“I was completely aware of the stereotype of an actor doing music,” Kiefer Sutherland said. “There was no way I needed to poke myself in the eye with a darning needle. I wasn’t going to do it.”
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At the time, Sutherland—a beloved actor known for his roles in 24, Stand By Me, A Few Good Men, and more—had just begun working on some new songs with Jude Cole, who suggested a proper record ought to be made. “You have to understand that my response to that was ‘Over my dead body,’” Sutherland explained.
The Canadian star first started playing guitar and writing songs during his childhood, long before any of the success that came along with his acting career—but it wasn’t until he founded the record label Ironworks with Cole in the early 2000s that he began dabbling in music on a serious caliber. At the label, most of Sutherland’s participation was behind the scenes, but eventually, Cole’s suggestion that he make a record broke through all the doubt and hesitation, and an album was made. By the late 2010s, the two had whipped up a body of work reflecting Sutherland’s inimitable knack for authentic storytelling.
Now, Sutherland is back with new music—in September, he announced his new record Bloor Street, which is set to drop in early 2022. On October 1, he unveiled the title track as a single.
Sutherland met up with American Songwriter on Nashville’s Music Row for an episode of Off The Record Live, in which he opened up about his new record and what it means to him. Paying homage to a town that’s quite close to his heart, Toronto, the album as a whole captures several keys and poignant slices from Sutherland’s storied life. Channeling all his reflections into genuinely earnest and well-crafted songs, you can see how the 54-year-old actor proves the old stereotype about actors doing music wrong.
Check out American Songwriter’s Twitch channel HERE and watch the full episode of Off The Record Live with Kiefer Sutherland below:
