My influences are really all artists that reach for something beyond themselves, ones that have vision and desire to bring something real to a world of falsity.
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| Photo Courtesy of Old Man Canyon Facebook |
You Ought To Hear This gets up close and personal with a band that is sure to be one of the breakout artists of 2014, Old Man Canyon. Jett Pace, the founder and driving force behind Old Man Canyon, was kind enough to answer our questions. Please read along and be sure to check out their phenomenal EP Phantoms & Friends.
You Ought To Hear This: Give us some backstory to the band and your journey.
Old Man Canyon: In early 2011, the band I was in at the time ended up having a pretty bad falling out, as bands often do. It really shook me up and confused me as to what direction I was going to take, and how I really wanted to continue as an artist and a musician.
The next several months were spent in my basement writing and experimenting with sounds. After about 8 months I had a group of songs I was really happy with that I felt fit well together. So I contacted a friend and local producer, Dave Meszaros, to begin working on what would become the Phantoms & Friends EP. The next 6 months was spent recording and really just trying everything that came to our minds, not holding back creatively at all. At the end we were left with something we were really proud of.
YOTHT: Tell us about the members of the band and what is your instrument set up?
OMC: The band now consists of 5 of us, its gone through several incarnations, but with everything sonically I am going for 5 of us are needed. Especially with the new music that will be on the next record, it’s quite a bit different and requires more hands! The band members consist of myself, on Guitar and vocals, Josh Contant on drums, Alex Dobson on bass, Malcolm Dow on Keys/synths and Dave Meszaros on guitar, who also was the producer on the EP.
YOTHT: Is everyone from the same area, how did everyone meet?
OMC: It’s been a gradual formation, it all began really with me just writing songs, and after I had recorded the EP is when I really began focussing on constructing the dynamic of the band. Some of the members are old childhood friends, and others we met through friends in and around Vancouver. It wasn’t a quick process, it’s taken around a year to find the right people to fit the vision I had artistically and sonically for the band.
YOTHT: Are you guys signed to a label? If so, how was that process?
OMC: We are in the process of signing, we’re talking to several different labels right now, I won’t name them quite yet. But we should be making a decision here pretty soon. The process was quite fluid actually, at least for us, the right people took interest right off the bat and have been keeping an eye on us since the beginning, so I think that helped to get the right exposure off the get-go and make the right connections.
YOTHT: What are some of your individual influences?
OMC: I always find that a really hard question to answer. My influences are really all artists that reach for something beyond themselves, ones that have vision and desire to bring something real to a world of falsity. To name a few, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, 2pac, Prince, Bob Marley, I could go on forever.
YOTHT: Describe your sound and how you decided on that direction?
OMC: I still haven’t really chosen a direction, I think as soon as you box yourself into a certain format, you stop yourself from evolving as an artist. I just write what it is I’m feeling, and that usually works. My new music is a lot different from the EP, and I couldn’t more excited for it, it’s everything I think I’ve always wanted to incorporate, it just took some time to really find it.
YOTHT: What is your writing and recording process like?
OMC: I spend a lot of time in my cold basement writing and recording. I don’t really have a set way songs come about, they always come in different ways. Some start from a guitar riff, some start from a beat, and some start from a bass line or sometime a melody will just pop in my head and I record it on my iPhone quickly to come back to later. I try to always switch it up to give deferent feels to the structure of the song. But the process really is not up to me, there are forces at work sometimes when I’m creating [that] I can’t really take credit for.
YOTHT: Where do you typically find inspiration for writing?
OMC: I couldn’t tell you, It’s such a random process, you never know when something amazing will pop into your head. Thank god for the iPhone recorder, that thing has saved my butt so many times when I need to remember something.
YOTHT: How did the connection and relationship to have multiple recordings on Showtime’s Shameless? Describe the recognition increase since that time and growth via social media and fans reaching out?
OMC: Right after my EP was released I signed with a great Licensing agent out of Los Angeles, and it’s been truly awesome to see the placements he has got me. It’s helped me gain a lot of exposure and has allowed me financially to keep going with music without having to get side tracked on a side-job.
It’s always an amazing feeling seeing your work reach the world, and hearing what people have to say and how it has affected them or helped them through something, I think when that sort of thing happens to an artist, it really helps build inspiration, because you see firsthand how it is your work is affecting the ones that hear it.
YOTHT: Your tracks seem to fit the show so perfectly? When you are writing/recording do you visualize the music being a part of a scene/video?
OMC: Sometimes when a song comes, there is a strong visual side to it for me, and sometimes not. I love film and do a lot of visual arts in my spare time, so I guess that side of it is always in my mind. As soon as one art form is created, be it music or film, I usually see the ways the other parts can fit in to it pretty quick. Some songs just seem to fit the atmosphere of something visual more than others.
YOTHT: How do you feel about social media these days and your ability to connect with fans worldwide and vica versa.
OMC: I think it’s great, it has allowed for artists to manage parts of one’s career that usually took 30 different people. Its put a lot of power back into the musicians hands, and you can see the effects of it as labels aren’t always needed in the same ways they were back in the day.
YOTHT: Are you a fan of the resurgence of vinyl records and the return of people to local record stores?
OMC: Yes I love vinyl. I think there is something in it that portrays sound how it’s meant to be heard. I have a little bit of a vintage Synth obsession, and anything analogue really, so the vinyl definitely allows for that vibe to come across easier.
YOTHT: Do you find music outlets like Spotify, Beats Music, and bandcamp are good for music as a whole and help smaller artists?
OMC: Ya, they’re great if they are used right, and you don’t depend on them solely to get your stuff heard and out there. They are just tools and the real work has to be done other ways.
YOTHT: Do you have any plans to tour/expand the tour? Plans for a record?
OMC: Yes, this next year is going to be a big one. We will be heading out on a U.S. tour in April, and then aiming to do a larger U.S. tour in June along with a tour throughout Canada sometime in the summer.
YOTHT: The EP is fantastic, what are your plans for a new record?
OMC: As for new music, there is a lot coming. This past year I’ve written enough for several albums, so let’s just say I am very eager to get more material out there, especially because this new music is just so much fun to perform live and I feel captures the vibe I really want to be giving off more than the acoustic guitar driven folk tunes.
YOTHT: Do you all as a band have set goals? If so, what are they? What are your dreams for the future?
OMC: My dreams are to create something that allows people to get inspired to create their own dreams. And while doing this I want to collaborate with as many incredible people as I can and build a real community around this.
YOTHT: What do you listen to in order to clear your musical palate?
OMC: I go for a walk and listen to the birds!
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