Nice, Nice: With Juno Awards love, Dan Mangan no longer the underdog?

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This article was published 29/03/2012 (5254 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO – When Dan Mangan strides into the Juno Awards this weekend armed with a pace-setting four nominations, he could also mark the end of one stage of his career.

See, up until now the 28-year-old Mangan has been perennially cast as the plucky underdog, a hard-working and humble troubadour who has found success despite being apparently out of sorts with the latest industry trends. Everything about Mangan — from his gently genial hand-crafted indie folk to a fatherly beard that wouldn’t look out of place behind the wheel of a minivan — indicated honesty and a lack of hype-hoarding calculation, so he was someone to root for, someone around whom a grassroots movement could assemble.

But with four Juno nominations to contest, this weekend could mark the last time anyone underestimates Dan Mangan.

“My whole rise in the Canadian music scene was as this D.I.Y., do-everything-yourself, out-of-nowhere dude,” Mangan mused over coffee in Toronto recently.

“And that’s how I was perceived for a really long time, as this underdog that ought to be rooted for. So I mean — that’s scary.

“What if you win a bunch of Junos and all of a sudden it’s like: ‘Aw, great. Mangan won a bunch of Junos.’ That’s weird. I was getting pretty used to being the underdog. I was happy to keep that role.”

Well, if the Junos do mark the end of an era for Mangan, at least he has the opportunity to walk away with a consolation prize — or four.

Mangan says he was as stunned as anyone when the Juno nominations were announced and the press release broadcasting the news prominently featured his name alongside a series of similarly four-time nominated industry giants: Drake, Nickelback, Feist, City and Colour and others.

Mangan, who had never been nominated for a Juno before, is up for songwriter of the year, alternative album of the year, new artist of the year and video of the year.

The attention from the Junos has left Mangan “bewildered.” While his third disc, 2011’s “Oh Fortune” — on which the winsome singer/songwriter tunes of his past sprouted and bloomed under the care of a full band — opened at No. 9 on the Canadian Billboard chart, it wasn’t a major seller. And as Mangan himself points out, the record was arguably less accessible than his breakthrough sophomore disc, “Nice, Nice, Very Nice.”

There’s also the fact that Mangan has rarely felt in step with what he regards as a mainstream award show in the Junos. He says he hasn’t actually watched the show in a decade — partly because he’s spent much of that time on the road, and partly because he “wasn’t really listening to any of the bands that were getting nominated.”

So Mangan didn’t necessarily think he was Junos material.

“To get four (nominations), you almost feel like somebody screwed up,” he said, smiling.

“Somebody at the Juno office by accident wrote my name down. ‘How could they possibly give this guy from Vancouver four nominations? Weren’t we supposed to give Nickelback like, seven?'”

But for all Mangan’s modesty, it isn’t the first time his work has been singled out for substantial praise.

He released “Nice, Nice” in August 2009, winning artist of the year honours at the XM Verge Awards only a month later. In May 2010, he signed with the influential Canadian indie imprint Arts & Crafts, which re-released his album in North America. And that summer, Mangan’s album was shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize alongside Broken Social Scene, Tegan and Sara and eventual winners Karkwa.

When asked if he has any theories as to the reason behind that charmed run, Mangan says he’s puzzled by it.

Mangan says his drummer, Kenton Loewen, jokes that he has uncommon luck.

“In many ways, I think that’s true,” he muses. “On the other side of things, I work really, really hard.

“That’s kind of been what people have come to know me by, is having this tireless work ethic.”

Indeed, Mangan takes an active interest in elements of his career some artists don’t worry about. For instance, he handles some of the duties of a tour manager, because he says he otherwise “can’t really afford one.” And when it comes time to trek across Canada in a cramped van, Mangan says he does most of the driving.

“I’m the youngest person in the band, but by all means I’m dad,” said Mangan, who — by the way — is also preparing to get married in September, and he “can’t believe how much work it is.”

Beyond the work ethic, some say Mangan’s success is a credit to the patient way in which he’s built his career.

While Mangan has often been portrayed as having come, in his words, “out of nowhere,” he toured relentlessly for years before fans even on a small scale became familiar with him.

As a result, he hopes the success he’s having now will prove sustainable.

“I think that this guy’s going to have a very long, healthy career,” said Jeffrey Remedios, president and co-founder of Mangan’s label, Arts & Crafts.

“I think it depends on the types of records he makes, but if he can continue this slow growth that he’s had, then it’ll be this solid place where he can play for thousands all over the world and be respected as this true artist.

“That’ll be the plan and if something wants to come along to put him in the fast lane temporarily, we’ll be ready for that.”

The Junos could prove to be that accelerant. If it happens, Mangan’s ready.

“I understand what (the Junos) can do for a career. If magically I won, then that’s a lot of attention coming my way…. On a very pragmatic level, it’s incredible,” said Mangan, before getting philosophical.

“I’ve been existing in this kind of house, and then you stand on the porch and you look across the street and there’s this other, bigger house. And you’re not sure what it’s about. And you’re not sure who lives there, and you’re not sure what’s going on in there. And you’re really comfortable in the one you’re in.

“But then you’re like, should I check out that bigger house?”

Whether Mangan needs to imminently place a call to the proverbial movers remains to be seen.

But should he emerge from Ottawa empty-handed despite his four nominations, the ever-upbeat Mangan has already spotted the silver lining.

Maybe then he could go back to his familiar role, an underdog once again.

“You know what, maybe it’s better if I win none,” he joked.

“And then everyone will be like: ‘Man, he never got his due!’ But if I win any, they’ll be like: ‘He sold out.'”