Episode 177: Elementals

[00:00:01] So you want to check out some live music tonight in Ottawa, but you're not sure of where to start looking? Maybe you're not even sure what you're in the mood for? I've got a website for you. Go to ottawagigs.ca. They have everything you need. Bands, artists, styles, venues, times, even the cost to get in. It's all at your fingertips on an easy to use website. ottawagigs.ca.

[00:00:25] Go discover the incredible talent, the amazing venues, and the exciting nightlife that Ottawa has to offer. Start your night with ottawagigs.ca. Your guide to the gig. What's up? This is Neon Ghost House, and you're listening to the Ego & Vice Podcast. Very intentively, I hope. You've got a real attitude problem, McFly. You're a slacker.

[00:01:49] Hey, this is Mike. This is Episode 177. This is Ego & Vice. Thanks for coming back. I hope everybody is enjoying their summer. I'm trying to make time for everything. I'm so busy with the bands and the podcast and life in general. And, you know, I just like to get outside. And sometimes I don't want to be in front of this microphone. I don't want to be in front of the screens. I just want to go out and enjoy life. I saw this really cool thing, which I've been doing lately.

[00:02:19] I'm not going to say who I read it from or who I heard it from. But in the mornings, he said, kind of roll out of bed, put your feet on the floor, and just kind of close your eyes. And just be grateful for the day. Don't immediately grab your phone and pump your head full of garbage. Because even though I create content and I'm on social media, it's the worst thing that's ever happened to any of us.

[00:02:50] It's easy. Life is so easy. You know, it's at our fingertips. But, I don't know. Step away. Step away from it and take a deep breath. That's the only advice I have. That's what I've been doing and it's really, really been working. Get outside. Enjoy the sun. Enjoy the day. Anyway, on this episode of Ego and Vice, I have four members of the local band Elementals.

[00:03:18] I have Jamie, Cody, Chris, and Duncan. They swung by Southwood Studio and we had a great chat about all things Elementals. Good dudes. Good chat. Anyway, let's get to it. This is a song called Augusta. This is Elementals. On the other side, we're coming back with Jamie, Cody, Chris, and Duncan. Right here on Ego and Vice.

[00:03:44] Back. This is Ego and Vice, episode 177.

[00:06:14] Ray Bork. Is that a Ray Bork? Was that Ray Bork's number? Anyone a hockey fan? Yes. It was Ray Bork. Does anyone know, trivia question since we're going down that road, who else had the number 77? I can throw it like Paul Coffey. I don't know. And the Crickets. The Crickets. Anyway, good mic check.

[00:06:36] I am sitting, as in the intro, as promised, I am sitting here in Southwood Studio with the members of Elementals. How are you guys doing? Hello. Good. Good, good, good. Thanks for having us. Thanks for coming. As I always say, I'm just surprised people show up. You know, I extend the invitation and then here you are.

[00:06:59] I have another show called The Southwood Stereo, where me and Max, my co-host, play local music. And the beauty of that show is sometimes I actually discover music because me and Max share back and forth. Like he'll bring three songs and I'll bring three songs. And a lot of the times we know, you know, oh, I've heard that band. But the band that he brought in that one time was Elementals. So I was very surprised and I really, really liked the song.

[00:07:29] Angel. Angel Static. Angel Static. Very, very cool. And I did comment on the production of it. And then you had mentioned, I think you, would you say you recorded it in like a shed or something? Yeah. So I think I was the one messaging you after that. So yeah, we did record it at our friend Mike and Sam's place in Chesterville. Cool. In his shed that he built himself. Well, that's a good shed. That is a great acoustics shed, I suppose. Probably getting ahead of myself.

[00:07:58] Why don't you introduce yourself? What you do in the band? And we'll just go down the line. I'm Jamie and I hit stuff. Drummer. Yeah. My name is Cody and I play guitar and sing. I'm Chris. I play guitar. Duncan Bass. Cool, cool, cool. And I try and do as much research as I can on bands before they come in.

[00:08:25] Chat GPT has helped that along in recent years. It's amazing. Don't do your band posters with that shit though. It's just fucking bad form. Hire somebody or do it yourself. It's much better. As far as I could go back, I could find that Elementals were formed in 2014 out of the ashes of Cody's old band, The Apollos. Yeah, that's right. Does that make sense? Yeah.

[00:08:53] Do you want to take us back there and a little origin story? For sure. I found that CD the other day. No way. I put it on. First time in years. Wow, yeah. So it's kind of neat. So Jamie, feel free to hop in if you have any corrections. But Jamie and I and Rick Vaughn, the guy you mentioned earlier, we all went to high school around kind of the same time. And they played in a band called The Arcanes.

