On the Rock(er)
Face to Face with Idol’s Rex Goudie

BY ALISON RAMSEY

The first CD by Newfoundlander Rex Goudie, who won second place on this year’s Canadian Idol contest, was released December 13. The 20-year-old rocker launched Under the Lights with a concert at Mile One Stadium in St. John’s. Born in Dawson Creek, B.C., Rex moved to the Rock when he was just six months old. His home town is Burlington, population 400, where Rex formed garage band Purple Monkey Band Squad while in high school. When he faced off for the Idol finals, a record-breaking 3.65 million votes were cast, and Melissa O’Neil was named winner. Rex and O’Neill will share the stage again, on a cross-country tour starting January. Reader’s Digest sat down with Rex just before Under the Lights was released.

RD: Within a week of coming second in “Canadian Idol” you had a recording contract, and your first CD is just out. How does it feel?

Goudie: It’s unreal. Unreal. But they wanted the CD to be out in time for Christmas. You don’t want to let the hype die down.

RD: Tell us about the CD.

Goudie: I started recording on September 29 and finished the CD on November 18—my birthday. It was a really good feeling. There are 12 songs on the CD. I co-wrote five with great artists such as [Newfoundlander] Rob Wells. They actually helped me grow as an artist rather than putting their own influence on me. I learned to shorten things and make it precise. “Strong Enough” is a song I wrote about home, about chances people have to make it big but they never stuck to their dreams. You’ve got to stick to your dreams. The song came out fast because I had it in my head.

The other seven songs speak to my heart. One is called “Run,” about missing the person you care about. You go through that when you’re away from home.

RD: How do you start your songwriting?

Goudie: Sometimes it starts with an idea that we take and work on at home. Other times we got together and the ideas started flowing. Once we get a melody down and a bit of music to it, like the guitar, we’re able to come up with something.  You get your ideas down pat, then you can convey the emotion with the music.

RD: You first sang in public at age four. What occasion was it?

Goudie: It was a Christmas concert in Burlington, the first concert at the new town hall. They needed someone to sing some carols and Mom figured it’d be cute if I got on stage.

I sang a good ole Newfie version of “Jingle Bells” called “Souped-up Snowmobile.” I don’t remember much of it, but I remember having a lot of fun up there. People were amazed that I wasn’t nervous. I was never one to be the life of the party, or the most vocal person, but I didn’t mind public attention at all when growing up.

RD: Are you homesick?

Goudie: I am a little bit. I’ll tell you why. I looked out through my window this morning and realized that down home it’s rabbit season. If I were there, I’d have a few snares on the go. Instead, I look outside and see one tree. Just one. Guaranteed, there’s not one rabbit lead out there.

When I get homesick, I listen to Newfoundland music a lot. Traditional stuff like The Fables and Simenon, Great Big Sea, too. Sometimes I listen to stuff like Kris Kristofferson and Hank Williams, just to remind me of times I was home singing it to my grandmother. She was real big on Hey, Good Lookin’ and hymns.

RD: Had you been off the island before Idol?

Goudie: Well, I was born in Dawson Creek, B.C., but we moved when I was six months old. And I went to PEI when I was a kid. My parents took us camping.

RD: You’re enrolled at Memorial University?

Goudie: School’s on hold now, but I still want to return and finish my mechanic’s degree. I like picking at machines, knowing how they tick.

RD: Have you helped at your father’s trucking company in the past?

Goudie: Yes, I’ve been tinkering with tractor trailers since I was about eight years old.  For the last three years we’ve been pretty heavy into it. Dad had six trucks on the go and you learn pretty quick. I drove a bit of dump truck here and there, did a bit of mechanic work.

RD: Do you have a girlfriend?

Goudie: No, I’ve been busy. There’s not been a whole lot of time to even look.

The support from fans has been amazing. A lot of people found my home address and phone number. It’s good to hear from everybody and talk to people who voted for you, but sometimes it gets crazy. My parents had to take call waiting off their phone because they couldn’t have a sensible conversation, so many people were calling. They’ve thought about getting an unlisted number.

RD: How did your family react to you being on “Canadian Idol”?

Goudie: My mom went crazy: she didn’t even know I tried out for it. She was saying, ‘Don’t try out – I’m afraid they’ll send you to Toronto.’ When I told her I made it, she said, ‘Oh, my Lord, you don’t have any clothes to wear.’

RD: Why didn’t you tell her?

Goudie: I was afraid she’d talk me out of it. I also didn’t want to make a big deal of it. If it didn’t happen, that’s okay; and if it did, it’d be a surprise, a bit of an uplift.

I entered on a dare from my cousin Erin. She told me, “Boxie, you should go down and try for this.” “Nah,” I said, “I’ve got stuff to study for a pyschology exam.” And then I got second place, of all things!

RD: On “Idol,” you’ve been called Sexy Rexy and Rowdy Goudy.

Goudie: Box is my favourite nickname. When I was a little kid I fell down some steps and beat my two front teeth out on a sewing machine. I couldn’t say my own name. When I tried it sounded like “Box,” so that’s what people started calling me.

RD: You love cars. Will you buy one with the money from your CD?

Goudie: I have a 2005 Mustang I got after Canadian Idol. She’s gorgeous: black with a red interior, a convertible, with 300 horsepower. I don’t drive it on gravel and I live on a gravel road, so the Mustang’s parked at my brother’s, where it’s paved.

RD: What will you be doing over Christmas?

Goudie: I’m praying for snow. I’d like to snowmobile in to our cabin at Long Pond. It’s a little 16 by 16 foot cabin, about 30 kilometres through the woods behind the house.

The family Christmas starts on Christmas Eve. About 40 of us gather at my house and we sing a few Christmas songs and there’s more food than anyone in the whole town can eat. We share a bit of time.

On Christmas morning, when our three-year-old nephew gets up we all get up. We don’t really have a Christmas dinner, but we do have Christmas breakfast, with slab bacon and fried bread dough with a bit of pancake syrup. It’s delicious.