GayCalgary had chance to catch up with loved and openly gay country singer Patrick Masse before he thrills audiences at Whistler Pride in January.

GC: Tell us about the new recording.

PM: We had about four days, and we had to record three songs for a deadline. So I went in, never having worked with these guys before. They’re called Kuya, two Filipino brothers who have done quite a bit of producing, and I kind of wanted to move my sound into a new direction, from really traditional to more of a contemporary sort of crossover. . . So we just walked into the studio and started writing and recording on the spot, and that’s what we came up with ("Little Bit of Saturday", the new single for the EP he’s releasing in the spring).

One of my close friends is a DJ, and I go to the club once in a while and hang out with him while he DJs, and I just wrote the song around that story. Most people are saving up for their Saturday night, right? That was the concept, and we just wanted to do something that was upbeat and dancy.

GC: Listening to the songs from your previous album, and having interviewed Kira Isabella, Tevey and Tim Hicks in the past year, and despite your latest single, you’re the most ‘traditional’ country musician.

PM: (laughs) It’s ironic; it has always been my struggle. . .  that I’m openly gay in country music, and I’m making the most traditional country music of anybody! Especially in the Canadian music industry!

I just grew up on it: my dad and my mom were both very hardcore country fans, and I grew up listening to Merle Haggard, and Don Williams, people like that.

(Patrick’s first album came out in 1998 – before he came out – and he was told that he was too country for country. That tune will start to change.)

PM: I just needed something that was more mainstream. I just wanted to write stuff that was revolved more around my life. . . We’re just about to release a cover of Madonna’s "Crazy for You". . . I just wanted to do something that was more current, and more me I guess.

["Crazy for You"] was done as a kind of country-bluegrass, which put a really different take on it. I performed it all summer live, and people seemed to love it. . .  I have always thought it would make a good country song. There have been lots of songs that I’ve thought of like that, and they have all come out and become huge country hits: "I Couldn’t Ask for More", "Missing You" from the ‘80s. . .

(We discuss the greatness of some covers, how there is some life going on behind the music, like Johnny Cash doing Nine Inch Nails’ "Hurt".)

PM: The thing that touched me [about the lyrics of "Crazy for You"] when I was younger, and before I came out, was that the real tag line in the song is you’ve never felt this way about anyone before, and you’re just dying to tell them I’m crazy for you, which is kind of like when you’re in the closet. So I guess that’s why, when I was younger, I connected with the lyrics. And when I recorded it, I thought ‘this is a perfect song for that’, especially for younger people, or of whatever age they are when they come to terms with their sexuality.

GC thinks Patrick has been mislaid as the first gay man to come out in country music, as both Americans and Canadians are laying claim to this title recently.

PM: When I came out (in 2002) there was no social media; when country music pushed me out, I had no way to get my story out back then – no Facebook – and if the media wasn’t going to take my story, I was saved by starting to get some work within the gay community at that time. I was essentially pushed out of country music overnight. . . but it’s always hard when someone asks [about who was the first], because I always try to be supportive of other artists.

It’s kind of ironic, because the person who inspired me was k.d. lang. . . and I think if I have done anything to help inspire people – specifically in country music – to maybe open that door for them. I think you should always know the history, of why you even have the opportunity to be on the stage you’re on.

The difference for us, as Canadians, is that this is such a different country – in the areas of human rights and social issues – compared to America. To grow up in Vancouver, being gay wasn’t a big deal, so I never thought it was. Until I got into country music! Then I thought, whoa! This is a very right-wing, Christian run industry using the term ‘family values’, which I never understand the meaning of. . . Look at it in 2015: there still really aren’t many black country musicians.

You know, (in 2002) I was at a crossroads, where I could either be who I am, or I could sign this record deal and never be able to talk about who I am. And I know that a lot of artists coming up now signed those deals and kept their mouths shut. And I just wasn’t raised like that. I couldn’t do it.

GC and Patrick discuss the cyber-divide: his work in the trenches getting a career going before the incredible connectedness of the Internet, and the pros and cons of continuing to be commercially viable in the 21st Century.

PM: The cool side of it is you have such a reach now; I’m amazed at the people that reach out to me through social media from all areas of the world. It’s an amazing thing: ‘Wow, somebody there is listening to my stuff?’

I get inundated [with emails] from countries like India; I was in Asia a couple of years ago and I was blown away! Some stats say China is the fastest-growing country music listening nation in the world. They love country music!

I think it just strikes a chord with people, y’know? I remember this quote from Iced Tea years ago, saying that country music and rap were very similar: country was white and rap was black. It’s true! They both talk about real life issues. . . It is about real struggles. We just don’t have as much swearing.

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