[00:09:26] And then, yeah, I met a friend of mine named Jason Koster, great dude. And we started like a duo called The Apollos. And then, yeah. And then somewhere along the road, like just The Apollos ended somehow. And I joined Jamie and Rick. Yeah, the Arcanes were breaking up at the same time The Apollos were. Okay.

[00:09:51] And then you guys were doing like the talent show thing, right? At the school. And you needed another guy to play. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So that was the first time. We were Charlie Ann. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, we played one show as Charlie Ann. So. Yeah. I forgot about that. Yeah, we did like a Red Hot Chili Peppers cover. And then, yeah, I guess we all just decided that we should just try to do original music together.

[00:10:21] And that was kind of how the band started. So 2014, I guess you guys were just three piece at the time. Yes. Yeah. Okay. And you ended up releasing a self-titled EP? Yep. Yep. Which was not recorded in a shed, I'd imagine. Where were... That was... It was an old Apollos EP. That's right. It was the start of Elementals. So, yeah. Okay. So it was supposed to be, yeah, another Apollos record, but I guess we just rebranded it

[00:10:51] as Elementals. Oh, okay. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Well, that's cool. As far as like origin stories in Ottawa, are you all from Ottawa? Yeah. Yep. Yeah. Okay. And obviously the Apollos wasn't your first band? It was my first band. Your first band. Oh, cool. Okay. Musical beginnings and stuff. We won't go super into depth with it, but when did music kind of become your thing, each of you?

[00:11:20] If you want to go down the line. Duncan. Yeah. I don't know. Started with a lot of punk when I was like, I'm too old to answer that question. 12 or something. I don't know. Started playing an instrument pretty soon after and yeah, I don't know. Been playing ever since. Have you been in other bands other than Ottawa bands? A lot. What are some of them? What are some of my bands, Jamie?

[00:11:51] He's been in a lot. Oh, the gladsome gentlemen. Yeah. That was one of my recent ones. We're not playing so much, but that's a bluegrass project. Mule Kick. Yeah. Mule Kick was a punk band I was in. Django Fett was like a kind of gypsy jazz band I was in for a while. Can you use that name? I don't know if you can use that name. Yeah. I think it might be a bit of a faux pas. Disney might get mad at you. Glad we're not live.

[00:12:21] Elemental's canceled. Well, no. Chris. Yeah. I've been playing guitar since forever. Was super into like those shredder style guitars as like a kid or whatever, you know, like a high schooler. And then I actually started picking the trombone up as well. So I play the trombone and I started a ska punk band basically in high school that took

[00:12:50] me through till 2019. They were called Suits and Tukes. It was a fun time. Did that. Did another punk band where I was playing and singing called Bad Volunteers, which also, I guess that died with COVID, come to think of it. We had a whole big release planned for May 2020. You and a lot of others. Yeah. And then I'm playing in another like sort of ska soul dance project now called the Oscillators. Mm-hmm.

[00:13:18] And then I'm the new guy in this group as well. So I've been kind of playing, I guess about a year now, maybe a little more with the Elementals. So kind of got hooked up with these guys through Duncan originally had played on a couple other shows I was on and just sort of came together that way. Cool. Awesome. The reason I ask these questions is because off mic we were talking about how Ottawa was kind of a, it's a small city, but it has a big scene and sometimes you don't run into people.

[00:13:46] So I love hearing the origin stories and the band names because it pops up that, hey, I know that band or oh, you were in that band. So it's a conversation starter. It's an icebreaker really. Jamie. How did I start? Yeah. I had some older brothers that were guitar players. Three older brothers. The two oldest were guitar players. So for Christmas one year, I got a little drum set and my other brother got a bass and we were going to start a family band. So I was just kind of stuck with the drums.

[00:14:14] Were you going to get like a bus and... Yeah, we were going to take over the world. But Kyle, the one who got the bass, never touched it. And yeah, I just, I broke through the snare the first day I got it and it was kind of felt really good. So I kept going. You're the first person of our family ever to go to college. Yeah. Make us proud. Awesome. Cody.

[00:14:44] Family was pretty musical. My dad plays, his dad plays, his dad played a lot of like country roots though. Yeah. Yeah. And then, yeah, I don't know how old I was. I was pretty young. I, my grandpa got me a, his name's Ron. He, he got me my first Yamaha acoustic guitar for Christmas. And I'm actually left-handed, but he got me a right-handed guitar.

[00:15:13] So I didn't want to play it. I couldn't play it at first, but they did it just because, so down the road, if I ever picked it up, it would be easier for me to, you know, play guitar just in general. So do you play it right-handed? I play, I learned right-handed. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. With my dad's help. Can you, can you play left-handed too? No. No. Weird. Isn't that weird? Yeah. Yeah. So, um, yeah. And then, uh, just, uh, yeah, once I got back into it, I kind of just fell in love with

[00:15:41] the guitar and writing songs and stuff like that. And then, yeah, just, just kept going as I got older. Um, also the reason I asked that is because in 2014 is when the elementals or is it just elementals? Yeah. When, when elementals, uh, was established, my band goat was very active from about 2011 until the pandemic. And I was just wondering if any of us had crossed paths in that sense.

