SUMMERSIDE, PEI, Canada -- As a child, Nathan Wiley heard puzzling noises that no one else did. They seemed to come from inside his head. That may sound like a problem, but it turned into a big blessing.

“Even before I played music, I had sounds in my head that I’d arrange and use to make stuff up,” said 33-year-old Nathan, a singer-songwriter whose three CD projects have received critical acclaim. “Since I can remember, there were drumbeats in my head – constantly. I remember being a little kid and driving in the backseat of the car with my parents and picking up rhythms without even knowing what I was doing.”

Is that like a song-factory that still churns in his mind? “That’s right,” Nathan said. “It feels like it’s always going. I don’t know where it comes from, but it’s always been there. As I got older and could focus more, it became helpful. The older I get, the better I can translate stuff that’s going on in my head and get it out of there. Then I can record it as closely as possible to the energy and sounds in my head.”

A true-blue songwriter has no other career choice -- none. So it was for Nathan. Listeners call his work fresh, compelling and engaging. They detect hints of Nick Lowe, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Louis Armstrong and Fats Waller.

Tough to categorize, Nathan’s music tends to be described as “roots” or “alternative roots”. “I never know what to call it myself,” he said. “I like to let people call it what they want. Really, it’s a bit of everything.”

Unlike most musicians, Nathan succeeds enough to make music a full-time occupation. It takes him “right across Canada and into the United States a bit”.

“Think of Nathan as a great songwriter and outstanding musical journeyman,” said Kris Taylor, another Prince Edward Island musician.

Soft-spoken Nathan, a polished writer and seasoned performer, stays firmly grounded in small-town realities. “A small, listening crowd’s always the best,” he said. “When you get up with a band in front of thousands of people, maybe you need to demand attention by being really loud, but that can be fun too.”

Despite pleasing big crowds at folk festivals as distant as California, Nathan still lives in Summerside, his hometown on the Atlantic coast. He occupies the same house where he grew up, having bought it from his parents who moved to a nearby beach.

“I like it here (on PEI),” he said. “I have lots of friends. Many players (musicians) live here, the pace of life is slow and it’s not expensive. It feels like home. I enjoy traveling to play, but it’s nice to return here.

“The Internet opens up a lot. You don’t need to be in Toronto anymore. You can base yourself in a much smaller centre and still get your tunes out there. With Websites, people can check songs immediately. Email keeps you in touch.”

Each of Nathan’s CDs earned an East Coast Music Association (ECMA) Award for alternative recording. When accepting awards, Nathan’s known to thank not only his parents, band and record company, but also his pet cat, Hobbs.

After first playing guitar at age 13, Nathan learned keyboards, bass and drums. For a decade, his music remained “a hobby”. He worked part-time in his father’s print shop.

In 2007, Nathan released his third album, The City Destroyed Me. Once, he lived in Vancouver for a year “just to get a different perspective. I love visiting cities, but I’m not a city guy. The pace and traffic get to be too much. I feel exhausted just thinking about it.”

In all of the faces in the windows,
Feeling eyes in the night,
And all of the innocent perverts,
Keeping well out of sight,
The city destroys.
The city destroyed me.
Let me out, let me out,
Because I don’t want the city no more.
I’m hanging around your door.
Let me go, let me go.
From “The City Destroyed Me”, Nathan Wiley, 2007

“I started to write songs almost as soon as I played guitar,” Nathan said. “At first, I kept them to myself. I wrote a different style of music then the bands I played with did.”

By now, Nathan has written several hundred songs, plenty as a foundation for future CDs. “I have a ton of stuff,” he said. He works with Sonic Records, a label based in Halifax.

“When I do hit the songwriting heavily, it can get intense,” Nathan said. “The inspiration’s everywhere. Usually I write in spurts at home. For me, it’s a solitary thing. It feels like the songs are there already, and I have to find out exactly how they’re going to work. I have to fish around to reel them in – the less I think when writing, the easier it comes. Some songs happen all at once. With others, you have to set them aside and keep going back to see if they’re ready yet.”

What makes a great song? “If something sticks with you or hits you in the right spot, if you remember it after listening once, then it probably has something,” Nathan said. “A great song makes you perk up and listen.”

What folks will like isn’t easy to predict. “People find their own meanings. Once you put a song out there, it’s no longer just yours. Sometimes people take meanings from lines that you didn’t consider. There’s no wrong way to look at a song.”

Writing songs and performing them bring happiness and satisfaction, but in different ways. “Because the writing process is so creative, when you get something that really works, that’s a great feeling,” Nathan said. “Performing is equally good, but on a different level. For me, every song keeps changing. If you’re bored with doing it one way, you can do it another way. A really good song should be performable in any capacity. You can slow it down or speed it up and play it with or without a full band.”

In 2004, Nathan used a much-anticipated second album, High Low, to deliver 12 original tracks rich in roots, pop, rock and blues.

High, low, high, low,
We’re making the rounds….
Gonna zip my bag,
Make a new plan,
And then watch it all go wrong.
From “High Low”, Nathan Wiley, 2004

“We sold lots of Nathan’s CDs,” said Chas Guay, a former proprietor at Back Alley Discs in Charlottetown. Chas regards Nathan as a major star sure to shine. He should know, having played bass in Nathan’s band, joining drummer Dale DesRoches (Nathan’s uncle) and guitarist Chris Corrigan. Nathan keeps “a semi-regular band”, but performs solo too.

Nathan has other musical uncles. Charles DesRoches plays guitar. Tom and Richard DesRoches play bass. “Much of my extended family plays music, and the others are serious fans,” Nathan said. “As I grew up, we always had music around. My Dad owned a big record collection too. That got me started with early exposure to the Beatles, Paul Simon, blues and jazz.”

At Three Oaks Senior High School, Nathan shared the musical limelight with talented teens like Catherine MacLellan, Patricia Murray and Mike Dixon. Although active in music, he wasn’t a brilliant student: “I have a hard time trying to be interested in things that don’t interest me. Even the theory end of music always bored me. It felt too much like math.”

At the 2005 PEI Music Awards, Nathan won three times: for songwriter, album and alternative rock recording of the year. In 2007, The City Destroyed Me became album of the year.

Back in 2002, Bottom Dollar, Nathan’s debut CD, jumpstarted his solo career. Billboard Magazine listed it in Canada’s yearly top-10. Soon he opened shows for Blue Rodeo, Sarah Harmer and Ron Sexsmith.

Mainly, Nathan performs his own songs. “Sometimes I’ll do a cover tune, but not often because I already have a lot of songs I want to do.”

Newfoundland singer Joy Norman recorded one of Nathan’s songs, “Patiently Blue”, giving it a Celtic/country feel. “That was cool,” he said. “I really like what she did with it.”

Nathan enjoys arranging, producing and even designing CD covers. Keen to supply music for movies, he launched High Low at the 2004 Atlantic Film Festival. Already, some Canadian movies have used his songs, as did Falcon Beach, a TV show.

“I’ve had good radio play too, especially on CBC and campus radio,” Nathan said. Fans should anticipate a fourth CD soon.

“I’d like to continue what I’m doing,” Nathan said. “The music just comes out the way it is. I don’t believe I can steer it. Music feels like something I have to do so it’s best that I can share it.”

For more information: www.nathanwiley.com

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