Q: Hey, can you tell us a bit about where you come from, and what made you want to start a career in music?
A: For me, it was growing up in a musical family, having many older siblings and cousins, uncles, etc that played. I never thought of an actual career in music until University, where I had some friends that toured and actually had goals and direction with their careers. It was inspiring! I wanted to do the same.
Q: Did you have any formal training, or are you self-taught?
A: Mostly self taught! Growing up with so many musicians around, I usually asked questions to my favourite players (which happened to be my brothers, and Dad)—easy access when they weren’t too annoyed with me 😉
Q: Who were your first and strongest musical influences, and why the name ‘The East Pointers’?
A: My first musical influences were my family and any other musicians that rolled through town (usually east coast Canadian musicians)—Stan Rogers, Natalie MacMaster, The Rankin Family were just a few. “East Point” Is the eastern tip of Prince Edward Island, close to where Koady and I grew up – we didn’t think too much about the name but it eventually started to mean more; with the core of our music being rooted in our little community of PEI. We’re certainly proud of where we come from!
Q: You have just released your new EP, ‘House of Dreams’. Is there a story behind it?
A: It’s a collection of songs that we wrote and recorded throughout the pandemic. House of dreams refers to finding some inner peace, comfort at home, amongst trials and tribulations through life.
Q: What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
A: We hope listeners resonate with the authenticity of our music. The three of us started this band out of pure joy of being with each other, writing music, and hanging out. It wasn’t intentional to turn it into a full time gig, but sometimes that happens without the push! The East Pointers began at a perfect time for each of us; shedding old bad habits and looking forward to a brighter future. A love of traditional music brought us together, but a passion for experimenting with this music kept it alive and fresh. The mixture of folk and contemporary has endless possibilities 🙂
Q: Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more?
A: Playing our music in front of a live audience is the best. It makes it all feel worthwhile, when you can see and feel the audience responding to the music you’ve created. But we also love the process, the writing, the studio time, it’s all part of the journey. I wouldn’t say that we have grand expectations, but definitely goals to grow our fanbase and create more music that reaches out in further and different directions.
Q: Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song?
A: We started out mainly as an instrumental band, and most of our songs start with a musical idea, or a riff. Koady would often have a little melody that he’s been playing on the banjo or tenor guitar, and we would sit down all together and jam it out for a while. If we found something worth pursuing, we’d see what it felt like with vocals, if it sparked an idea, or something we wanted to say. We also love co-writing, and had some success connecting with some pals over zoom throughout the pandemic. Colin MacDonald from ‘The Trews’ is one of our favourite guys to write with, he’s a good friend and was a big part of most songs on ‘House of Dreams’.
Q: What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
A: In January we lost our bandmate and best friend, Koady. We don’t have words for how that felt, or how it continues to feel, but we know how much he loved the band, and how he would want ‘The East Pointers’ to carry on. We spent the past couple years working on this EP with Koady, and he was so excited about the new songs. This has kept us going, knowing that Koad has more music to share with the world.
Q: On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
A: We’re extremely proud to release this new EP. It feels like we arrived at a sound that we’ve been chasing for a little while, and as Koady’s last studio album, it’s going to be the most special one. We’ve been lucky to play some incredible festivals, had some great tours, and met some amazing people along the way. We’re grateful for many significant moments, but still have lots of goals to accomplish as a band, and know that Koady will be right there with us along the way.