[00:16:08] So as of 2014, how did the machine start rolling? Um, once you started playing shows, like how did that go? Um, well, remember some early shows? Yeah, for sure. Like we, we pretty well had like a residency at the avant-garde when we first started. Yeah. So shout out to Alex. Alex, man. Um, we have our first show filmed professionally, but I think we took it off YouTube. No, it's just, it's just set to private. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:16:37] So we still have it. That was at Zayfod's. Yeah. We were opening for the beaches. Yeah. At Zayfod's. Yeah. Wow. Back in the day. Before they were like the beaches, you know, like as big as there now, obviously. Well, you can, well, still, it's okay. Yeah. Uh, not a cell phone. Was it a DV camera? Probably. It was, uh, yeah, it was our buddy Steven Cosler. He does like short films and stuff like that. So yeah.

[00:17:03] And he had a partner actually, uh, to, to help with that. Yeah. Yeah. Was it one of these? Uh, no, like a bit more, like a bit of a bigger one. Like nevermind then. Yeah. I have, um, I had that until like cell phones became whatever. And I have all these digital videotapes. Okay. With just like tons of shows and studio shit and all that. And I've been converting it to, uh, like digital. Okay. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:17:31] And I hadn't, I haven't seen it in fucking 15 years. Right. So watching, it's just like, I have one of those crazy man. Like with like just stuff I shot as like a kid. You know what I mean? Yeah. I love doing that. I can only handle so much of it though, because a lot of it's super cringy. Cause you thought you were. Oh, a hundred percent. You thought you were super cool at the time and you're doing all this stuff. It's like some of the stage stuff that you, this is just the things you talk about. There's this one scene where I'm like, everybody say, fuck you. Ready? One, two, three, fuck you.

[00:17:58] And I'm just like sitting in my, like, I can't even watch it in my, like by myself. And I did that in front of an. Oh, anyway. Anyway, sorry. I digress. But, uh, so, uh, yeah, avant-garde. Uh, Alex is a friend of mine too. Um, super good dude. Yeah. Alex is great. Yeah. And he's, uh, very welcoming, um, to anybody really. Well, provided that you're welcoming to him, I suppose. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:18:26] Um, I saw Chris play there a couple months ago with what? Eight people on the stage in your ska band. We did this sort of two tier, half on the floor, half on the. The horn players were walking to the back and. Right. How big is the band? That, I think we were seven or eight pieces that night. Yeah. Yeah. I had a balloon. Whoever can show up really. That, that's overwhelming to me. Yeah. Yeah. I was a three piece for years and years and just, just like herding two guys, like herding cats. You know, it was just, I just lose sleep over it.

[00:18:56] Six, seven people? Fuck that. I don't know. As long as, yeah. As long as you can get by without a few, you know, the sax guy didn't come. Well, we can get by. Yeah. Pretty much. Yeah. Okay. I don't know how the sax guy would feel about that. Oh, well. You're a saxophone player. Uh, so anyway, um, the next thing that came out was 2017, you released a full album called I'm Not Here, I'm Not Real. Maybe Spotify says that. I think it was 2015. 2015.

[00:19:25] And in 2015, you released a, about a year after you'd formed, kind of established, were those, um, Apollo songs as well, or are those the first batch of Elemental songs? Those were the first batch of our songs. Yeah. Okay. And as far as songwriting goes, who does most of the songwriting? Uh, I usually like start, like have the idea and then bring it to the band and, and it can go all kinds of ways, but yeah, the foundation usually comes from me. Yeah.

[00:19:52] Are you guys a, uh, like, can you jam out a song and, and write one or is it usually like someone will go home and write like a demo of something and then you'll fill it out as you come in? I, I, songwriting really interests me. Other people's like, um, strategies and how they do it. So yeah, it varies. Like, uh, for example, like on, um, mother nature medicine, that song was written with

[00:20:21] like kind of on the spot with the band, you know, and it just kind of took its own life. Uh, same with one of the new, excuse me, newer songs we have coming out on, uh, the record we just recorded. It was a bit of a challenge to try to, uh, figure it out by myself. So that like the band definitely, uh, helped with one of these new songs we got coming out for sure. Yeah. Are you all songwriters though?

[00:20:49] In your, um, individual stuff, things? Not as much as I used to be. No. Hmm. Subjective, but yeah, definitely, definitely wrote a lot of songs in the past. Jamie? Cody and I probably butt heads the most. Um, we tend to want opposite things. Um, but it's always worked out. Like it sucks when it's happening.

