Jeremy Fisher already had a solid musical career behind him. We’re talking four JUNO nominations, songs featured on TV and film, and stages shared with the likes of Alanis Morissette, Blue Rodeo, and Indigo Girls.
But a few years ago, after having his first baby girl, he decided to veer dramatically onto a brand-new path. Now he writes music almost exclusively for children, and finds himself a writer and producer (and animated hero!) of a kids’ TV show, Jeremy and Jazzy.
We caught up with him in his backyard Ottawa studio (which had sat unheated over Christmas and was thus a balmy 1C.) He says he has no plans to return to music “for adults.”
“I love writing these songs,” he says. “It’s a great way to explore life and the human condition. And right now my identity is very much tied to being a father of two young girls.”
He’s written over 80 songs for the high-energy, animated show. He voices the title character and Toronto-based actress Aiza Ntibarikure voices Jazzy.
Fisher also performs live, colourful Jeremy and Jazzy shows with Ntibarikure or understudy Nadia Casandra.
He’s loving it, he says. Moving into 2024, his musical focus is all Jeremy and Jazzy. “I’ve got some exciting collaborations I wish so much I could tell you about right now but I can’t,” he says.
The show is currently on CBC Kids in English and Radio Canada in French, as well as in the UK and the United States. “We’re hoping to expand, to make it into other languages and keep going.”
His foray into children’s music and television has been eye-opening, he says.
“It’s really fun because it’s a challenge, I’ve had to learn a lot about TV and how it’s made and I like that,” he says. ““It’s a total trip to see myself as an animated character and it’s a dream job to be able to write the music for this show that I helped create and produce.”
Fisher will be hitting Alberta stages Jan. 18-21, playing his ever-popular folk-pop music to mostly adult audiences in addition to one live Jeremy and Jazzy show.
“I play the favorites that people always tell me they like,” he says, of his evening shows. “I’ll play a lot of stuff from my Goodbye Blue Monday album, from my Lemon Squeeze album, a little something from ever album. I tell stories. I hit the guitar pretty hard and I’ve got a stomp box to keep the beat going. It’s good. It’s fun.”
Fisher is in Sherwood Park, Jan. 18; Camrose, Jan. 19; Airdre, Jan. 20; and Camrose again, Jan. 21.
A taste of Jeremy and Jazzy:
“Cigarette,” one of Fisher’s popular all-ages songs:
