Canadian Musician - November/December 2017 | Page 37

“Getting signed is the easy
part; sustaining it is the hard
part. You’ve just gotta put
the time in.”
While his is the most impressive track record
from an industry standpoint, his bandmates aren’t
strangers to the music business. MacLeod spent a
short stint with My Darkest Days himself, while the
Lester brothers learned plenty from their father,
bluegrass master Emory Lester. All are well in tune
with the idea of hard work being the only path to
sustainable success.
“First and foremost, we’re all performers at heart,
and it’s all about being on that stage and perform-
ing for people. That gives us fulfillment individually,”
says Oliver about what brought the group together
in the first place.
When they’re not on the road, Cold Creek
County will rehearse five days a week. Musicianship
is important to this band – something that helps
them stand out in a crowded contemporary coun-
try market. “Producers can do anything these days to
make you sound great on an album,” he muses, “but
we really pride ourselves on a live show that sounds
as good or better than our record. There are no
excuses in our camp; you either do it or you don’t.”
They don’t take anything for granted, and as
Anthony says, they share the mindset of being
lifelong students, and the idea that “there’s always
something to be learned.”
The process of making Homemade proves
his point. At the time that Anthony was officially
welcomed into the fold, two of the EP’s five original
tracks were pretty much in the bag, but he still
made his mark by injecting some fresh ideas into
the work. “I kind of brought in this idea of having
four- to six-part harmonies all the time, kind of lead-
ing into songs with a cool a cappella idea,” the singer
offers, and the band was keen to follow him. Pulling
it off with a group of such seasoned musicians
didn’t take much. “If you want to throw a fifth or mi-
nor on something,” Anthony adds, “they’ve already
got it figured out before you can tell them.”
That approach to the vocals – which is really an
evolution of the interlocked harmonies showcased
on Till the Wheels Come Off – is one of the new
Trevor MacLeod
elements that give Homemade a more traditional
country tinge.
One might assume that this much-welcomed
throwback sound is the band looking to shed the
“bro country” label that was sometimes applied to
their debut, but Oliver insists that’s never been a
concern. “I don’t even know what that is, anyway,” he
“We’re always tinkering, man. We want to be a very
diverse band, and want the songs to sound different
from one another and not be a one-trick pony, so
to speak.”
That idea will be further affirmed in early 2018,
when the band drops their second short-player
in a row. Anthony is particularly excited to be in-
volved in the creative process from start to finish,
and sprouts a smile when he mentions breaking
out his harmonica for a few songs.
“There’s definitely some cool surprises on
there,” Oliver adds.
He explains that the idea behind following up
a successful debut with two subsequent EPs is to
“keep content coming all the time. We want to be
in people’s faces. We want to share music with the
world, and with our fans. They’re the ones that give
GEAR AT A GLANCE
CHES ANTHONY (LEAD VOCALS, GUITAR) JUSTIN LESTER (BASS, VOCALS)
Composite Acoustics 3/4 Acoustic
Guitar
Sennheiser EW500-965 G3 Handheld
Wireless Microphone Fender Precision Bass
Ernie Ball Music Man Stingray Bass
Traynor Amplifiers
JORDAN HONSINGER (BANJO, VOCALS) Fender Guitars
Fender Amplifiers
Strymon Effects
JHS Effects
Fulltone Effects
Electro-Harmonix Effects
Sennheiser Wireless
Goldtone Banjos
Eastman Acoustic Guitars
Dobro Resonator Guitars
Suhr Electric Guitars
Fender Electric Guitars
Empress Effects
Radial Engineering Preamps & DIs
D’Addario Strings
JOSH LESTER (GUITAR, VOCALS)
Fender Stratocaster Guitars
w/ Galaxy Pickguards
Vox Amplifiers
says of a term that’s pretty much been flogged to
death. “We just make music because we love it. You
can label it however you like, but it’s about lyrics,
vibe, and positivity. Everyone’s always just smiling
and having a good time, and we love it.”
That was certainly the case in the studio while
the EP was coming together. Like the band’s debut
LP, Homemade found Oliver and Cooke sharing
production duties in an arrangement that seems
to bring out the best in both sides.
“We love the guy,” Oliver says of their
returning collaborator. “He’s very
dear to our hearts and homes, and
we work really well together.”
The growth between releases,
the drummer tacks on, is totally
organic – the product of a band
maturing and coming into their
own, never shying away from new
ideas if they do the song justice.
“We’re very open to exper-
imenting, and that’s what our
records come down to,” says Oliver,
speaking to that sonic evolution.
TREVOR MACLEOD (LEAD GUITAR, VOCALS)
DOUG OLIVER (DRUMS)
Pearl Masters & Reference Series
Drums
Sabian Cymbals
Vater Percussion & Drumsticks
Remo Drumheads
Plunge Audio IEMs
us a career, so we want to cater to them and let
them know we appreciate them.”
Cold Creek County have made no bones
about the fact that they’re gunning for the top –
that making a successful career out of making mu-
sic is the ultimate goal, and one that informs every
move they make as a band. It’s something they’ve
each been working towards individually for years;
now, they’re leveraging one another’s talents, skills,
and experience for a collective push forward.
It’s paid off so far, with only a pair of formal
releases leading to a busy 2017 full of summer
festival dates and fall tours with the likes of Dallas
Smith and Old Dominion.
Oliver is pleased with their trajectory, but also
makes it clear that they’re going to continue the
grind and don’t ever plan to rest on their laurels.
“There are a lot of great bands out there –
especially in Canada – that are just killing it,” he
says. “Getting signed is the easy part; sustaining it is
the hard part. You’ve just gotta put the time in.”
Andrew King is the Editor-in-Chief of
Canadian Musician.
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