[00:21:16] Cause you got to let go of some things that you really want and you got to make some sacrifices. But I think we always kind of find a middle ground where we're both happy. And I think it makes the song better than just. Yeah. And that's what will, um, that one, that's what makes like your sound too, right? Is that the difference? It's that middle road, that middle lane. Yeah. I can't, uh, I can't write songs with other people like from scratch. My thing is I have to have some sort of bones or foundation and sometimes I'll just finish

[00:21:46] a song. Like I'll sit here. Or I almost feel bad for the guys sometimes because sometimes I'll show up and I'll be like, Hey, put your little spin on that. And sometimes I'll come in and I'll say, play this. But they're really good about it. Right. It's just like, yeah, cool. Cause none of them are really songwriters. So it's just like, yeah, that's cool. So it's super important in our group. And I'd like to like, like really, you know, let the guys know that like, and we've had

[00:22:14] like conversations about it too, where it's just like, like, I know like not everything I write is a gold, it's a piece of gold, you know? Like it's, I know some of it's craps and you know, and if any, I want, you know, I like to think that all of you guys are comfortable enough to like be honest with me. And I feel like you guys are like when you think something should be a different way or whatever it is. Like I know Jamie is for sure. Like he has no problems. Shit's fucked. Yeah. If you.

[00:22:45] Yeah. How about we don't do that? I think, uh, I think that's super important that communication too, because if you're like, maybe if you have newer members that are not sure which buttons to push or whatever, or if you and personally, like I've, I've worked hard on a song and brought it in and I get, they don't really say, Oh, that song's not very good. They sometimes they'll say, eh, it sounds a little close to that other one. Right. Yeah. And that's kind of like a, Oh, okay. I get it. Yeah. And then I'll listen to it with that perspective. I'd be like, yeah, it is kind of basic.

[00:23:15] They were written around the same time and stuff, but yeah, you kind of got to like not get your ego involved. Like at the end of the day, you're just trying to have a good time. At least that's how it really is all for the sake of doing it. And it's for fun. It's, you know, it's not like you're, you have like record executives or it's not like Wembley's knocking on the door. It's just like, I'm going to play avant-garde for 50 people with some friends and have a good night. You know what I mean? If the song that doesn't fit the band or the guys aren't happy playing it, then just say it. You know what I mean?

[00:23:45] Yep. And then we'll find a new bass player. You know what I mean? Yeah. I'm just kidding. No, I get it. I get it. I think that's important because I'm in a band called the Riptides as well. With GOAT, I do everything. I literally do everything except for play the other instruments. In the Riptides, the brothers, Andy and Bob do everything and I just play guitar. And I, it's such a wonderful break because I just go there and I be like, what do you want me to do? Mm-hmm. Play my guitar.

[00:24:13] At shows, when I'm done playing, they do all the schmooze and I'm like, I'm pretty tired. I just fucking pale. You know what I mean? There's no pressure in that sense. So it's nice. Balance, it's really good. I'm getting a little bit older. So it's just like, I don't want to be out that late. Yeah. I don't want to work so hard. Anyway. Why don't we give, actually, let's talk about really quick Mother Nature and her bipolar tendencies. Now, on Spotify, it says it was uploaded 2018. Was that when it was released?

[00:24:43] Yep. Oh, okay. Yep. Way to go Spotify. That's real. That's probably when we put I'm Not Here, I'm Not Real on too. Okay. Because I don't think we really. No, that was like band camp for a long time. Yeah. Until we really wanted to give it a go. Yeah. Like the first pair of EPs we did are, I don't think are up anywhere anymore. And I believe Mother Nature was seven songs. Yeah. That's about an EP, I think. Yeah. Yeah. How had the songwriting evolved?

[00:25:10] What do you guys, what do Elementals touch on as far as lyrically? Do you have like messages or is it more just, you know, internal thoughts? It's, I don't know. I don't know. I can kind of speak a lot more to that with the new songs. But I don't know, man. Like, yes, it's kind of hard to, I guess, I don't know. They're just kind of like some of them are like off that record or like kind of just emotional tunes.

[00:25:39] Not there's not really like a story so much as they're just kind of, I don't know. I'm just trying to like express feelings in a musical way, I guess. But I get that. One way I usually put it is like, I'm not a political, like I don't write political music, but I'll write how politics make me feel type of stuff. Like it's just my point of view. And I find that's relatable, you know what I mean? For everything.

