Julie Doiron
{{Short description|Canadian singer-songwriter (born 1972)}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Julie Doiron
| image = Eric’s Trip 2008.06.29 002.jpg
| caption = Julie Doiron live in 2008
| image_size =
| background = solo_singer
| birth_name = Julie Elaine Doiron
| alias = Broken Girl
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1972|6|28}}
| birth_place = Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
| instrument = {{hlist|Vocals|guitar|bass|drums}}
| genre = {{hlist|Folk rock|indie rock}}
| occupation = {{hlist|Singer|songwriter|bass guitarist}}
| years_active = {{Start date|1990}}–present
| label = {{hlist|The Numero Group|Jagjaguwar|Sappy|Acuarela Discos|Endearing|Sub Pop}}
| current_member_of =
| past_member_of = {{hlist|Eric's Trip|Shotgun & Jaybird|Weird Lines|Julie & the Wrong Guys}}
| website = {{URL|http://www.julie-doiron.com}}
}}
Julie Elaine Doiron (born June 28, 1972) is a Canadian singer-songwriter of Acadian heritage.{{Cite web|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/erics_trip-_love_supreme|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120524233207/http://exclaim.ca/Features/Timeline/erics_trip-_love_supreme|url-status=dead|title=Eric's Trip A Love Supreme|website=Exclaim.ca|archive-date=24 May 2012|access-date=11 December 2021}}{{cite news|title=Feist leads nominees for Indie Music Awards|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/feist-leads-nominees-for-indie-music-awards-1.761963|work=CBC.ca|access-date=30 March 2011|date=January 31, 2008}} She has been the bassist and co-vocalist for the Canadian indie rock band Eric's Trip since its formation in 1990. Doiron has also released ten solo albums, beginning with 1996's Broken Girl, and is also the lead singer for the band Julie and the Wrong Guys.
Early life
Julie Elaine Doiron was born in Moncton, New Brunswick. She graduated from École Mathieu-Martin, a francophone high school in Dieppe, in 1990.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-transcript/164004770/ |access-date=January 26, 2025 |work=The Times-Transcript |date=July 12, 1990 |page=7 |title=Article clipped from the Times-Transcript }}{{cite news |last1=Thériault |first1=Martin |title=Le groupe Eric's Trip entreprend sa première tournée canadienne |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/lacadie-nouvelle/164004837/ |access-date=January 26, 2025 |work=L'Acadie Nouvelle |date=July 7, 1993 |page=29}}
Career
Doiron started playing guitar (later switching to bass) in Eric's Trip at the age of 18, having joined the band at the insistence of her then-boyfriend, Eric's Trip guitarist Rick White. Shortly before the band's break-up in 1996, she released a solo album under the name Broken Girl, which followed two previous 7-inch EPs ("Dog Love, Pt. 2" & "Nora") also released under that name. All of her subsequent material has been released under her own name. She started her own label, Sappy Records, to release several of her solo efforts.{{Cite journal|last=Dault|first=Meredith|date=Summer 2008|title=Member News: Listening Up - Julie Doiron Finally Has the Fan Base She Deserves|journal=Words & Music|volume= 25|issue=2|pages=6|via=ProQuest}} Although most of her solo material has been written and performed in English, she also released an album of French language material, Désormais, as well as several EPs of material sung in Spanish.
File:JulieDoiron EricsTrip.jpgIn 1999, Doiron performed at the 1999 Stardust Picnic festival at Historic Fort York, Toronto.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20000204135613/http://chartattack.com/road/reviews/1999/19990721-stardust.html "Live Reviews: The Stardust Picnic"]}}. Chart Attack, July 11, 1999, Howard Druckman That year she recorded an album with the Ottawa band Wooden Stars, which was the first time she had worked with a band since the end of Eric's Trip. Also in 1999, she was featured in a film, entitled Salt, which was filmed that fall. The film was created by the National Film Board of Canada, and released in 2000.{{Cite web|url=http://theoldnet.com/get?timestamp=20010517040506&url=http://julie_doiron.tripod.com/video.htm|title=Julie Doiron, on film|website=Theoldnet.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nfb.ca/film/salt/|title=Salt|website=Nfb.ca}} She shared a Juno Award for Julie Doiron and the Wooden Stars in March 2000.
