Winnipeg indie-pop band Royal Canoe performed at Zaphod Beeblebrox on Oct. 28. Earlier in the week, they had a trailer full of equipment stolen. The Charlatan talked to vocalist, keyboardist and guitarist Matthew Peters about touring, new music, and how the band got back on their feet.
The Charlatan (TC): After a few misfortunes, how has the tour been going?
Matthew Peters (MP): We had the misfortune of having a bunch of our gear stolen but before that happened the tour had been going so well. We now have something sorted out where we have either rented or bought new gear so that we can keep the tour going. So now it is sort of slipping back into normalcy. When we go home we’re going to have to deal with all the madness and chaos of ordering stuff, and seeing how much money we are going to lose. For the time being we are really thankful for all the support we got to be able to stay on the road.
TC: Just to touch on the support you were talking about . . . there were efforts made to raise money after a lot of your gear was stolen. How have people responded to that?
MP: It’s going great. We started a campaign and people can find it on our Facebook page. It’s pretty overwhelming actually. We feel so lucky when we get to tour and play music, and the fact that anyone actually cares at all is great. So when people step up and say they want to help support us we just feel really honoured and lucky.
TC: Speaking of continuing the tour, could you pinpoint your favourite performance so far?
MP: It was pretty awesome in Toronto, the first show was pretty great. We also played in Halifax which was really fun, and the first show of the tour was in Winnipeg which is our hometown so we got to play the theatre there which I think is every band’s goal.
TC: What are your favourite songs to play?
MP: Off the new album I can probably say a few of my favourites are “I Am Collapsing So Slowly” and “Living a Lie.” I think those are my favourite songs on the album too. They just go to a deeper emotional place for me when performing. It’s just a nice escape. Life can be very mundane sometimes when you’re just with the band every day . . . so what I love about performing is that when that time comes you have nothing to do but expose yourself and I really like those songs because they really force me to go to a really real place.
TC: You mentioned how those songs bring up a lot of emotion for you and as an artist you have to be very exposed when performing, what inspires you to do so through music?
MP: I think as any artist, we are inspired by our experiences. We did spend a lot of time on the road, and we have spent a lot of time travelling so we get to meet a lot of different people. I personally just love talking to people, and I love meeting new people that know things I don’t know and can teach me. My friends and my community are all just very lucky we have so much support so I find myself being inspired by so many different sources.
TC: Are there any specific artists that you enjoy or who possibly inspire your own music?
MP: We listen to so much different music on the road. There’s seven of us in the van so everyone has different opinions about what they want to hear. For this album, I couldn’t say there is one artist that we gravitated towards . . . I’m liking stuff such as Kendrick Lamar’s new album. It just really sounds like the future. I’m liking lots of hip hop and even classical actually . . . I just appreciate all the different music we get to listen to and I think when writing a song you’re pulling subconsciously from songs you’ve heard.
TC: Speaking of different sounds, should fans expect any new music coming out soon?
MP: The next month and a half we’ll be doing the music for a production of Richard the 2nd . . . and that’s been in work for about a year. So that’s kind of a different thing we have been working on for a while. There’s that and I’ve had a few ideas such as a musical hip hop album. We’ll be releasing music a little more timely because there is so much work that goes into it.
