Recently I was at a concert at Maxwell’s and heard this fantastic new band with a groovy sound. Once I learned that it was their second gig ever, I knew I had to reach out to them. That band was The Plainspotters.
Last week I sat down in the Radio Laurier studio with Evan Peters, the band’s keyboard and synth player, Adam Peloso, the singer and acoustic guitarist and Jotham Sennema the bassist and Wilfrid Laurier University alumni.
The Plainspotters came together as an experimental project and played their first gig at Rekindling in Kitchener last July. “Since then we decided, well, you know, the feeling was there, ‘Let’s go for it,’” said Evan about the group’s genesis.
For now, the band is focused on covers but they have expressed an interest in developing their own sound and music.
“When we get to the writing stage it’s gonna be sort of, ambient and indie,” explained Peters about the band’s sound. “We’re definitely converging on something,” added Peloso eagerly.
The different musicians’ experiences have led them away from a specific genre and more to an in-between space. Peters brought up his experience in jazz and the inspiration he draws from jazz-fusion. The Plainspotters don’t just constrain themselves to typical covers, they like to cover Aquatic Ambience from Donkey Kong Country and see the nostalgia that the song elicits in the audience.
When discussing what music Peters, Peloso and Sennema had been listening to lately, there is an interesting dynamic that can explain the sound of The Plainspotters. Within their answers of Mark Lettieri, Casiopea and The War On Drugs you can see how a band is shaped in part by what they listen to.
We also had an interesting conversation surrounding musical influences, discussing friends you can share music with alongside quotes from old jazz musicians and high school music classes.
Even their name has an interesting story behind it. They explained that one of their members, Max Cadilha, has an interest in working in air traffic control, and the name is a play-on-words of “plane spotters”.
During my brief interview with Peters, Peloso and Sennema, I got to catch a glimpse of what it’s like to start a new group. The excitement of starting something new and the conversation of what you’ll sound like can be a fun time for an emerging band.
You can find The Plainspotters on Instagram (@theplainspotters) and you can hear them next on Feb. 9at Hirut Café in Toronto, Ontario.
You can listen to the full interview at RadioLaurier.com and check out our Instagram (@radiolaurier) for some upcoming news about Radio Laurier and The Plainspotters.
Photo by Keegan Gingrich and Matthew Charbonneau