[00:26:07] Like some people, like a band like Bad Religion writes a political song and I have to like, what the fuck are they talking about? I got to watch the news, you know what I mean? But if he says I'm really mad at the fucking government, I'd be like, so am I. You know what I mean? It's easier. Yeah. Um, you said emotional. Do you think you have some emo in the band? No, I don't know. I just. I think so. Yeah. I'd never thought so until we did the last record and the Jill who owns the church that

[00:26:37] we recorded at said that she heard elements of emo. And I never, ever thought about it like that. And then looking at it objectively, I see some of it for sure. Okay. Yeah. For sure. Maybe like, uh, yeah, I guess I could, what kind of emo, I guess. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Um, the worst question that you could ever get asked is what kind of music do you play? Not emo. Not emo. If you had to sum it up in like three words, what do you figure it would be?

[00:27:06] For, for someone who wants to listen to elementals and wants to know what they're getting themselves I usually just say alternative indie rock. Yeah. That's usually what I go for. Cool. Jamie, what do you think? I don't, I can't, I don't know. Oh. You don't want to make up some. I'd like Chris's thoughts as the newest member actually. I was going to say, I literally asked you the same question because people were asking me about, uh, about this new band I was playing with. I'm like, Oh, what do they sound like? I'm like, well, fuck. Like, I don't really know how to describe it.

[00:27:33] There's like a lot of like, there's sort of peaks and valleys in the tunes. There's a lot of slower parts meet like louder parts. There's some tunes that are straight, straight loud, straight energetic. There's some that are almost folkier. Like I, anyway, I actually was like struggling to describe it to people. So, um, I asked the same question. Next time somebody asks you, just make something up. Like I, Oh, I play like window scraper sponge rock and watch them go. Oh fuck. That's awesome. I love that shit. Yeah. Watch it. It's amazing.

[00:28:02] So you, so my point is you could say anything and they'd still be like right on or they'll just look at you like deer in headlights. Like I just say, I don't say punk rock. I don't say alternative. I just say I'm, I'm, I play rock and roll. I play rock. It's cause it's all under that umbrella. Oh yeah. Right. Guitars, drums, yelling, emo. Anyway. Yeah. Um, why don't we give the good listener, uh, some context of what we're talking about?

[00:28:29] Why don't we play a track off of either the self-titled? I'm not here or mother nature. What would you guys like to hear? Uh, is the self-titled up somewhere? No, I didn't. I didn't. I couldn't find it. Uh, my favorite tune personally of those days is adieu. That's my, my favorite one. Adieu. Yeah. Okay.

[00:28:54] Uh, this is the song, uh, adieu by elementals on ego and vice.

[00:29:01] So after 2018, mother nature and her bipolar tendencies, uh, we're getting dangerously close

[00:34:59] to the pandemic. Now, did you guys take a break or did you break up or did you go on hiatus or what happened? How'd it start, dunk? I bailed and I don't know. Jamie can tell you the rest. I wasn't fucking there.

[00:35:26] Dunk with the band and Cody and I, uh, kind of were at a crossroads. Um, we always referred to dunk, shut your ears, dunk. We always referred to him as our secret weapon and we're like, we're not going to find another Duncan in Ottawa. So do you want the long version or I could try to make this shorter? Which is better? Depends who you ask. Yeah. All right. Uh, I'll do a long story short. Yeah.

[00:35:57] Um, give me the juicy bits. Yeah. We had another friend who lived in Burlington at the time and his band was breaking up and they were doing a big farewell show and we linked up with him. His name's Kieron. He helped record the new record we just did. Um, and we kind of called him and said, we'll move down your way if you join our band. Wow. And he said, I'll join your band if you join my new band. And so we, Cody and I moved to Kitchener, which is close enough to Burlington. Oh.

[00:36:25] Um, and joined his band and then him and we had another bass player named Kevin who never, cause COVID never played a show with us. Okay. Joined for a little bit. And then the pandemic hit and, uh, that's the long story that we don't have to. Well, that wasn't that long. That was not that bad. No, the pandemic part after that. Oh. Yeah. That's just how we got there. I see. I see. Um, wow. That's a heck of a, yeah, just up and moved. Yeah. That was it. Yeah.

[00:36:54] And then the, then. Because Duncan quit the band. Yeah. Oh yeah. I guess you should ask. What the hell Duncan? What's going on? Yeah. I don't know. I just had some shit going on. As one does. You know what I mean? Yep. Life gets in the way and, uh, you guys remain friends. Obviously you're sitting here. Yeah. For sure. Yeah. No bad blood for a couple of years there. Not at all. Never was even when it happened. No, it's good. Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes, you know, shit happens.

[00:37:20] Um, I, uh, my, me and my drummer have been playing together for, since Thunder Bay. We moved, we grew up in Thunder Bay, moved here to be in a band. And then during the pandemic, we didn't talk for four years because we were just, like you said, button heads. And once the pandemic kind of freed up 2004, I just said, Hey, you want to do, do the band again? Okay. And it was like no time had passed. That's cool. But we didn't like each other. At least we thought we didn't until we saw each other again. And then we're like, Oh, what were we, what were we worried about? Yeah.

