interview with Sonder

Have any of you played in other bands? Yes, most of us have played in other projects over the years, though none are still active.
How is it that you started playing music? Sonder used to be a metal band called Overthrone. When we filled out the line up, we made a move towards more modern sounds. Individually, most of us have a background in music in some way or another.
What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you?
Tylar Boyle - Guitar
Branden Nystrom - Guitar
Kevin Halsted - Vocals
Ben Read - Bass
We are all in our early to mid 20's.
Have you had other previous members? A few. JD Stubbs was our founding drummer, but we had to part ways with him recently, unfortunately.
Did you make music even when you were young? I believe the majority of us have been playing since youth.
Where are you from? Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
What year did the band form? Around 2012.
What's your style of genre? If we had to choose a label for us, I think Progressive Metal would be the most accurate, though we seek to pull from all types of music.
What inspires you? Innovation and progression. Creating and performing music is definitely a huge focus for us.
How often and where do you reherse? Well we try and maintain a consistent practice schedule, at least once a week, but our personal lives often get in the way. We have a small space we rent.
How have you developed since you started with the music? As a band, we've changed a lot both stylistically and creatively. A huge aspect of that for Sonder is a growth towards a deeper and more subtle form of complexity rather than outright technicality.
Do you have other interests of work outside the band? All of us work outside of the band. Day jobs, labour and retail and these sorts of things. Tylar is studying mathematics.
Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? Not at the moment, we are really drawn to the idea of DIY, so we approach a lot of it on our own. I'd imagine we could definitely do something like that if the right time presented itself.
Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? Same answer as above.
What made you decide to make this music? Quite purely the love and passion for the music and this style, but also the freedom that progressive music affords musicians if they’re willing to look for it.
What are your songs about? Largely Kevin writes about his experiences, ideas and feelings. Occasionally social commentary in relationship to our lives.
Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? Tylar writes a majority of the music and then brings it to the group, we develop our individual parts and the song, and Kevin writes the vocal parts and lyrics as the final step.
Do you start with the music or the lyrics? Music, though we'd like to write in different ways in the future.
Do you compose in a certain environment? Tylar writes wherever the feeling comes, usually through noodling around with his guitar and laptop. Kevin likes to sit on his bed with very little connection to the outside world.
Have you done any covers live? We started playing a lot of thrash and metal covers. Once we developed more, we worked on covers of Bloodmeat by Protest the Hero and Tom Sawyer by Rush.
What language do you sing in? Only English.
What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? We have definitely played to empty venues our fair share. Largest was probably in the neighborhood of 200 - 300.
What ages are most of your concert attendants? Hard to say. Presumably 20 - 30.
Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? Our set varies based on the other bands we play with.
Do you have a regular place you play live often? Distortion in Calgary has been a recent common place.
What was your first gig like? A mess, if I remember correctly. Some confusion and mistakes. But a lot of fun and we made long standing friendships with other musicians.
What was your latest gig? March 4th in Calgary, with Burning Effigy, Train Bigger Monkeys and Krepitus
Have you had to cancel a gig? I don't think we have. We try very hard to make sure that we can make it before accepting and show.
Where have you played live this year? Just at home, in Calgary
Where do you plan to gig the comming year? Alberta, maybe/hopefully, western Canada.
When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? About a year ago. Only t-shirts at the moment.
Where can people buy your merchandise? As of right now, only at our live shows. We hope to have an online store in the near future.
What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? Art is only meaningful if its consumed, and as a consumer product, but artists are required to be savvy business people in the modern world. What are the consumers to buy if they haven't heard the music? In the past, the radio would play a role in exposing people to new sounds, but in the digital age there is just too much for that to be a meaningful solution. We try and make sure our music is available to anyone and everyone who wants it. Though we also sell it for those who feel inclined to pay for our stuff, and we're hugely thankful to each and every one of them.
How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? Absolutely. There is less money in it, but I think that it actually incentivizes better performance and composition through a need to stick out in some meaningful way.
What do you think of my work? Its really quite incredible to see that you've reached out to artists from around the world. I hope you do well!
How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? Hard to say, but I would hope that it would give those curious about us a look into who we are.
Do you have any role models or idols? Kevin has always looked to the greats for his inspiration. Freddy Mercury, Stevie Wonder, Randy Blythe, Devin Townsend, would be the biggest ones.
Why do you think that they exist? An incredible strength in self, self expression and passion for the art. Overcoming challenges to define themselves as artists.
Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? Every artist of any description can be inspiring. Anyone who puts their heart and soul into the creative endeavor deserves praise and respect, from my perspective.
What have been your biggest obstacles? I suppose visibility and the ability to commit ourselves, due to money and "real life" commitments. We'd love to see these be less of an issue in the future though.
What advice would you give other bands or artists? Never give up. Greatness = perseverance + passion + time.
How do you get psyched for a gig? I like to listen to high energy music and stretch my legs. Each of us handles it differently.
Do you have any new material? We are currently working on a, as yet unannounced project. Hopefully everyone will be hearing new material very soon.
What are your web sites?
How can people reach you? The above pages are a great way.
What are your plans for the future? New music very soon, more playthrough videos and touring.
Do you have something to add? Thank you for doing this, it really means a lot.

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