Pleased To Meet Me: RAINDOG
Introduce yourself… (Where are you from, what band do you play in etc..)
S: Hi, my name is Sophie. I am from Montreal and I play guitar/sing in RAINDOG.
L: Hello! My name is Lena and I play keys and sing in RAINDOG. I grew up in Mississauga,
studied in Halifax and landed in Montreal in 2017.
F: Hello, my name is Frisco and I now play lead guitar in Raindog. I used to be the bassist in the band, as recorded on our latest album.
M: My name is Malcolm and I play bass in the band RAINDOG. I moved to Montreal from Toronto to study English Literature at Concordia and I stayed to play music in bands with my friends.
P: Hi, I’m Pablo Garcia-Rejon, im from Mexico city, and I play drums in Raindog and The Wesleys as well as make solo music under the name Jyraph.
Why do you play music?
S: I hate to sound cheesy but I feel like I have to play music. I create because I feel like I am going to explode if i dont get something out of me. I consider myself lucky to have such a beautiful outlet that can bring light to my life. Sometimes it helps me make sense of all the chaos that is going on inside my head. I also think connection is a huge aspect of it. Not just meeting other musicians (which I do enjoy). There is something really beautiful when you play together with multiple people and it just works, the hairs stand up on my arms and neck, it's visceral.
L: Luckily I can play music because my parents signed me up for piano lessons when I was five. I keep playing music because somewhere along the way it became one of the freest and most natural ways to express myself
F: I play music because it is the closest thing to religion that I can identify in myself. It allows me to commune with everyone and it seems to spark joy whenever it is played.
P: I play music to have fun, and occasionally during times of duress I use it as therapy.
What was a major influence on you as an Artist/Band?
S: I really love Big Thief. I love the way they write while giving such a sense of authenticity. They found a way to make the music intense/loud yet soft n beautiful and I like that a lot. In terms of creating a literal vibe for performances: The Oh Sees and Amyl and The Sniffers are amazing and I look up to them a lot.
L: My parents aren’t musicians but they are big music lovers, so I grew up around a lot of what they were listening to, and that has definitely influenced how I make music and collaborate. Artists like The Tragically Hip, Patsy Cline, The Beatles, Annie Lennox, Van Morrison, Roxy Music, The Rolling Stones… Through my own musical lifetime, I think I’ve picked up a lot of influence from artists like Spoon, Bombay Bicycle Club, Metric, Big Thief, The Shins, Sam Roberts… I’m a sucker for good lyrics and good harmonies.
F: One of my main influences of all time has been Country Blues from the 1920’s and 1930’s. The raw unfiltered emotion of those singers and the natural playing of their instrument always fills me with awe.
P: For me, as common as it is, The Beatles kicked open the door to the world of music for me. They as well as Nirvana also showed me that being funny is incredibly important.
What’s a favourite book or film?
S: I love films with great colours and cinematography like Paris, Texas By Wim Wenders or Fallen Angels by Wong Kar Wai. House Of A Tthousand Corpses by Rob Zombie, But I’m a Cheerleader or My Own Private Idaho I can watch over and over.
L: Books: anything by Miriam Toews or Donna Tartt. I have no taste when it comes to movies. I
loved The Godfather, I also loved Italian Job. If I had to choose a favourite… The Little Mermaid (1989).
F: Favorite book: Tarantula by Bob Dylan, or Franny & Zooey by J.D. Salinger. Favorite film: Waking Life by Richard Linklater, or Coffee & Cigarettes by Jim Jarmusch.
P: A film that recently became one of my favourites is from Hal Ashby. A movie starring young Jack Nicholson called The Last Detail. Very moving and also funny.
Do you prefer the recording process or performing live?
S: I like recording and actually getting the music out into the world but it's way more meticulous. Performing live has a completely different feeling because you are performing for an audience and focusing on the raw energy of playing together/in front of people.
L: I love playing live because time flies. I love recording because you can be slow and meticulous.
F: Both have their own pros and cons, but in the end, I do prefer performing live because you can do it anywhere and anytime and it doesn’t take much of a setup time.
M: I’ve learned to mix recently and I have really come to enjoy the process. Recording is very contemplative and you can discover a lot of interesting sonic stuff by tinkering around. There’s also always more to learn when it comes to sound engineering which is engrossing. Playing live comes with an untouchable emotional rush however. I suppose I like both for different reasons.
P: Both are fun. Recording is like painting and playing live is like being a driver in an F1 race.
What would be a dream collaboration?
S: I would love to collaborate with Courtney Barnett because we write similarly, not in terms of her stream of consciousness way of writing but poetically and sometimes structurally similar. I think it would be interesting and beautiful to work alongside someone like her.
L: Any time collaborating with any of the Radioheads would be wild.
F: I’d love to work with Sam Evian, The Oracle Sisters and Pearl & the Oysters.
M: There are a few local musicians who would be amazing to collaborate with. I can think of a few singers. Maia Davies comes to mind. She’s an amazing musician and producer who just won a Juno. I think that would be a great and serendipitous fit for us. One can dream.
P: I’d love to just even hang out with the Arctic Monkeys. I am a huge fan of Alex Turner’s facility with words as well as their music. Also funny people. Humor is everything.
Describe a favourite album.
L: An album I can always go back to is the Savages album “Silence Yourself” (2013). It’s so propulsive and gritty, yet still lyrical and beautiful. Perfect for a late night walk home alone.
F: Big Thief’s “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You” (2022). It is filled with gorgeous poetry, and it contains a sprawling variety of surprising stylings, and it sounds like the performers were having such a good time without overthinking things.
M: A favourite album… Well, I really enjoy Radiohead’s” In Rainbows”. It’s something I’ve consistently been able to go back to and appreciate since its release. The arrangements are beautiful. Ambient sounds are blended very well with riffs and tight, driving drum beats. It’s also something I’ve been able to put on to go to sleep. Anything that can relax my brain is valuable.
P: “Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino” by the Arctic Monkeys is a masterpiece. I don’t think i’ve listened to an album made in the past 10 years more times than that one. Im talking like thousands of times.
What's your favourite local haunt?
S: I often haunt Bar de Courcelle.
L: I feel like we all have to say Bar de Courcelle because we truly do haunt that place. Honey Martin’s would be second.
F: Poolhouse at Fattal. IYKYK.
M: Favourite local haunt: Bar De Courcelle. Enough said.
P: I absolutely adore the Westmount Library.
What's your strangest experience while performing live?
S: Less strange, more funny-This one time, we borrowed a smoke machine from a friend to use for a set at a small venue (this was a funeral themed birthday show). And there was something wrong with the smoke machine so it wasn't producing any smoke, and then when it startedworking it was working too well, smoke filled the room within seconds. I couldn't stop laughing because it was so extra and ridiculous, which I guess was the point of having a smoke machine afterall, but I could barely contain myself/couldn't breathe while finishing the song. If I were pursuing anything other than music it would be… Right now I have too many jobs that aren't music, eventually I would like to quit them all and have more time to play music, anything music svp.
L: I had to relieve Sophie of her boots mid-way through our set a couple weeks back… but that’s pretty par for the course at a RAINDOG show.
F: Getting electrocuted at soundcheck before a 3 set live performance, and thenhaving the entire sound system and electrical equipment short-circuit in set 3. Thanks HM.
M: trangest Experience while playing live? The first thing that comes to mind happened a few months ago. Well, It wasn’t a band show but I was singing Karaoke - the song was Gloria byPatti Smith - and a disgruntled patron came up to the stage with a can of spray paint and taggedthe projector screen. I later learned they’d been cut off and weren’t too happy about it. The tagdesign was unmemorable
P: When i was a poorer man and four loko was still legal my strangest show experience was essentially having an out of body experience. While my brain watched my body play a show. Not sure who played that show but it certainly wasnt me.
If I were pursuing anything other than music it would be…
S: Right now I have too many jobs that aren't music, eventually I would like to quit them all and have more time to play music, anything music svp.
L: Writing a novel.
F: I don’t pursue music, it simply follows me where I go. But I would have loved to pursue a career in video game design and development.
M: Other than music, I’m currently pursuing a career in film. I’ve made a short film and have aided
in the production of a few music videos. I plan on continuing that adventure in addition to my musical one.
P: As it turns out i’d be pursuing a path towards horticulture and gardening,
which ill be studying at the Montreal Botanical Gardens starting in
september!
What are some of your favourite aspects of being a musician in Montreal?
S: There is something so specific and beautiful about how connected the scene in Montreal can be. Many of the people around me all work at this music bar, and practice at the same jam space around the corner at all hours of the night. It's nice to have a space where you can just go there at any time of the day and be surrounded by friends or musicians.
L: Being a musician in Montreal is so so fun. The camaraderie and support from other bands is
F: Montreal has such a diverse and bountiful roster of musicians and I find myself constantly inspired by them. It’s a melting pot of culture and I am hungry for it. really special and uplifting.
M: At this point, my favourite aspect of being a musician is the friendship and community. All of the shows I’ve played recently have brought a lot of people together, not just the bands. That’s my favourite part at the moment.
P: My favourite aspect is connection to others, collaboration, laughter and neverending surprises. Plus being able to form new friendships with like minded people of any age.
If you weren’t playing music in Montreal where would you be ?
S: Melbourne Australia, I used to live there and I miss it, my goal has always been to go back and find a way to not have to leave.
L: If I weren’t playing music in Montreal… maybe I would be in another city playing music??? Or in
the woods, writing a novel, ha!
F: I would be playing blues and jazz in New Orleans if only America weren’t such a racist, sexist, police-driven bigot of a country.
M: If I wasn’t playing music in Montreal, I’d probably try playing music on the east coast as I have some family there, and the pace is more relaxed than Montreal or Toronto. Otherwise I’ve travelled in East Asia where I discovered some musical opportunities. That’s a fun possibility to think about.
P: I would most likely go back to my hometown of Mexico City. not sure what I would do there, but I would eat alot more food cause the food there is the best on all of planet earth.
Any sage advice for young musicians?
S: Embrace imperfection and be yourself unapologetically. Find the right people to play with, things take time and work, so keep at it. Life is friggin short so it's important to stop and smell the flowers or rain smells along the way!
L: My sage advice is for old musicians! And that advice is: it’s never too late. I didn’t write a song or join a band until I was in my thirties, even though I was a musician my whole life. Things happen when they’re meant to, if you let them. Don’t get in your own way.
F: Always find better musicians than you to learn from. Don’t overthink your first release as an artist. Always engage with your audience. Don’t go to school for music unless you’re prepared to break habits later in life. If you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right or with the right people or you’re just dead inside.
M: Advice? I’m not sure I’m the one to give it but if I had to say, just have fun and try not to get hung up on the numbers: money, likes, streams. If you’re not having fun then what’s the point? You may as well go get an office job.
P: Follow the fun. If it ain’t fun, in my opinion, it’s not worth it.
RAINDOG’s debut album “C’est Pas Grave”is out now!
You can order RAINDOG vinyl & merch at www.petitvillagerecords.com