[00:37:50] If you're, if you haven't talked to somebody and you want to call them, give them a call. You never know. What's the worst they're going to tell you to go fuck yourself. At least, you know, you know what I mean? For sure. That's all I'm saying. Life's too short. So when did you come back? Yeah. How did it all start? Oh yeah. Okay. Well, yeah. So Jamie and I, short story is, Jamie and I kind of like went our own ways.

[00:38:19] Um, and eventually like, you know, and like kind of slowly started coming back into each other's lives. And, uh, Jamie called me one night and we had a good conversation and decided, uh, you know, life's like you said, life's too short. And, uh, you know, wanted to start playing together again because basically like we were both like,

[00:38:42] I, I didn't play with anybody else other, like Jamie's been the most consistent, uh, friend in my life, honestly. Like, uh, so I've never played music with anybody else other than Jamie. And like, we just, we just, we just click man. Like something like on one of those like weird levels, you know? I get it. The day we moved to Kitchener was the day of the first lockdown. Okay. So that kind of set the tone.

[00:39:13] For the next year. And then the band just wasn't working. So we, yeah. Yeah. Went our own ways. Were you in Kitchener the whole pandemic? Okay. Uh, almost. I came back in 22. And I left, I was. End of 2020. I had to go home, uh, December, 2021. No, 2020. 2020? Yeah. Oh, sorry. Yeah. Sorry. It's a bit of a blur. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. I get it. Um.

[00:39:43] Yeah, time isn't real. Yeah. I try not to talk about the pandemic too much just because it's all the same. It's always the same shitty story. So anyway. So getting back together. Uh, you called Duncan and he's like, yeah, sure. Well, we, I'm not just pumping your tires. We said we didn't want to do it if Duncan doesn't do it. Mm-hmm. And he said yes. Okay. So now we're back. And then through Duncan, he recommended Chris.

[00:40:11] And that's kind of where we're at now. And getting together, back together and playing the old songs, uh, like no time had passed or what? Time had passed. Oh yeah. Big time. Yeah. Knocking off the rust. Oh yeah. Yeah, big time. Yeah, yeah. I didn't, I felt like such a terrible drummer. Well, you know what I mean. Yeah. It's just like, it's not, your brain remembers but your body's like, what the fuck are you doing? Why are we doing this again, right? Yeah, I get that. For sure.

[00:40:39] What made you want to grab a second guitar? We were a three piece for the first three years. Duncan would have played on Mother Nature but you were on vacation. So he joined right after we recorded it and then we got a fourth member at the same time. So from 2017 to now it's been a four piece. Oh, okay. Well, there we go. With Mother Nature, I think Cody and our producer Donnie took a lot of liberty to add a lot more guitar.

[00:41:09] Right. So we needed another guy to fill it out. Cool. Yeah. Cool, cool, cool. And the new stuff, you said you had a new one coming out? Yeah. Yeah, we just recorded it in April. Yep. Yeah. Cool. And been back together for two years now? Yeah, a year and a half, give or take, yeah. Have you been playing lots of shows around town? Zero. Not really, eh? We're waiting for the new record to be mixed. Cool.

[00:41:39] Purpose. Reason. Anticipation, as they say. That's awesome. Has the music changed much? Has it matured much since Mother Nature now that so much time and the regrouping, everything has passed? Yeah, I would say so. Yeah. Definitely matured.

[00:42:02] Not as like, before we would get compared to a lot of grunge bands and stuff like that, and the music was super, in my opinion, super heavy rock forward. And just like, I don't know. I think with these new songs, it's a bit more emo, a bit more laid back in some regards.

[00:42:31] But it's also, you know, at the end of the, I don't know. I still think it's like a pretty original sounding material. And I'm super excited about it. I think they're our best songs to date. Cool. Yeah. How many are going to be on the record? Five and a poem. Five and a poem. Yeah. Not that you have to tell us, but is there a title for the new record? I think we could say it. Yeah. Sure. The Poland Church Sessions.

[00:43:01] The Poland Church Sessions. Poland. It's a hamlet. The Poland Church Sessions. Yeah. Population, what'd you say, 22 or 23 people in Poland, Ontario? Yeah. Okay. So we recorded in a church that she is turning into a studio, music venue, art space, gallery. That's awesome. Yeah. I like it. Poland Church Sessions. Do you know when it's coming out? Do you have a release date yet?

[00:43:31] Yeah. Pending. Yeah. To be announced. Yeah. Yeah. I'm just waiting on the mixes. That's cool. So if you're listening, Donnie. Yeah, right. That's hard, right? When you're sitting on, yeah, I know. I love you, buddy. I get it. I get it. So I guess you don't have a venue until, no. Okay. So it's all just in pre stuff. Okay. So that's very exciting.

