Taylor Kirk, a.k.a. Timber Timbre, will open for Final Fantasy at Knox United Church this week.

DETAILS

Final Fantasy with Timber Timbre
Knox United Church
Monday, September 28 - Monday, September 28

More in: Rock / Pop

Being a musician who’s afraid to perform is like being a pilot who’s afraid of flying. You would think the fear would win out in the end, leaving the musician locked in the studio like a pilot stuck to the tarmac. Not so with Taylor Kirk, the man behind Timber Timbre. Despite being frightened every time he steps onto the stage, Kirk continues to force himself to do so, most recently on his cross-Canada tour with Final Fantasy in support of his self-titled third album.

“It’s not my personality to want to get up in front of a lot of people,” Kirk says. “Especially doing something that can feel as revealing as divulging or singing about really personal things. At the same time, that’s sort of why I do it. I think it’s getting better but it’s always there for sure.”

Fortunately, the willies aren’t the only thing Kirk gets out of performing. In pushing himself to confront his trepidation over pouring his heart out, Kirk has allowed himself to experience the pleasure of things working out. “More than anything, [playing live] is more exciting and exhilarating than it is scary,” he says. “The satisfaction of when it goes well always eclipses any of that anxiety.”

The fright, though, is still a good way to approach Timber Timbre’s music. Kirk’s latest album takes its foundation from old blues progressions and features simple, understated playing that builds an eerie atmosphere throughout — keyboards sound lifted from old horror movies, Kirk’s uncanny voice is more ghost than man. Even when not explicitly talking about ghouls, demons and corpses, the album seems to be playing from a crumbling cemetery during a full moon. For Kirk, his music’s dark mood is deliberate and his macabre subject matter serve a distinct purpose beyond conjuring monsters.

“I wield that kind of imagery as a way to maybe sedate some of the anxieties of performing and as a way of disguising what I’m really singing about,” he explains. “To an extent, it can be really empowering to voice that kind of imagery.”

Employing that spookiness may be empowering to Kirk, but it’s also fitting. In doing so, his listeners become just as unsettled hearing his disarmingly sinister songs as Kirk is performing them.