A Northern Drawl – Emerging Artist Spotlight CMW 2013 Edition

A Northern Drawl

T-Mak World coverage of Canadian Music Week 2013 is centralized here – your one stop guide for rock at this year’s festival. 

March 13 2013 – Canadian Music Week 2013 (CMW) is almost here and we can’t wait for hundreds of bands to invade the bars and clubs of our fair city as part of the festival’s Canadian Music Fest program. Admittedly the names are slightly confusing but Canadian Music Week is the master name of the festival that is composed of a film program (Canadian Music Week Film Fest), a comedy program (Canadian International Comedy Fest), a conference, awards shows, a trade show and a kick ass music festival called Canadian Music Fest that runs between March 19-24 2013. 

In 2012, T-Mak World initiated extensive coverage of Canadian Music Fest and we saw a total of 34 bands/artists and interviewed the following 10 bands as part of our Emerging Artist Spotlight series: 

Our wrap up article from 2012 is here and we are excited to be back in 2013 and to add even more bands to our Emerging Artist Spotlight Series. Today we focus on a band from Toronto,Canadaand their CMF profile reads:

A Northern Drawl is a rock band that hails from Toronto, Canada. The band first came together a number of years ago when four (Mike-g/v, Mike-d, Tim-g/v, Tom-b/v) of the members attended McGill University together. Stepping in to play keys is Jeff, an old friend that joined the group in 2011.

After writing and rehearsing for a few months, A Northern Drawl began playing shows around Toronto, earning a reputation as a fierce live act, “weaving through My Morning Jacket, Neil Young, and the Allman Brothers, this is a brash execution of classic rock bombast, dizzying solos, and soulful vocals (Lonely Vagabond).”

Here is what they had to say to us:

Hey A Northern Drawl, thanks for taking the time out to talk to us. Let’s start off with the obligatory introductions. Who’s in the band and what instrument does everyone rock?

A Northern Drawl: Hey, T-Mak World  thank you for having us! We are a five-piece, consisting; Jeff Bader-Keys/Guitar/Vocals, Mike Carter-Drums, Mike Scarlett-Guitar/Vocals, Tim Snack-Guitar/Vocals and Tom Watkins-Bass/Vocals.

How about the history of the band, when did you get started and how did it happen?

A Northern Drawl: Well, in our earliest days we were an improv/psychedelic act formed by two lifelong friends (Mike S, Tim) in Montreal and that would have been around 2003. We mostly jammed and played parties, a lot of fun, but musically very disorganized. By 2009, we refocused and reformed in Toronto, with Carter and Watkins, writing solid songs and playing our first shows. In 2011, our lineup was finally solidified when an old friend, Jeff happened to catch a set of ours at The Silver Dollar. Upon learning that he was a talented keyboard player, Jeff was asked to join the group. His presence has added a sonic depth and blues to our songs, an element that has helped in our musical growth.

Who are some of your musical influences?

A Northern Drawl: Alright, here goes. Neil Young, Pearl Jam, My Morning Jacket, Pavement, Blur, Soundgarden, Hendrix, The Who, The Allman Brothers and Clapton.

Congratulations on being selected to play at Canadian Music Festival, what does the opportunity mean to you?

A Northern Drawl: Thanks! First, it’s great to be recognized for what we do musically, especially in our hometown. It’s also our first festival, so we are looking forward to playing to a wider audience and hoping to gain some notoriety from it.   

When and where is your CMF gig? And more importantly, why should a music fan come and see your show instead of all the other choices available to them at that time?

A Northern Drawl: We are playing at Velvet Underground, March 21 at 8:00pm sharp. Music fans should come see us because you will not see a more exciting rock n roll band. From scorching guitar solos, passionate vocals and orchestral drums to the precision of our band, we have it all. On top of that, we have great songs that come from the heart, something that has always connected us to our audiences and set us apart from a lot bands. Come get lost in the exciting music of A Northern Drawl, you won’t be disappointed!

A Northern Drawl

What’s it like being on stage? Do you get nervous or are you thriving on the adrenaline (or somewhere in between)?

A Northern Drawl: It’s always fun and exciting at the end of the day, cause you never really know what’s gonna happen on stage. In terms of nerves, I think that helps us to play to our best abilities, nobody wants to be the one to make a big mistake. Adrenaline certainly plays a key role in the energy we bring to our performances, when we can have a nice mix of both is when we are at our best.  


What does 2013 hold for you?

A Northern Drawl: We are busy rehearsing and writing new songs as we speak. Playing shows as often as we can too, but the main goal for 2013 is to record. We are exploring a few different options and can’t wait!

Imagine that you were asked to be the opener for any band’s world tour (both current and historical). Which band and tour would be your dream opening gig.  

A Northern Drawl: Current would have to be Pearl Jam and to play with them at the Gorge would be a dream come true. Historical, The Who at Isle Of Wight 1970, one of the greatest moments in all of rock lore!

A Northern Drawl

How important is the performer/audience connection? Can you rock a show as hard for 10 people as if you could playing an 80,000 person festival?

A Northern Drawl: It is very important, you can’t fake it with audiences, the more you give, the more you get back. I think it’s most important to just be yourself and respect the audience, because they can leave at any point. For us, the connection lies in giving 120%, playing in the moment and getting lost in the music on some level. We are pretty good/used to rocking hard for 10 people, we do our best to picture a big crowd. Playing to a huge festival audience would bring us to a different level of rocking’ out though, hopefully that’s in the cards for us one day! 

Where can people get your music/CD, is it being sold anywhere? 

A Northern Drawl: Right now for free, online! Just check out here. 

At the end of 2012 we published our picks for top 10 albums of 2012. Lists like those are always a reflection of personal tastes so if you were making the list what are some albums you would you have had on it?

A Northern Drawl: Jack White-Blunderbuss, Tame Impala-Lonerism, Neil Young-Psychedelic Pill, Dinosaur Jr.-I Bet On Sky, Soundgarden-King Animal, Spiritualized-Sweet Heart Sweet Light

A Northern Drawl

Any closing remarks for our readers?

A Northern Drawl: Thanks for listening and taking the time to read about our band. A big thanks to T-Mak World for having us! Keep on rocking’ in the free world and come to our show!!!

Thanks so much to A Northern Drawl. We hope that you can see them live. They are playing Velvet Underground March 21 at 8:00pm.

The band’s website is here and as you would expect they are on Twitter and Facebook. In the meantime check out their video below from YouTube.