Hanging At the Ship with Really Much
Photo credit: Ron Sparrow
In a moment when Calgary’s beloved live music venue, pub, and for some of us — the office where REVERIE articles are written — The Ship & Anchor sits at the centre of a growing “save our stages” conversation, with local trio Really Much exemplifying the type of band we’d discover at the venue. The band’s still-unreleased live favourite “Hanging at the Ship” captures the tender nostalgia of formative music spaces — the kind of rooms where friendships form, scenes take shape, and a sense of belonging is built one cheap burger and loud set at a time. Rooted in shared histories that stretch from Victoria’s indie circuit to Calgary’s hardcore basements and touring stints with acts like Northcote and Tim & The Glory Boys, Really Much channel decades of collective experience into songs that feel lived-in and sentimental.
Formed in late 2023 after a chance reconnection over beers, the trio bring a playful earnestness to their scrappy guitar-driven sound. We connected with the band down below to learn more about their origins, their love of the Ship, and what cover you might hear from them next (we’re hoping for Hole).
REVERIE: What's the origin story of the band? How did you meet (and are there any bands you were previously in?)
Greg (bass) grew up with my wife, he was one of the first friends I made when we moved to Calgary in 2016. Greg knows Carson from elementary school, so when we he and I were looking for a drummer in late 2023 we all went for a beer and hit it off enough to decide to start the band. I grew up in Victoria playing in a couple bands there, then ended up on guitar touring and recording with Northcote and We Are The City until moving to Toronto in 2013 to learn how to become a brewer. Greg played in hardcore bands here as a kid (Riviera Heist) and has been a touring bassist for JJ Shiplett and Tim and the Glory Boys. Carson does a lot of session drum work on top of being one half of dance duo Napoleon Skywalker in the 2010s.
REVERIE: How did the name 'Really Much' come to be?
When my daughter was learning how to talk she would say “I love you really much dada,” which I thought was super funny as a band name because it’s cute for a kid to say but as an adult it’s grammatically incorrect.
REVERIE: You guys often include a cover in your live sets - we particularly loved your MJ Lenderman and 'Closing Time' covers more recently. What bands or artists do you listen to that inspire the sound of Really Much?
Covers are fun and a direct line out of the Replacements playbook— we try to learn a new one every show and now we’re at the point where we can decided to whip out something like “Celebrity Skin” if the feeling strikes. I love Dinosaur Jr. and Teenage Fanclub, also Woolworm is a band I played with a lot growing up in BC and they have remained a big influence. Weakerthans are up there too.
REVERIE: Your first single "Blanket Rock" has been in rotation for us here at REVERIE - the single was produced by Chris Dadge - what was it like working together on that single and will you all be teaming up again soon?
Dadge is a stone cold legend and a big supporter of ours from day one. We actually met him at our first show at the Palomino, he came up and said hi because we played a Guided by Voices cover. His studio has a whole shelf dedicated to GBV releases and Bob Pollard side projects. We recorded two songs with him in 8 hours and those are the ones that out there in the world. Chris is mixing a 1 minute song we recorded ourselves but in the future we will definitely be tracking with him again.
REVERIE: We love your song about The Ship! Can you give us the full title of it and explain how that song came to be? Can this song only be heard live right now?
Yes, it’s called “Hanging at the Ship,” we abbreviate to “HATS” internally. I’ve always liked how real places can exist in a song, again it’s a big Paul Westerberg move. I used to live a few blocks away from the Ship and it was my metric for what I thought was cool when I moved to Calgary. It has a bit of a narrative about growing up and hoping that your favourite places stay the same— I have seen Victoria change a lot from when I grew up so that feeling in probably in the song too (RIP Logan’s Pub). We are gunning to track it soon so we can add something to the movement of saving the Ship— I don’t know how it will help but maybe it can in some small way.
REVERIE: With ‘save the Ship’ in motion right now - can you give us a few words on why it's important to show up for community spaces like the Ship?
Literally our one goal when we started playing as a band was to play the Ship. It’s always been a gathering place for me and the guys, Greg and I would have band meetings there when we were itching to play and didn’t have a drummer. It’s one of those rare places that makes everybody feel comfortable, which is pure magic in itself. How does that happen? That kind of feeling can’t be conjured out of thin air. It’s probably the last place in town you can get a burger and a beer for $20. The live music is accessible to ask and extremely well curated. I work as a brewer and I remember the first time I got one of my beers on tap at the Ship— it felt like what I imagine playing Massey Hall would feel like. Honestly I can’t imagine Calgary without the Ship.
REVERIE: What are you working on or what's next? Any live shows or singles we should be on the lookout for?
WWe’d love to get going on a record but we have 7 kids between the 3 of us so it’s difficult to find the time. We definitely have enough songs for a record and would love to take a crack at that however that happens.
