INTERVIEW – Paging Dr. Theo!: Theo Tams returns with latest album

It’s been 4 years since Theo Tams, the Coaldale born final Canadian Idol winner, released his last ep Back Pocket. Tams is back with his latest (and best) album so far, Call The Doctor which was released in September. The 4-year gap between albums allowed Tams to really focus on releasing a great album.

"I think it's just the process of me really learning to trust my instincts. I mean, we probably wrote four or five EPs in the last four years, but I didn't want to do what I did with Back Pocket, and that was on the day of release, be second guessing whether it's what I should or should not be doing. I think that takes time. So, it was walking away from the studio for a bit and traveling a bit more, and just trying to fill the well of inspiration a little bit more, and have some more life experiences, have some more heartbreak, and family issues. Just live life and have some more real shit to write about. I think that that's just, it's part of being an artist. You can't just write on the fly. You really have to have content to connect with. I feel like as soon as these seven songs were written, the last song being the last song we wrote for the album, as soon as that song was written, I said to my team at Slaight Music and at Hidden Pony, I was like, "Okay. We got it now. I'm ready for you to hear everything." But once that song was written, I was ready to go."

GayCalgary spoke to Tams from his home in Toronto where he now resides. The wait in releasing was worth it, he said, as the feedback has been excellent.

"I mean, so much better than I could have hoped for. This was the most nerve-wracking record so far, more so even than the record that came out after Idol, more so than the one in 2014. This one, I don't know, this one just meant something more. It was the most therapeutic, cathartic process that I was not expecting it to be for a lot of reasons, like creatively, personally. It's nice to be able throw yourself into songwriting like that and the creative process like that, and still have the response be really, really authentically positive. I feel really lucky that way. You never know how people are going to grow with you, as an artist. You just hope that they get...