You’re Adopted! How Calgary Band ADOPTION Continues to Grow
Daniel Tadic, founding guitarist of ADOPTION. Photo credit: Nicolas Kole.
Making music has never been an easy task. However, for the better part of a year, Daniel Tadic, the founding guitarist of the band ADOPTION, had been the sole member of the group. But this era of ADOPTION came to a close in July of 2025 when the band added three new members.
“I was previously playing on my own out of necessity,” said Tadic.
In the early days of the band a lack of space prevented a space for a full drum kit. Tadic would resort to a drum machine for his live performances.
This isn’t the case anymore as the band would bring in two members of the local punk band Juliet’s Got A Gun. Sophie Thomas on the drum kit and Charley Spence on bass. They were brought in a sort of vintage “help wanted” ad posted through an Instagram story. Tadic already knew them through musical collaborations, so this was bound to happen.
Seamus Twyman, a childhood friend of Tadic, would also join in the band after jamming together. Twyman took up the guitar duties and allowed the pressure of the crowd to go elsewhere.
“It’s so much easier having another person, to draw attention to on the stage,” said Tadic.
The lineup consists of different backgrounds sonically, but it never hinders the creative process for the members.
“It’s really fun doing different genres,” said Thomas.
In hindsight that’s one of ADOPTION’s biggest strengths. The variety of sounds that was brought in when the band grew ranges from folk all the way to indie.
“I was inspired by Mac Demarco and Lou Reed,” said Twyman
Their inspirations act as a vehicle to what they can bring to the band. Thomas being a big fan of Damon Albarn and all his projects.
“I like to take inspiration from all kinds of genres and see what I can twist into,” said Thomas
Even heavier inspirations for the bass like Mercyful Fate are a big source of creativity.
“I have a few shapes that I take, and they’re specifically from Becky Baldwin,” said Spence.
In addition to metal Spence also takes musical nods from the likes of Rilo Kiley and Death Cab for Cutie, showcasing the versatility that these musicians bring. Even though the innovation from the band comes from all different places, it’s always changing and dependent on what they're listening to. Twyman, being the primary riff writer, is currently into the Black Keys.
“I’ve been trying to write some more heavier riffs,” said Twyman.
The band has taken a lot of musical cues from many interesting genres, but they don’t necessarily feel like they fall under one description.
“It’s the idea of you liking so many genres and different artists that you can’t focus on one thing,” said Tadic
When making the album Tadic would pull from various artists for each song. The song “Get a Haircut” took a lot of musical nods from the Violent Femmes. ADOPTION falls under the general “alternative” umbrella of music due to their changing nature in sound.
“We’re adopting so many genres,” said Twyman.
ADOPTION recently put out their debut album “You’re Adopted” on March 31. The next time around the band will have a full lineup to record. The original record was a culmination of two years of solo song writing by Tadic, this time around the process will be very different.
“It’s hard to focus on old songs I wrote, because it's so fun to collaborate,” said Tadic.
The process of having a slew of old lyrics stored away in a phone somewhere is an essential part of songwriting. Lots of different bits and pieces hang around till they connect. A new song that ADOPTION just wrote has a chorus that the band recorded that had a soundbite from last year.
“Eventually we realized it fit into a song we were working on, which was very amazing to put together,” said Twyman.
But in a way that’s the beauty of being a band and a bigger collaborative process is the ideas that eventually mold together to form something cohesive.
ADOPTION are playing the Palomino Smokehouse with Dany Laj & the Looks and Really Much on October 8. Tickets are available on Showpass.