Pye Dubois

Last updated
Paul Phillip Woods (a.k.a Pye Dubois)
Origin Canada
Genres Hard rock, progressive rock
Occupation(s)Lyricist
Years active1976–1996

Pye Dubois [1] [2] is a Canadian lyricist and poet. He has worked mainly with Kim Mitchell and Max Webster (with whom he was considered an unofficial fifth non-performing member), [3] and occasionally Rush.

Career

Dubois accompanied Max Webster in the studio and wrote lyrics for each of their albums. [4] He was given lyric-writing credits on several Rush songs, most notably "Tom Sawyer", which has been included on the soundtrack of several films. [5] [6] Dubois wrote the poem "There is a Lake Between Sun and Moon", [7] which inspired Rush to write many of the lyrics for the album Counterparts , including a song of the same name for which Dubois received co-writing credit. He is also credited as writer on the Rush songs "Force Ten" and "Test for Echo".

After Max Webster dissolved, Dubois continued his writing relationship with singer and guitarist Kim Mitchell on his solo songs. [8] [9] This included all but one of the songs on Kim's platinum Akimbo Alogo , every song on the triple platinum Shakin' Like a Human Being , and double platinum Rockland . Dubois had a falling-out with Mitchell during the sessions for Rockland, caused by Mitchell's decision to record the album in the US without Dubois present in the studio as he had been in the past. Dubois did not write on Mitchell's follow-up album, Aural Fixations (lyrics on that album were handled largely by Jim Chevalier and Andy Curran), but did return for 1994's Itch . Dubois took part in several Max Webster reunion concerts, but not their most recent one in Toronto on May 24, 2007, and has not written lyrics with Mitchell since 1994. His last credited new co-composition was "Test For Echo", co-written with (and performed by) Rush in 1996.

On July 20, 2007, Dubois was reported to have gone missing, causing concern with his neighbour, author Martin Popoff. [10] [11] However, Dubois had just taken some time alone and soon returned.

Dubois and Mitchell were inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2021. [12]

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<i>Aural Fixations</i> 1992 studio album by Kim Mitchell

Aural Fixations is the fifth album from Canadian singer and guitarist Kim Mitchell. The album was released in 1992 and is certified gold in Canada. This is the first Kim Mitchell album that does not include songs co-written with Pye Dubois.

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Itch is the sixth album from Canadian singer and guitarist Kim Mitchell. The album was released in 1994. This would be the last album to date that Mitchell would collaborate with lyricist Pye Dubois. Dubois didn't contribute any lyrics to Mitchell's previous album Aural Fixations, released two years before this album.

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References

  1. ↑ "TOM SAWYER" . Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  2. ↑ "CANOE -- JAM! Music - Pop Encyclopedia - Max Webster". canoe.ca. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ↑ Popoff, Martin (1993). Riff Kills Man! 25 Years of Recorded Hard Rock & Heavy Metal. Power Chord Press. ISBN   0-9697707-0-7.
  4. ↑ "A witness to a creative spark". Beach Metro, March 10, 2015 Melinda Drake
  5. ↑ "Rush Featured In New Spielberg Movie Trailer". FYI MOvie News, Jul 24, 2017
  6. ↑ "11 Canadian songs that reimagine literature". CBC Music, Natasha Ramoutar · May 27, 2019
  7. ↑ ""There Is A Lake Between Sun And Moon" By Pye Dubois". www.2112.net. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  8. ↑ "25 years ago today: Kim Mitchell plays the Orpheum, ponders Max Webster's past". Georgia Straight, by Steve Newton on October 15th, 2014
  9. ↑ "New book released about rock band". The Observer, By Paul Morden, September 5, 2014
  10. ↑ "RUSH - Writer Of 'Tom Sawyer' Lyric, Pye Dubois, MISSING!". bravewords.com. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  11. ↑ "Former D.O.A. drummer Chuck Biscuits alive and well despite Internet reports" . Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  12. ↑ Nick Krewen, "Kim Mitchell says Songwriters Hall of Fame honour caught him by surprise". Toronto Star , July 21, 2021.
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