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This article was published 04/05/2016 (3669 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Nobody really thought Hedley would become one of the biggest bands in Canada.

When the British Columbia-based pop-rock foursome released its breakout record, 2005’s Famous Last Words, it was bolstered by frontman Jacob Hoggard’s turn on the now-defunct reality show Canadian Idol (he came in third in season 2). 

Hoggard and his bandmates — bassist Tommy Mac, lead guitarist Dave Rosin and drummer Chris Crippin — didn’t let that jump-start to their career go to waste; the band has been going full-throttle in the 10 years since. Juno Awards, MMVAs, three headlining slots on Canada-wide tours and a performance at the closing ceremony of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics are just a few career peaks. 

Hedley released its sixth album, Hello, in November and, aptly, it feels like a reintroduction. While the band members are still very much their energized, rambunctious selves, they have dipped their toes into the world of electropop, introducing a more creative, colourful dimension to their work.

While lounging on his porch in Vancouver just a few days before embarking on a cross-Canada tour to promote the album, Hoggard, 31, hopped on the phone to talk Hello, Hedley’s next steps and what it means to be successful. 

Free Press: When you’re creating an album, is it in the back of your mind that it could go either way in terms of both commercial success and fan appreciation?

Jacob Hoggard: Fortunately and unfortunately, yes. There are a lot of things you do have to take into consideration when you’re making an album, because there are a lot of variables. For as much as you want to make your fans happy and not alienate them with some crazy left turn, you also want to make sure that you’re pushing yourself as an artist and continuing to evolve and grow, as we all do as individuals. So finding a healthy balance amidst a tumultuous sea of self-doubt can sometimes be a bit of an uphill battle. But I think that’s all, as I’ve learned, part of the creative process, which I’ve come to embrace as a big part of my life.

FP: How do you define success?

JH: A Juno Award can get you a cup of coffee if you have two dollars, which basically means it just doesn’t get you much (laughs). Awards and accolades are amazing, and certainly validate the hard work of an artist… but they don’t necessarily keep you warm at night. I think for me, I just had a really awesome Easter Sunday with all my family together, it was just a really special day. Looking around at all of my family, my nephews, I just kinda had this sense of peace, and pride in the fact that my family still really keeps me grounded.

It’s those types of relationships I’ve come to understand as significant elements of my life that are responsible for keeping me on the path that I’m on, and I wouldn’t trade that for the world. Maybe success is just understanding what’s important, because I couldn’t ever make some vapid attempt to grade it on any level of achievement or amount of property or vehicles; I think that’s kinda wild.

FP: In terms of the newest album, Hello, what are you most proud of?

JH: I’d have to say I’m the most proud of our progress as a band, and our ability to take our fans to a new place. Hedley, as you know, has been around over 10 years now and we’ve been able to go through life with our fans in a way. And I’m really proud of that idea that we weren’t just a pop band for kids when we were 15, 16 years old, because 10 years later and all the same fans still come out… I’m really happy that we’ve been able to grow as artists with our fanbase as well as build into new markets in each territory, overseas — U.K., Australia — and to see both the growth and maintaining the relationships we’ve always had and cared about with our fans is really a milestone for us. Hello really represents that because of its ability to bridge the gap musically from where we were to where we are.

FP: You mentioned you guys have been together for 10 years — how has the band dynamic changed? You were in your early 20s when the band kicked off, and that’s a pretty influential age period to go through…

JH: Pretty tumultuous age period. If you can get out the other end of some of the most reckless years of your life with a group of people, you’re pretty much locked for life. As a band, we’ve literally been through everything together. We’ve been through marriages, divorce, deaths, births — all those life moments that you share, as a group of brothers we’ve really kind of forged a family where we’re just that close to each other. I think that bond, at this point, is pretty unbreakable. I can only say that because I know I’ve been through the fire (laughs) and we’ve been through some of the hardest times together, whether it’s surviving cancer (Mac was diagnosed with cancer in 2011; he’s now healthy) or playing the Olympics, it’s just all these crazy milestones in our lives that are so dynamic and diverse from positive to negative. I think that’s what truly defines family, is the ability to be together through those experiences. We’re really lucky to have made it this far. It’s that same bond that I think gives us the confidence to take the risks we take, musically and creatively.

FP: What do you foresee as your next steps as a band? In Canada, you’ve kind of hit the ceiling of what you can do, so I’m curious as to where you see yourself going.

JH: Hedley hasn’t showed any signs of slowing down, and we don’t intend to. At the same time, the four of us have also individually began to really branch out in our lives creatively. Our bass player, he produces a lot — he built himself a studio. I spend a lot of time in Los Angeles writing music, not just for Hedley but for other artists as well, and also just developing artists and directing a lot of videos now and working on more film and television stuff. One of the rules we’ve always made, however, is that the band always comes first. If we get a phone call and a gig shows up and we gotta play this thing in the U.K., then we all kinda drop what we’re doing and we go do that. Hedley will always be an important element of creative output for me personally as a songwriter, always a primary focus, but aside from that, I think branching out creatively is a place we’ve arrived at where we’ve kind of earned the ability to be able to experiment and try different things and really push ourselves.

Life is long and we’re so thankful every day and lucky to be in a situation where we’re able to pursue those creative dreams that we’ve had all of our lives. That’s such an important thing to go after, given the opportunity; if you have it in front of you, to waste that would just… I couldn’t think of something more foolish. I really believe that’s what I’m supposed to be doing and the direction I’m supposed to be going.

erin.lebar@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @NireRabel