Eric's Trip reunited in 2001, and have played shows periodically ever since. She has also appeared as a guest musician on albums by The Tragically Hip (2000s Music at Work), Gordon Downie (2001's Coke Machine Glow, 2003's Battle of the Nudes and 2010's The Grand Bounce), and Herman Düne. In 2006 she helped launch SappyFest with Paul Henderson and Jon Claytor as an extension of the reinstated Sappy Records.{{Cite web|url=http://www.sappyfest.com/information|title=Info|website=SappyFest|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-25|archive-date=2019-03-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325215754/http://www.sappyfest.com/information|url-status=dead}} She has also released a split record co-credited to the alternative country band Okkervil River, and collaborated with Frederick Squire and American musician Phil Elverum on the 2008 Mount Eerie album Lost Wisdom. She played with indie rock band Shotgun & Jaybird until their demise in 2007. She also played drums as part of a short-lived duo with Fred Squire. Initially called "Blue Heeler", they changed their name to "Calm Down Its Monday", and released a split 7-inch EP on K Records, with two solo Doiron songs on the flip side.
Apart from her musical career, Doiron is an avid photographer, having published a book of her photographs entitled The Longest Winter with words by Ottawa writer Ian Roy.{{cite book |last1=Doiron |first1=Julie |last2=Roy |first2=Ian |title=The longest winter |date=1999 |publisher=Broken Jaw Press |location=N.B. |isbn=9780921411956 |oclc=910356224}} She often does her own promotional photos and cover artwork along with her ex-husband, painter Jon Claytor.
Her album Woke Myself Up was shortlisted for the 2007 Polaris Music Prize.{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/arcade-fire-feist-on-polaris-short-list-1.636638?ref=rss|title=Arcade Fire, Feist on Polaris short list |access-date=July 10, 2007 | work=CBC News | date=July 10, 2007}}{{cite web|url=http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/2007/07/10/4328574-cp.html |title=Feist, Fire get Polaris noms |access-date=July 11, 2007 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20071011225300/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/2007/07/10/4328574-cp.html |archive-date=October 11, 2007 |url-status=usurped }}{{cite news|url=http://www.chartattack.com/news/43988/arcade-fire-feist-and-the-dears-among-polaris-nominees |title=Arcade Fire, Feist And The Dears Among Polaris Nominees |last=Love |first=Noah |date=2007-07-10 |publisher=Chart |access-date=2008-11-20 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221221217/http://www.chartattack.com/news/43988/arcade-fire-feist-and-the-dears-among-polaris-nominees |archive-date=2008-12-21 }}
In 2009, Doiron told a reporter from The Strand, a college newspaper at the University of Toronto, that she and Chad VanGaalen were exploring the possibility of collaborating on an album.Annie Bender, [http://media.www.thestrand.ca/media/storage/paper404/news/2009/04/09/FilmMusic/Living.The.Life.Of.Dreams-3706730.shtml "Living the life of dreams"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416042855/http://media.www.thestrand.ca/media/storage/paper404/news/2009/04/09/FilmMusic/Living.The.Life.Of.Dreams-3706730.shtml |date=2009-04-16 }}. The Strand, April 9, 2009. She appeared on a track from VanGaalen's EP of Soft Airplane B-sides that year, but no further news pertaining to a potential album collaboration has been released.
During the tour to support the 2009 album I Can Wonder What You Did with Your Day, the mayor of Bruno, Saskatchewan proclaimed June 7, 2009, as "Julie Doiron Day". Doiron performed at the local All Citizens arts centre on that day.[https://archive.today/20120524233209/http://www.exclaim.ca/articles/generalarticlesynopsfullart.aspx?csid1=133&csid2=844&fid1=39104 "June 7 Named Julie Doiron Day in Bruno, Saskatchewan"]. Exclaim!, June 9, 2009.
Over the three-year period between I Can Wonder and her 2012 album So Many Days, Doiron moved several times, residing at different times in Montreal, Toronto and Sackville.[http://exclaim.ca/MusicVideo/ClickHear/julie_doiron-so_many_days_album_stream "Julie Doiron, 'So Many Days' (album stream)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121227091910/http://exclaim.ca/MusicVideo/ClickHear/julie_doiron-so_many_days_album_stream |date=2012-12-27 }}. Exclaim!, October 16, 2012. While living in Toronto, she had difficulty making ends meet due to the city's high cost of living,[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/saving-julie-doiron-one-small-show-at-a-time/article4085871/ "Saving Julie Doiron, one small show at a time"]. The Globe and Mail, January 10, 2012. and began teaching yoga classes, and performing a weekly residency at the Saving Gigi club, to help pay the bills. By the time So Many Days was released in the fall of 2012, she had moved back to Sackville.[http://www.timescolonist.com/entertainment/days-in-the-life-of-julie-doiron-1.12554 "Days in the life of Julie Doiron"]. Victoria Times Colonist, November 15, 2012.
