat down for a few minutes with the Advertiser.
“It’s a nice refresher for us – we have our studio tans right now,” Walters laughed. “We’re not outside very much.”
The band’s last album, Lead With Your Heart, was released in 2012, reaching platinum status in Canada and earning the group a Juno award for Adult Contemporary Album of the Year in April 2013.
Now fans are eagerly waiting for what the guys have been working on, but they aren’t ready to reveal it just yet.
“We need to save that for the release,” they remark, grinning.
Nevertheless, their eagerness to get on stage again is intoxicating; evidence of an ardent dedication to their fans.
“Being in the studio is really intense work,” says Walters. “(You’re) going over the songs so many times and not getting so much back because you’re in a dark room with a microphone. To be up on stage in front of these people is such a special energy.”
The success of Lead With Your Heart has skyrocketed the band to stardom, making them an international name. They say it’s amazing how quickly it all happened.
One minute they were selling albums out of the trunk of their car in rural Saskatchewan and the next they were singing at major sporting events such as the Stanley Cup finals.
“Our first tour was in Saskatchewan, we did 12 towns in 14 days and didn’t even play in Regina or Saskatoon,” Walters reflected.
“Little by little we would just go out, and word of mouth still works to this day … (now) we’ve had incredible experiences around the world.”
Though they have sung on the Oprah Winfrey Show and for her majesty the Queen in the Diamond Jubilee celebrations at Windsor Castle, the guys remain humble.
Obviously such performances were career game changers, but Pereira says the feeling of “making it” didn’t come until they started to have a significant philanthropic impact.
“Obviously performing for the Queen was pretty surreal,” says Pereira. “But I think being able to make a difference with what we do in people’s lives is when you realize, ‘Wow, there’s something beyond what we are as individuals.’”
For the last few years, the guys have been actively involved with Bulembu International, an umbrella organization working to assist an African mining town of the same name.
Bulembu Swaziland has the highest HIV/AIDS infection rate in the world, resulting in a negative population growth and a culture facing the threat of extinction.
The Tenors travelled to Bulembu and said the experience was completely life changing, for them and others.
“We actually have a lot of fans who go down to Africa and go to our charity and help out,” says Pereira.
“It’s pretty amazing. I think it’s bigger than the four of us and the outreach of it all is truly one of the main reasons we do what we do.”
They have also been involved with Free the Children, the Horatio Alger Association, and last year released a single in support of Big Brothers and Big Sisters Canada.
The song, I Thank You, commemorated the 100th anniversary of the organization, with Universal Music donating 50 cents from each download back to Big Brothers and Big Sisters.
“We all come from homes where our families were all about thinking about your neighbour,” says Micallef.
“It’s nice to get up on that stage and perform, but to be able to give back that way, it puts so much more meaning in what you do.”
Because they got their start in rural Saskatchewan, The Tenors have an enduring soft spot for communities like Elora.
Continuing to play smaller venues is yet another way the band feels they can give back, and express gratitude for their success.
“We really just want to say thank you and to be able to give them these concerts is a great feeling and we feel very, very blessed,” said Murray.
