The Canvas People |
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First State Studios had the pleasure of interviewing The Canvas People who are now on tour. We got some insight from the band on who they are, what makes playing Philly special, their band back in high school where their music careers started, and everything in between. The Canvas People are actually playing at one of our favorite venues, Kung Fu Necktie on June 8, 2019. Please click here to get your tickets.
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You are currently on your summer tour which has multiple dates in Texas and the PA/Philadelphia area. Either could be considered hometown shows for you. How do those shows compare? Where would you consider your true hometown crowd?
Whenever we plan a tour, we always look forward to playing Philly. We still have so many homies and family in the Philly/DE area, and so there’s definitely a major hometown reunion vibe to the shows. Having said that, Austin is where our band was born, where we all linked up. So Austin gets to keep the homecrowd title.
Clearly introspective lyrics are important to you as a band. In your new single, “Starlit”, the chorus repeats, “You’re only living a lie if you can’t afford it”. What does that line mean to you? How did you work to present the themes of this song in the video?
A lot of the upcoming record and “Starlit” especially was written from the perspective of a burnout millennial (no wonder). That line specifically is kind of calling out the notion of “you don’t need money to be happy”. That’s an easy platitude to use if you’re not thousands of dollars in debt and struggling to do the things that make you happy because you decided to get an education. Ultimately though, “Starlit” is about realizing that the relationships we make with people are the only capital we can hold on to.
Whenever we plan a tour, we always look forward to playing Philly. We still have so many homies and family in the Philly/DE area, and so there’s definitely a major hometown reunion vibe to the shows. Having said that, Austin is where our band was born, where we all linked up. So Austin gets to keep the homecrowd title.
Clearly introspective lyrics are important to you as a band. In your new single, “Starlit”, the chorus repeats, “You’re only living a lie if you can’t afford it”. What does that line mean to you? How did you work to present the themes of this song in the video?
A lot of the upcoming record and “Starlit” especially was written from the perspective of a burnout millennial (no wonder). That line specifically is kind of calling out the notion of “you don’t need money to be happy”. That’s an easy platitude to use if you’re not thousands of dollars in debt and struggling to do the things that make you happy because you decided to get an education. Ultimately though, “Starlit” is about realizing that the relationships we make with people are the only capital we can hold on to.
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The Canvas People started in 2014 and your last full length album came out in 2016. How would you say the band has progressed or changed leading up to your fall 2019 release?
I think we’re a lot more focused from recording to touring, to doing all of the social media upkeep. Making this record was definitely a much more intentional approach to our music than previous efforts, both musically and thematically. We had a clearer idea of what the identity of the record would be, and how it’d be different from our last record. We knew we wanted more synths, and bigger sounds generally. And I think the lyrics for the most part are more grounded. |
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In 2016, you played Bernie Man San Marcos Voters Rally. How important is it to you as a band to use your voice in terms of politics and other related issues? Is this something you plan on doing again when it comes to the upcoming election?
As a band, I think we’re generally pretty apolitical. Certain viewpoints are probably melded into my lyrics, but nothing is super intentional. Having said that, we don’t shy away towards stepping into that arena if there’s something that we all strongly believe in or have an opportunity to use our platform for the better.
Fueled by Mary was the name of your band in high school. For our local listeners can you mention some of your most memorable Delaware shows with this band? What were some of the biggest learning points for those of you who were in this band that carried into The Canvas People?
Those were some ugly and beautiful years. We were very much still figuring out how to play our instruments and record something that wasn’t terrible. I’m not sure if we succeeded but we have fond memories of shows at The Blue Parrot and Scrimmages, which I’m pretty sure doesn’t exist anymore. But a shout out to all the homies that endured those years with us!
As a band, I think we’re generally pretty apolitical. Certain viewpoints are probably melded into my lyrics, but nothing is super intentional. Having said that, we don’t shy away towards stepping into that arena if there’s something that we all strongly believe in or have an opportunity to use our platform for the better.
Fueled by Mary was the name of your band in high school. For our local listeners can you mention some of your most memorable Delaware shows with this band? What were some of the biggest learning points for those of you who were in this band that carried into The Canvas People?
Those were some ugly and beautiful years. We were very much still figuring out how to play our instruments and record something that wasn’t terrible. I’m not sure if we succeeded but we have fond memories of shows at The Blue Parrot and Scrimmages, which I’m pretty sure doesn’t exist anymore. But a shout out to all the homies that endured those years with us!
Be sure to head to Canvas People's website by clicking here...
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