In July 2014, Doiron's song "The Life of Dreams", from I Can Wonder What You Did with Your Day, appeared in an iPhone commercial.[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/julie-doiron-strikes-deal-for-apple-ad-using-life-of-dreams-song-1.2708423 "Julie Doiron strikes deal for Apple ad using Life of Dreams song"]. CBC News, July 16, 2014.
In 2016, Doiron collaborated with musicians Jon McKiel, C.L. McLaughlin, Michael C. Duguay, James Anderson and Chris Meaney on the project Weird Lines, whose self-titled album was released on Sappy Futures in July.Gregory Adams, [http://exclaim.ca/music/article/weird_lines-weird_lines_album_stream "Weird Lines: Weird Lines (album stream)"]. Exclaim!, July 4, 2016. She then collaborated with Eamon McGrath, Mike Peters and Jaye Schwarzer on the project Julie and the Wrong Guys, which released a self-titled album in 2017 on Dine Alone Records.[http://exclaim.ca/music/article/julie_and_the_wrong_guys_detail_self-titled_debut_lp "Julie Doiron & the Wrong Guys Reveal Debut Album, Share New Song"]. Exclaim!, July 26, 2017. In 2017 and 2018, Doiron has also released several EPs of Spanish language renditions of her own previously recorded songs.[https://exclaim.ca/music/article/hear_julie_doirons_spanish_mini-album_canta_en_espa_ol_vol_iii "Hear Julie Doiron's Spanish Mini-Album 'Canta en Español Vol. III'"]. Exclaim!, April 30, 2018.
In 2021, Doiron released the album I Thought of You.Matt Bobkin, [https://exclaim.ca/music/article/julie_doiron_i_thought_of_you_album_announcement "Julie Doiron Announces 'I Thought of You,' First Solo Album in Nine Years"]. Exclaim!, September 21, 2021. Her first full-length solo recording in nine years, it includes musical contributions from Daniel Romano and Dany Placard. The song "August 10" from Broken Girl became popular on TikTok in late 2024 and early 2025, leading to the song reaching number 12 on the Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart on January 16, 2025.{{cite magazine |last1=Lipshutz |first1=Jason |last2=Unterberger |first2=Andrew |title=Carrie Underwood, Nelly & More Inauguration Performers Get Modest Sales Bumps, No Major Streaming Gains |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/carrie-underwood-nelly-trump-inauguration-trending-up-1235882273/ |access-date=January 26, 2025 |magazine=Billboard |date=January 23, 2025}} In February 2025, the Numero Group announced a campaign to reissue Broken Girl on vinyl for the first time and Loneliest In The Morning back in print for the first time since its initial release cycle in the 90s.{{cite web | url=https://www.instagram.com/p/DFnXI92vzKm/?img_index=1 | title=Instagram }} The Numero Group also announced that Doiron would be joining the line up for the Numero 22 anniversary show in April 2025.{{cite web | url=https://www.treblezine.com/numero-group-22nd-anniversary-to-feature-first-clikitat-ikatowi-show-in-30-years/ | title=Numero Group 22nd anniversary to feature Clikitat Ikatowi, Julie Doiron | date=16 January 2025 }}
Personal life
Doiron has moved several times throughout her career, living in Montreal for six years until moving to Sackville in 2004 with the release of Goodnight Nobody. When she was married to Jon Claytor, they had three children.{{cite news |last1=Kerr |first1=Grant |title=Julie Doiron settling back into life in the Maritimes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/telegraph-journal/164006252/ |access-date=January 26, 2025 |work=Telegraph-Journal |date=September 7, 2004 |page=9}} As of 2022, Doiron was in a relationship with Quebec-based musician Dany Placard, with whom she released a collaborative album Julie & Dany that year.{{cite news |last1=Corcoran |first1=Nina |title=Julie Doiron and Dany Placard Announce Julie & Dany, Share New Song "Mayo" |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/julie-doiron-and-dany-placard-announce-julie-and-dany-share-new-song-mayo-listen/ |access-date=February 19, 2025 |work=Pitchfork |date=January 27, 2022}}
Discography
=Studio albums=
==Solo albums==
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+List of solo studio albums, with release date and label shown ! scope="col"| Title ! scope="col"| Details |