[00:43:59] So future lookout for the Poland Church Sessions and a big, big release bash at, you're going to do it in Ottawa. Yeah. At A Venue TVA in Ottawa. Elementals. I'll be there. That'll be great. Thank you. Cool. Very, very exciting. Yeah. We were like, oh my God, does anyone even care? We were like a little nervous going into the whole thing. Yeah. Well, I'll definitely plug it. I'll definitely plug it as much as I can on the podcast.

[00:44:28] Just keep me in the loop. That's all. Send me a, just send me an email or a text every couple of months. I will say one thing. We are apparently big in Brantford. Ah. Massive. Shout out to Brantford. Huge in Brantford. Yeah. And there might be an announcement coming up with something to do with Brantford. Okay. There you go. Some more stay tuned. You're keeping us on the edge of our seats here. Cool. All right. I have a game.

[00:44:58] It's called 15 Questions with the Band or 13 Questions with the Band. But before we get to that, I always ask, do you have any shout outs, any thank yous, anybody you want to talk about that's helped you out since the beginning? Other bands, other musicians, anything you'd like. Now's your chance. I'd just like to shout out Jill where we recorded the new one because she opened up her house to

[00:45:27] us for three days or so and let us make a bunch of noise. It's very cool. It's important. I want to shout out the wife back home, Liv. She, before the band got back together, she definitely did a lot to foster my creative side because I kind of stopped really kind of caring about it for a bit. So she was great.

[00:45:57] So shout out, baby. Love you. And the dog, Dolly, she's great too. Nice. Kind of dog? Great Dane. Great Dane. Big dog. Yeah. Great Dane. Chris? Yeah, I think just thanks to these boys for having me. I've been really enjoying it. Coming in kind of blind to whatever this was. And yeah, finding my place. So thanks, guys. Awesome. Duncan.

[00:46:25] I mean, got to give one to Donnie for doing a great job on the record. I'm sure this will sound good. Yeah, Kieran as well. Yeah. Cool. Okay. 13 questions with the band. Ready to play? Yes. Is that question one? Yeah, that's right. Time for 13 questions with the band. Yes, this segment's back again. It's called 13 questions, but I only asked six, maybe five. Okay.

[00:46:55] This is 13 questions with elementals. As I always say, I give the rules of 13 questions with the band is I have 13 questions. But I ask from the 13 questions. I don't ask all 13. Okay. Because there's four of you here and you all made the trip out, we will do this kind of individually. We'll try and do it rapid fire. If you have like long, long stories or short stories, stick to the short one. Yeah. For this. For this. Okay. Question one.

[00:47:23] What was the very first concert you ever saw live? Jamie. Simple plan. Where? Canadian Tire Center, whatever it was called. Corral Center. Corral Center. I still call it the Corral Center. I can't help myself. Cody. Them Crooked Vultures. And funny enough, that's Jamie and I. That was like kind of how we bonded when we first met because he went to that show too. But I didn't know that.

[00:47:50] But I came into the school one day with that shirt on. Yeah. And yeah. At the Canadian Tire Center? Yeah. I was at that show. Yeah. There you go. Yeah. I was there. He walked into school. I said, we're going to be friends. And I thought that's. It's like, we like. I like that. Anyway. Chris. I saw Genesis with Bill Collins. Nice. Nice. It was like 2006 or something. My dad was a big fan. It was Wicked. Cool. Yeah. Yeah. Well, Phil, I think he's retired now. Phil's got some health issues. Yeah. That's a shame. Duncan.

[00:48:21] Mustard Plug for any Scott fans. Babylon. I don't even. Can't even guess the year. A long time ago. Nice. Mustard Plug. Oh, where was Phil Collins? I mean, Genesis? I was at Corral Center at the time. Okay. Cool, cool. So here in Ottawa. Yeah, yeah. Okay. What is your desert island record? If you got stranded on a desert island for like 10 years and you can only bring one piece of music. Oh. Jamie.

[00:48:50] Nothing is Wrong by Dawes. Okay. Cody. I'm sorry. You get one pass. You get one pass per round and when we get back to you, if you don't have it, then you just... I'm definitely going to pass, but I will try to think of something. Okay. Yeah, I don't even know. I'm going to say somewhere in between.

[00:49:19] Streetlight Manifesto. Just super nostalgic for me. Although it wouldn't do well on a desert island, I don't think. I think I'd get pretty tired of it, but it's my choice. Duncan? Yeah, I don't know. I hate this question. It would change every week. I'm passing. I'm with Cody. I'm passing. Okay. Back to Cody. I'm probably going to go with like maybe a Dean Martin best of or something because this always puts me in a good mood. You're loungy. Show tunes. Duncan, that's it. We're back to you again.

