Airplane Parade Built Their Band (and Jam Space) in a ’76 Chateau
Airplane Parade. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Calgary-based band, Airplane Parade, has only been around a year, and in that year, they’ve released their debut record, created their own jam space, and their drummer just started learning drums. And, he learned how to play in an RV.
Thomas Cormier, the band’s drummer, and Adam Sweet, the band’s rhythm guitar and vox, chatted with REVERIE about their beginning, the RV, and their upcoming albums.
“We started about a year ago. Thomas didn’t really know how to play drums or anything when we started. I just wanted to make an indie rock band. I feel like there’s not a lot of those in [the Calgary] scene right now,” Sweet said.
For practice, the band plays in a 1976 Ford Chateau. “We had nowhere to play. We couldn’t play in our spots, so we were trying to go in storage lockers. I was calling every one in the city, and I was transparent, and everyone was saying no. So then I was driving one day and I passed this RV lot right by Cross Iron Mills. And I said, ‘wait a minute, we’re not going to bother anybody here.’ So I looked into it because rehearsal rooms are like $20 an hour,” Cormier said.
They were told that, as long as they aren’t living in the RV, they could use that space. So Cormier bought an RV for $800. He renovated it, adding insulation and a generator to make sure they have some sort of heat in the winters, and cold in the summers.
When they formed, the goal was to make as much music as they could, developing as they go. They want to incorporate different genres, merging them in different releases. “Each project touches on a different subgenre [adjacent] to rock. Eventually, we want to go more psychedelic, like Radiohead. They started working and then they branched out once they established themselves,” Cormier said.
Psychedelic indie isn’t their end goal though. “I want to evolve into something heavier, almost like Slipknot [too]. We want to be able to check every box,” Sweet added.
Cormier being a new drummer affects instrumentals as well, and he’s already learned very quickly, but it did affect the writing process of their records, they said. “I would try to play certain things that were just a bit too complex for me. They didn’t sound good. And, I had to play what sounds good, so there’s a lot of simple beats, four-on-the-floor. But, I think what’s good about that is it serves the music,” Cormier explained.
Sweet added that the simplicity and laid back style is a part of what they do as a whole.
Lyrically, the first record revolves around heartbreak and touches on “the way society is [held] on by the internet and how life is more artificial than it’s ever been,” Sweet said. As an overarching theme, they said it would be “young people going through life. And sometimes, these emotions are hard to regulate.”
The band’s upcoming record, Oh, And Then, set to release in November, has lyrics that are meant to be easily digestible. “We want to give a good introduction for the listener so [our music] is easier to get into,” Cormier said. He added that there’s going to be more guitar compared to the first release, the first release relying more on synth. It is also said to have more energy, and while they said it isn’t party music, it’s closer to it than the first record.
Their third record, which is currently unnamed, will be a bigger change of pace. Cormier said the first two releases pair to have a more optimistic feeling. “The first two are mostly optimistic. If you think about it like someone’s life, the first two are ages 17 to 19. You’re young, nothing really matters, you have problems pop up like your girlfriend cheats or you get kicked out by your parents. The third record has a deeper meaning to the songs. Some touch on substance abuse, someone going through psychosis,” Cormier explained.
They decided that if they had to put an age on the third album, it would be 25. The third record is currently set to release in May.