7 Questions for Indie Rock band The Canopy

Jenn Cohen | January 1, 2012 | 0 Comments

by the Swami

If you write catchy, ready-to-play-again songs, have an incredibly talented frontman, and want to dominate the world, then you are someone I want to interview. I got to get some insight on a new band, The Canopy, which is ready to stir up the high-caliber Denver indie scene with some big musical paddles.

CMB: Tell us about how you guys started up the band.

The Canopy: The absence of a big music scene in Summit County drove Evan to relocate to Denver, after growing up in Kansas City.

Bobby and Evan worked together for a while before realizing that each other played music. It didn’t take long for the two to decide to collaborate. Bobby and Devin were already playing gigs before starting up with Evan, so they decided to join forces. Finding Jason came from a misunderstanding, really. A mutual friend told us to look into Jason joining the group. Jason had known Devin and Bobby for a couple of years at this point and they never knew he was a drummer. That’s when stars aligned and we came together as we are today and we’ve been a band since March.

CMB: You have a commercial-yet-Indie quality about your music – what are some of your musical and non-musical influences locally and nationally?

The Canopy: We all appreciate music that stands the test of time like Bill Withers, CCR, Stevie Wonder, and Derek and the Dominos. Yet, growing up in the 21st century, we also were influenced by artists like Iron & Wine, Band of Horses, The Strokes, Grizzly Bear, and As Tall As Lions. Other influences would probably be our diverse group of friends and family. Considering we all came together from different places and music scenes, we all had our own circles that helped shape our personalities, which come through on this record, Catch the Breeze.

CMB: What is it about those influences that inspired you to start up The Canopy?

The Canopy: As far as the music, it’s all music we believe in that inspired us to create our own sound. We’ve tried to be ourselves throughout the constant change of music scenes and trends.

CMB: You guys are obviously young, but you have the maturity in your songwriting. Where did that come from?

The Canopy: Evan wrote these lyrics at a time when he was doing a lot of growing up. He left everything he knew in Kansas City to start a new life in Colorado at 18. He made a quick stop in the Rocky Mountains where he found inspiration for the lyrics.

Devin comes from a line of musicians who shaped his musical style, mainly his father. Bobby has been singing since he was little, with that came an appreciation and soulful musical style. Jason is a classical pianist, which provided him with a disciplined musical background. As for the overall maturity in our music, we used these elements to write and we know what direction we want to take without discussing it. We let everyone be themselves in the writing process and the chemistry was already there.

CMB: Side 3 Studios – give us some insight on how it’s going in front of the knobs and when the album is going to actually be ready?

The Canopy: It has been an amazing experience. From the time we walked in we knew this was where we wanted to get the tracks done. Andy Fleebe worked with us through the entire process, through engineering, tracking, mixing, and mastering. Every one involved in the studio has been incredibly professional and personable. Even the owner would stop in a few of the sessions to see how things were shaping up. We ended up tracking everything live in two days, spent a few sessions getting the sound mixed just right, and by the time you read this, it should be mastered and ready to go. As for a firm release date, expect our debut EP, Catch the Breeze, to be available digitally by January 15th with hard copies available by February.

CMB: What are your goals and aspirations?

The Canopy: To be the biggest band in the world, NEXT!

CMB: If you could ask yourselves a question, what would it be?

The Canopy: How do we want to perceive ourselves to the world? We want to perceive ourselves as musician’s musicians that people will enjoy watching live, and will want to grow with over the years. We hope people will develop an appreciation for our music over time.