Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Car287
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
Bass player Terry ferguson – My earliest memories of music were of my mother playing piano on Sunday Mornings – she had been a concert level pianist in England – so she would play Chopin – Beethoven – all kinds of classical music. I turned down her offers of lessons – which I regret til this day….but in my teens I started loving classic rock and folk music – listening to the stars of that era like Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Led Zeppelin- that was where my journey began.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
What’s the story behind your current music project?
CAR287 are a group of musicians who all have been Air Traffic Controllers or related to Controllers. As coworkers we came together to play cover songs and were very successful in local venues, drawing big crowds. When the pandemic hit we started sending each other song ideas and embarked on our first original music attempts. In the years since the pandemic we have written a large number of songs and recorded an EP and Album. Looking Through The Lens – our debut album has done quite well here in Canada. We are now working on our second album, and have completed 5 songs for the album (we were in the studio yesterday).
One other interesting project that is in the works is a 4 band documentary called One Night in Winnipeg. It follows 4 bands practicing and preparing for a gig, then the performances of the 4 bands. The film is in the editing stage – we are looking forward to releasing that.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
We have come to the conclusion that we are really Canadian Rock. We have a variety of influences you can hear in our songs, but we are rooted in guitar based rock with meaningful lyrics and harmonies. We are often compared to some Canadian bands like The Tragically Hip or The Glorious Sons, or some hear a bit of an REM influence.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
Nothing is wrong. There is no playbook. Make the music the way you want to make it and do it for yourself. With today’s ability to share your music across the world, the people who like your music will find you.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
Our mixer is essential to our creative process. We record every practice session – every instrument separately tracked. The session is then mixed and sent to all the band members – and everyone listens and practices with that recording. We will even do mixes with an instrument removed so that a band member can work on creating new parts against the background track.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
Begonia is amazing – A Winnipeg artist who’s voice is so captivating. She really is a character too. She has been doing international tours.
Boy Golden is making huge waves (from Winnipeg and Pino Palladino played on his latest album!
The Bros Landreth – Joey Landreth’s guitar tones are amazing – another Winnipeg Product – he was asked by Eric Clapton to come and play at the Crossroads festival last year. Just did a tour of Europe
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
We are very collective in our song writing technique, but each of us has brought their own experiences into the music. A song like Take My Picture was based on a true story I was told near where I live in Winnipeg. Muddy Waters is the story of the 1997 flood that affected Manitoba – it was written by Travis. Jay Yarmey writes a large volume of our lyrics and taps into his past in a nostalgic way that clicks with many people.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
We find that these days there is a lot of gloom and doom. We have some songs that convey hope and encourage people to value the good things in life. We do reach into serious issues on some songs like Take My Picture – which is about homelessness, but we also highlight the beauty of something like just hopping in a car, hitting the highway and going on a trip (Highway Strong). The Things They’ll Miss is a retrospective song where we encourage people to remember the fun in the simple things – kind of a warning to not let your kids miss out on the fun things in life that we all experienced.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
You can really connect with people – they may see your songs through a different lens and interpret it differently, but that is what art is meant to do. Make you think and consider the theme of the song.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
For us there are a few festivals here in Canada that we want to eventually perform at. Of course maybe something like SXSW We have a fantastic venue here called the Burton Cummings Theatre. That is one we would love to play at. We are attaining a bit of a dream when we open for Smashmouth and Collective Soul at Rocking The Fields here in Manitoba on August 1st.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
For us right now I would say that it would probably be The Glorious Sons, a Canadian band we really all like.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links) Website: https://car287.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4sX8bDF5GGKf67pmOjL1IT? si=elpjv5iqTgux_p8zD5kzVw
Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/car287theband/
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
We are working on our sophomore album. We are looking to expand our audience and start planning some tours across the country, and maybe over to Europe again.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
I hope that they find we are honest humble people who just love to play music that has a message – even if that message is just a happy one. There’s enough negativity in the world, someone has to stand up and say some things are still good.
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