[00:49:49] I don't know. Been listening to a lot of Tony Rice lately, so give me one of his. Okay. Very good. This one might be easier, but it's kind of in the same idea. But what is your favorite song today? Jamie. Yeah. I'm going to pass. I'll come back. Okay. No Scotland, no party. That's my favorite song today. Today. For sure. Very good.

[00:50:22] I was listening to a bunch of Willie Nelson this week. Uh-huh. Have you heard his new record? I actually haven't. I didn't know. It's so good. Came out like last Friday. Oh, really? Yeah. Okay. That's Luke and Bach, Texas or whatever that song is. I really like that song. Okay. That's your favorite song today? Like, yeah, this week. I'm bopping it. That's awesome. Nice. I love that. Duncan? Like a couple weeks ago.

[00:50:51] So that's the way the world goes around was always a good one. Very good. Back around. I got it. Model Train Town by PD USA. PD USA. Okay. Very good. See, that wasn't so tough. Come on now. Let me see. What was the, if you did, I've had people that don't even know what physical music is. What was the first CD or vinyl record or anything you purchased with your own money? From Under the Cork Tree, Fall Out Boy. CD.

[00:51:21] Yep. Never Mind Nirvana. CD. CD. I think it was Billy Talent 1 CD. CD. Yeah. I think Never Mind the Bollocks CD. Nice. I think. All right. Moving right along. If you had a time machine and you go to any musical event of any era or year, what would it be? Jamie?

[00:51:51] Just the top of my head. I think it was 2002, Queens of the Stone Age with Dave Grohl. I don't know if it was Glastonbury or some festival in the UK. Good one. I might pick, I think maybe when Avicii just started becoming super famous. Maybe one of those European ones. Like EDM just started going crazy. Like that would probably be wild. Cool. Yeah. Cool, cool, cool.

[00:52:22] Chris? I'm just very nostalgic for the days that I got to go to Montebello Rockfest. And I would love to just have that again. So it's not like just experience it again. It's not even a new experience, but I think 2012 or 13 I went and it was, yeah. Anyway, blew my mind. Would you go back as the person you were or the person you are? Ooh. I don't even know if I could survive it now, to be honest.

[00:52:51] But so I would try to be the person that, well, I don't know. I would have new eyes to it, I guess. I guess so. Duncan. Duncan. Well, I'll go back to Rockfest and hang out with Chris. Take me back. Okay. Couple more questions. If Elementals could open for any band, who would they be? I guess you guys can all answer. Like you can. I'm just obsessed with PDUSA.

[00:53:21] Everybody else agree with that? Sure. Well, I didn't know these guys opened for the Beatres. I think we owe them a call. Yeah. It's like, we're like this. We're like buds. They owe me a favor. They owe me 20 bucks. Anyway. Okay. For each of you, a couple more questions. If you could have a drink or a meal with anybody live or dead. Could be a musician. Could be a person. Whatever. Who would it be? Ass.

[00:53:51] Pay ass. Dean Martin. The Deaner. Yes, sir. You are. Did he have a name? Was he the chairman? Dino. Okay. Who was the chairman of like the Rat Pack? Was it Dean Martin? I don't know. Maybe. I might have to Google that after. Yeah. Well, you mentioned Hendrix. That's been the answer that I've answered that question before.

[00:54:16] I just feel like he'd be an interesting dude and the perspective at the time. It'd be cool to learn from. Cool. Duncan? Probably the guy that owned the shed that they recorded that album at. The original shed owner? Yeah. He passed. Oh, that's a shame. Okay. Back around, Jamie. Well, now I got to piggyback Duncan's. Same answer? Okay.

[00:54:46] Very good. I appreciate that. The very last song. The very last question in 13 questions with the band. Elementals. It's for everybody. Or maybe one of you. Who are Elementals? Duncan, Chris, Cody, Jamie. That's it. Good enough. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast. It was great chatting with you guys.

[00:55:16] Stay tuned for Poland. And church sessions. The new EP from Elementals with TBA. Very, very, very big release live show. Look forward to it. Listen to Ego and Vice and we'll plug it here. And you will be able to miss it because it's going to be great. Again, thanks a lot. Thanks a lot. All the best to you. Thank you, man. And keep in touch.

[00:56:47] I'd like to thank the guys from Elementals for coming into Southwood's studio.

[01:00:28] Great chat. You should check them out if you see them playing around town. If you want to get a hold of myself, Max or Vic, you can always reach out at eagleandvice at gmail.com. If you want to find out all things Eagle and Vice, go to eagleandvicepodcast.com. Our Fortress of Solitude, our Homebase, our HQ, everything Eagle and Vice, and links to everywhere else are right there.

[01:00:57] Anyway, that's it for me. Episode 177. In the can. See you next time. Bye. You've got a real attitude problem, McFly. You're a slacker.