Jimmy Chauveau always had a passion for singing and songwriting, which has helped him build a career spanning close to two decades.
Chauveau, who moved with his family from the United Kingdom to Brantford over 20 years ago, explained his start in music and eventually forming the Ascot Royals.
“I’ve always been into singing and enjoying music [but it was usually] behind closed doors. And then when I was around 15, my brother Ben bought me this black Epiphone acoustic guitar, and we started a band with a friend. [And through the years] we have enjoyed playing music and being in bands together,” recalled Chauveau. “Then my brother, and another musician by name of Joey Vinegar, started the Ascot Royals. It must have been when I was around 18-years-old, when their singer left and my brother suggested to the band that I try out. I initially went in thinking I would be doing backup vocals and playing bass for them. I would end up becoming the lead singer.”
Chauveau, who moved to Toronto several years ago, described how he and the band evolved, initially gigging a lot in Brantford and the local area and eventually across Canada and leading to one of their final shows together at the WTFest Music Festival (now Call Home Music Festival.)
“It was so nice because we’d played Branford quite a lot. We played a lot at a place called Two Doors Down on Market Street and it was a place where we cut our teeth as musicians and as a band. It was one of our favorite spots and…it was one of those experiences where the community came out in droves to have a good time,” Chauveau said. “We then got a couple of opportunities to play on bigger stages that we kind of got used to [and] we had our first proper tour of Canada with a band called Big Wreck…where we were opening for them. We actually played our last show in 2019 at WTFest and it was one of those moments where there were so many of our good friends and family in the crowd. And it’s because we’d never been a ‘sunglasses-wearing’ type band until we were playing that day, and all of us had a few tears going, so we had the sunglasses on! It was just a really nice moment to kind of be able to play in front of your city.”
However, during that time, the band, with its dedication to performing, would then pique the attention of Sony, signing a record contract with them.
“It was amazing [and] it was a dream come true for us. We had some big tours happening around that time and we had a big release coming through [called] ‘New Skin’ that we put together. It was just a whirlwind and very surreal…when people start taking notice…because you never expect for something like that to happen,” he explained. “And I met some of my favorite people during that period…our guitarist Tal Vaisman, and our drummer Sam Stark. We had Scott Page on bass. And then before that, we had Jesse Gilroy on bass, and Joey Vinegar playing guitar. [Also,] having my brother Ben in there was the icing on the cake because it brought us closer together.”
And during 15 years with the band, Chauveau noted his maturation as an artist, especially with his bandmates.
“With the Ascots, we jumped in, and we did these crazy tours, which were 22 shows in 25 days…I had one run where I had a chest infection, and I was still performing every night. And it really teaches you that you can do so much more than you think you can when you’re playing [and] performing,” he said. “And I look back on those times [when we were on the road]…all of us in a mini Winnebago going to a chain restaurant… it felt like we were a big family…and grow[ing] with these people that you love.”
Despite their success, Chauveau and the band decided to go in different directions; with him and guitarist Tal Vaisman forming Kadeema, in 2019.
“We went down to Los Angeles and worked with Isaac Carpenter, a producer who has worked with artists like Duff McKagan from Guns and Roses. And basically, we started up the band with him in his house in Glendale; honestly, recording that Kadeema, was one of my favorite things that I’ve ever done in music [because of] the energy of those performances,” said Chauveau. “But then COVID was coming about and rearing its ugly head [as we] released a single called ‘Gotta Get It in’ around that time…so having a lead single titled that…worked a [bit against us], but we ended up still getting a good response with the song.”
However, Chauveau would be presented with another opportunity with a Juno-award winning band in 2022.
“I was apprenticing to be a barber at Sink or Swim Barbershop in Brantford while having Kadeema going. I was in a really good place with everything, and out of nowhere, I got a message through Instagram from Dave [Ritter] from the Strumbellas and he was reaching out for a business opportunity….[before speaking with him] I thought it was one of those things where I was going to be a co-writer on a song, which lots of bands do with one another. I actually had my guitarist on the phone when I initially called Dave, but he wanted to have a one on one with me,” recalled Chauveau. “Sure enough, he asked me if I wanted to audition for them. It would become a six-month process of auditions and hangouts…because when you’re doing a sort of singer swap like that, you have to make sure that the personalities don’t clash [so] I was welcomed with open arms, and I became part of the songwriting right away…basically the first year that we got together we hung out…writing, learning the tunes, rehearsing, and with a plan for a few shows.”
Chauveau, however, explained how those few shows turned into a bigger schedule and eventually recording and releasing ‘Part Time Believer’ in early 2024.
“We ended up having about 35 shows that year, even though it was only meant to be a very light year for shows…[but] that it kind of threw us together in a very fast way. So obviously, coming into it and having such lovely human beings that I’m sharing the stage with, it was one of those things that it was such a welcoming environment,” he said. “And when we went to record, we knew each other well [and] it was a warm process…doing half of the record up in Toronto, and then the second half with Ben Allen down in Atlanta. It was a magical experience…[and] just one of those times that everything felt right.”
Recently, Chauveau came back to Brantford with The Strumbellas, playing at the Sanderson Centre in December 2024, one of their stops on their current tour. It also brought back some warm memories for the singer.
“I was more nervous for that one than I’ve been for some of the bigger shows that we played…just because of the significance…as the centre is about a ten-minute walk from my old house [and to] come back here was surreal,” Chauveau recalled. “Looking back when I was with the Ascots…I thought it was one of those ‘us against the world’ moments when we were starting out in Brantford, and it was such a fun time to be playing at Two Doors Down, and having such [a strong] support system from other bands and friends in the scene at that time. And I feel very grateful to have experienced that time in my life.”
