June 15, 2021 by Ally Donnelly
"I want that window to hone in on who I really am. I think Covid was great for that kind of reflective, cool time." ~ Aldous Collins
It's hard to pin Aldous Collins down. The frontman for the Aldous Collins Band is always running–always with something cooking. But when we talked last week it was a much more contemplative conversation than I had expected.
Collins is pushing 50 and used the quiet of Covid to spend time with his family (he and his wife Melanie have seven kids between them), and to think and write and paint and sing. Throughout the pandemic, he recorded acoustic, solo concerts to help raise money for struggling local businesses and thought about what's next.
"I've played so much and gone in so many directions," he said. "It's not always easy. It's a lot of weight sometimes to do what we do. But right now we have a rebirth." It's a rebirth of Collins as a singer/songwriter, exploring sounds and instruments he hasn't played before. And it's a rebirth of the Aldous Collins Band. I asked what that rebirth will sound like. "I hope it sounds like stuff that people want to hear," he said. "To say exactly what it sounds like, I mean, I don't really know. I hope it's more of a team sound...a more unifying sound, at least from within.
It's a great conversation about music, aging, family and the future. Join us!