| scope="row"| Broken Girl {{small|(as Broken Girl)}} |
|
|---|
| scope="row"| Loneliest in the Morning
|
|
| scope="row"| Désormais
|
|
| scope="row"| Heart and Crime
|
|
| scope="row"| Goodnight Nobody
|
|
| scope="row"| Woke Myself Up
|
|
| scope="row"| I Can Wonder What You Did with Your Day
|
|
| scope="row"| So Many Days
|
|
| scope="row"| Canta en Español Vol. II
|
|
| scope="row"| Canta en Español Vol. III
|
|
| scope="row"| Canta en Español Vol. IV
|
|
| scope="row"| I Thought of You
|
|
==Collaborative albums==
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+List of collaborative studio albums, with release date and label shown ! scope="col"| Title ! scope="col"| Details |
| scope="row"| Julie Doiron and the Wooden Stars {{small|(with Wooden Stars)}} |
|
|---|
| scope="row"| Julie Doiron / Okkervil River {{small|(with Okkervil River)}} |
|
| scope="row"| Lost Wisdom {{small|(with Mount Eerie and Frederick Squire)}} |
|
| scope="row"| Daniel, Fred & Julie {{small|(with Daniel Romano and Frederick Squire)}} |
|
| scope="row"| Julie & the Wrong Guys {{small|(with Julie & the Wrong Guys)}} |
|
| scope="row"| Lost Wisdom pt. 2 {{small|(with Mount Eerie)}} |
|
| scope="row"| Julie & Dany {{small|(with Dany Placard)}} |
|
=Extended plays=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+List of extended plays, with release date and label shown ! scope="col"| Title ! scope="col"| Details |
| scope="row"| Dog Love Part II {{small|(as Broken Girl)}} |
|
|---|
| scope="row"| Nora
|
|
| scope="row"| Will You Still Love Me?
|
|
=Singles=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+List of singles as lead artist ! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Album |
| scope="row"| "Who Will Be the One"
| 1999 | Heart and Crime |
|---|
| scope="row"| "Love Without Possession"
| rowspan="2"| 2019 | rowspan="2"| Lost Wisdom pt. 2 |
| scope="row"| "Belief Pt. 2" |
| scope="row"| "You Gave Me the Key"
| 2021 | I Thought of You |
=Guest appearances=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of guest appearances, with year, other artist(s), and album ! scope="col"| Title ! scope="col"| Year ! scope="col"| Album |
| scope="row"| "So Fast"
| 1996 |
|---|
| scope="row"| "On the Road Again"
| 2010 | Subterranean Home Sick Blues: A Tribute to Bob Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home |
| scope="row"| "Missing You" {{small|(with JF Robitaille)}} | 2016 | Palace Blues |
| scope="row"| "I Don't Know"
| 2021 | Through the Soil |
=Other charted songs=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+List of other charted songs, with selected chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Year ! scope="col" colspan="2" | Peak chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Album |
| scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| US Bub. {{cite magazine |title=Bubbling Under Hot 100: Week of January 25, 2025 |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/bubbling-under-hot-100-singles/2025-01-25/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=January 23, 2025}} ! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| US |
|---|
| scope="row"| "August 10"
| 1996 | 24 || 15 | Broken Girl |
Notes and references
{{reflist}}
{{Julie Doiron}}
{{Eric's Trip}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doiron, Julie}}
Category:20th-century Canadian singer-songwriters
Category:20th-century Canadian women singers
Category:21st-century Canadian bass guitarists
Category:21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters
Category:21st-century Canadian women singers
Category:Canadian folk rock musicians
Category:Canadian indie folk musicians
Category:Canadian indie pop musicians
Category:Canadian indie rock musicians
Category:Canadian photographers
Category:Canadian rock bass guitarists
Category:Canadian women bass guitarists
Category:Canadian women guitarists
Category:Canadian women pop singers
Category:Canadian women rock singers
Category:Canadian women singer-songwriters
Category:French-language singers of Canada
Category:Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year winners
Category:Musicians from Moncton
Category:Singers from New Brunswick