Charlottetown's
Racoon Bandit recently made a music video with Island Filmmaker Adam
Perry for their song 'Hat'. I briefly chatted with one of the Bandits
about the video shoot and what's up next for the band.
1.Please introduce Racoon Bandit and how you guys started making
music together.
Fraser: Racoon Bandit are a four-piece folk-rock band from Charlottetown.
We consist of the brothers Adam and Scott Gallant on lead guit/vox
and bass, myself on rhythm and vox and Roger Carter on drums. We started
a year ago farily casually taking Adam and my acoustic songs and expanding
them for noisy bars. Some people seemed to like it and now we play
often and write folky-rock and folky stuff and Roger writes too.
2. Could you tell me about the music video for the song Hat?
Run us through the video and how it all came together.
Fraser: The music video was a tonne of fun to make. Adam Perry (Jiggers,
Profile PEI) from Charlottetown approached us with a few ideas around
the song 'Hat'. Scott had worked with him on Profile PEI beforehand.
After scouting some locations we decided to go back to the farm where
we recorded our album (Campcraft) and shoot the vid in a barn. The
concept was basic, a kind of strange comic setting where a lonely
farmer has this indy band up in his barn under a sheet and they're
mechanized to a machine. We shot it in a day and it turned out great.
Adam Perry has a really good eye and a really creative perspective
on everything. Oh, I should mention Jeremy Larter and Mille Clarkes
assisted Adam on the shoot. They're both fantastic local filmmakers.
3. It's clear you guys put a lot of work into this. One thing
that struck me about the video was the attention to detail, from the
old machine changing the song titles from your album to even the electrical
wires coming out of your pants to clever use of fisheye. Could you
talk about this process and the effort that went into it?
Fraser: Yeah, the attention to small detail and set design was a crucial
part of this video. With the concept so straight forward and mostly
performance, we wanted lots of props, fog, costuming touches and other
details to jump out throughout. Matt Bowness (aka Overman) did an
amazing job building the 'track selector' prop, which blew our minds.
Adam Perry story-boarded the most of the shoot so there were lots
of little details he wanted in there. I think the white sheet was
essential as well, and took a little scrounging around. As well all
four musicians run their own businesses or project manage day-to-day
so we each had plenty of ideas to dress up the barn a bit.
4. I think the video also succeeds in its depiction of rural
life, whether intentional or not... hah, this isn't to say every farmer
has a band in their barn, but I'm speaking more to the atmosphere
of the video; the cold, the snow, the old farm, etc. Could you talk
a little about your experiences from living on Prince Edward Island
and how it has influenced not only your video but your music as well?
Fraser: Well, as we mentioned we recorded the album on the same farm
where we shot the video and its just an incredibly relaxing, nostalgic
kind of place. We really wanted to display that and bring the audience
into that culture with the minute or so of film before the song kicks
in. I grew up in Hazel Grove and the other guys in Charlottetown,
for the most part, but I think most Islanders have a certain respect
and warm relationship with rural PEI. Growing up the country is a
wonderful thing and I think something that teaches you a lot of independence,
creativity and appreciation for simpler times. It was kind of hilarious
shooting this video as in junior and high school we used to run around
the same woods, fields and barns making budget productions for school
projects. The only difference now is more beards.
5. You've got the record, you've got the video, what's up next
for Racoon Bandit? is there a possible tour in the works sometime
soon?.
Fraser: Well, no coast-to-coast tour just yet but later this week
we're doing a mini-tour around the Maritimes with John Connolly and
the Haunted Hearts. Another gig we're really excited for is the Dead
of Winter Festival in Halifax on January 29th which always has a stellar
lineup of folk acts. Really, we've got lots in store for the next
few months and just want to get playing in new places as much as possible.
Charlottetown has been really good to us so we're hoping to carry
that momentum on to new ears and new towns.
