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( L-R ) Ches Anthony , Trevor MacLeod , Justin Lester , Jordan Honsinger , Doug Oliver & Josh Lester of Cold Creek County
By Andrew King . Photos by Mike Highfield .
A feeling of unfulfillment had fallen over Doug Oliver .
In the years leading up to 2013 , his band had basically lived the clichéd rise to rock stardom that had become so elusive in the post- Napster music industry . And then , after hitting number one on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts , extensive tours supporting the heaviest of rock heavyweights , even the lavish Las Vegas music video with bikini-clad ladies , came another rock cliché : the indefinite hiatus .
“ After coming off of a number one in America , you have thousands of fans all over the world , and then , all of a sudden , it comes to a halt ,” Oliver reflects . “ I mean , we had some great success , but it still wasn ’ t the peak for me . I wasn ’ t done . I still had a lot to prove .”
He continued to work in the music industry while contemplating his next move , developing and producing artists from a few different genres . As he tells it , “ One thing led to another , and I started getting on the wave of this country thing . I was falling in love with the music and paying close attention to what was going on .”
Specifically , it was the straightforward-but-substantial melodies and storytelling that drew him in – the idea of music and words being distilled to their purest , most emotional and impactful form . After all , considering his pedigree in the world of mainstream radio rock with My Darkest Days , that approach wouldn ’ t have been all that foreign to him . ( The prevalent fashions associated with the two genres , though , might have been a different story .)
Throughout the remainder of 2013 and leading into 2014 , Oliver brought together a band of talented and , more importantly , driven musicians that bought into his vision for success in a burgeoning country music market . That band was Cold Creek County , and as with Oliver ’ s previous project , they ’ ve wasted little time in making an impact on the Canadian industry landscape .
Oliver doesn ’ t totally embrace the idea of being the “ architect ” behind Cold Creek County , but he doesn ’ t outright reject it , either .
The first iteration of the band recorded some demos that Oliver then sent to Kevin Zaruk , better known as Chief . The two had worked closely together during My Darkest Days ’ run , and in addition to his associations with rock powerhouses like Nickelback and , at least for a time , Hinder , Chief had recently branched into country as a co-founder of umbrella company Big Loud Mountain . Their first signee ? The now-massive Florida Georgia Line in 2011 .
They knew they were onto something , and subsequently put a plan in place to capitalize on the potential . They solidified the band , secured funding from a private investor , tapped hitmaker Scott Cooke to co-produce some tracks alongside Oliver , and properly cut a five-song collection with no label , no management , and no concrete proof that anything would come of it .
The initial plan was to take one of the songs to a radio tracker and see what might happen . “ This sort of thing takes time , so we just wanted to put feelers out there and get on the playing field ,” Oliver says , looking back . What happened next was , put simply , mighty promising .
They found someone to push the song – EMI Music Canada vet Rob Chubey – who , about 15 minutes after receiving the file in his inbox , called back and asked for more . They sent the other four songs , and Chubey called again . “ He said , ‘ I can ’ t track this . I ’ ve gotta send it to my friend Warren at Sony ,’” Oliver recalls , referring to Sony Music Canada ’ s Director of Promotions and A & R , Warren Copnick .
The next call came from Copnick , who had one of the label ’ s lawyers on the line with him . As Oliver remembers it , the question was : “ Who are you and what am I listening to ?”
“ I explained what happened and he was very intrigued and wanted us to come in for a listening party ,” Oliver continues .
First , the band visited Sony ’ s offices and played the recorded tracks for the team . Two weeks later , they were invited back for a formal showcase . Two weeks after that , they had papers to sign .
CANADIAN MUSICIAN • 35