The key to success in catching any band on the rise is simple: catch them just before their leap of faith.
Catching up with Chad from Motion Soundtrack at their home base in Vancouver, the Gauntlet does just that. With the growing success of the single “Knockin’” from their sophomore offering The Bridge, it all is a bit shocking for the band from humble Canadian roots.
“I was also a commercial salmon fisherman,” says Chad of his time before the band. But something about salmon fishing didn’t catch his imagination, and a career in music began. Though he started out with singer Lily Frost, Chad and the rest of Lily’s back up band left to become what we known today as Motion Soundtrack.
“It’s been a long haul but it’s worked out pretty good,” he chuckles on this sudden outburst of recognition after years of being relatively unknown.
“The first album didn’t have much commercial viability. It was where we realized we could work together. This last album, The Bridge, opened up the doors. It made us realize that this is what can happen when certain elements are in place.”
Those elements happen to be four friends–Chad, Marc, Kevin and Niko–able to combine their disparate influences to make a powerful little pop-rock record with a sound all its own.
“I’m the luckiest guy in the world! They’re all schooled musicians and I don’t even know the names of the chords we play!” jokes Chad, referring to his bandmates.
Niko being a former jazz drummer and Kevin obtaining a Bachelor of Arts, the unique sound is carefully constructed by the band. “It’s a matter of baiting the hook. You get them [the fans] caught on one track, then they eventually buy the album, and discover the other tracks.”
“A lot of bands struggle to find that uniqueness. It’s not something we shoot for, it just sort of happens. Bands who listen to other types of music tend to emulate the bands they like a lot, and that can get in the way of finding their own sounds. It eventually becomes a matter of who can hide their idol’s sound the best.”
Coming up in an area of Canada willing to support such distinct talent, such as Vancouver or Toronto, certainly helps. Yet Chad sees a difference between the two music capitals in our nation. “People in Vancouver make their music suit their lifestyle, and people in Toronto suit their lifestyle to the music they play”.
Motion Soundtrack’s gospel has affected Point Magazine, who recently declared the band’s new album as demonstrating how “the independant music scene in Vancouver is alive and well”.
But Chad still realizes good press isn’t the only thing a band needs, “Anyway you slice it, you have to go out and get it”.
And they have certainly captured what they were after. Having a video debuting with medium rotation (10-15 hits a week) on MuchMusic, their first single “Knockin’” on the soundtrack to the new Canadian movie Going the Distance, and being in a future episode of Everwood, Chad and the band are looking forward to their tour.
“I think Mark will be the snorer, but that’s only because I have to bunk with him.”