Kat Harlton
Canadian alt-country rockers Tucker Lane have emerged from their home base in Saskatoon, creatively reinvigorated amid the pandemic era lockdown with their sophomore release, the very of-the-time, Random Fireworks On A Beach Obscured by Trees. The 13-track album was released January 15 via all streaming platforms.
While a self-acknowledged, indie-rock “baby band,” the principals in Tucker Lane – Leslie Stanwyck (vocalist/multi-instrumentalist/composer/producer) and Johnny Sinclair (bassist/composer/producer) – are CanRock mainstays, with a musical lineage dating back to their time in Platinum selling band The Pursuit of Happiness, their formative days as the hard-rocking Loud Factory, and then parlaying their distinct power pop across seven Universal Honey albums and a brand, spanking-new EP, UH Extended Play 2020.
We had the opportunity to chat with Johnny about inspiration behind the album, what he learned from his time in Pursuit Of Happiness and what’s next.
Kat: Can you talk about the inspiration behind your new sophomore release “Random
Fireworks On A Beach Obscured by Trees” ? Was there a specific sound or direction you
were hoping to go in?
Johnny: We felt this record was long overdue and we were presented with a lot of downtime
in 2020 so we took advantage of it. When we were able to get together, after the restrictions were lifted in the spring, we wrote some new songs and started the recording process. We have been playing together for a while, so the sound is a little more reflective of who we are as a band. There was no specific direction, we just recorded the songs how they were written live and in doing so really feel at home with our Tucker Lane sound.
Kat: What do you hope fans take away from the album?
Johnny: We hope that they have enough reasons to come back to listen to it again and again.
Throw it on when they get together with friends or when they’re alone driving in their car. They can make Tucker Lane a part of their day and we can all get through some of these lonely times.
Kat: What did you learn from your time in past projects such as Platinum selling band The
Pursuit of Happiness, and did it change or influence how you approached creating music
for Tucker Lane?
Johnny: We definitely learned a lot from our experience making both albums with the Pursuit
of Happiness. We worked with the legendary Todd Rundgren who has produced many of our favorite albums. Watching him work was a large influence on us. We are fans of the recording process and have been recording in our home studio for over 15 years. One of the things we like about recording at home is we don’t have to worry about the clock ticking and can work whenever we want to.
Kat: How have you been staying connected during Covid-19? Has it affected your creative process at all?
Johnny: Lockdown measures haven’t been as strict in Saskatchewan as they have been elsewhere so at times we have actually been able to get together and jam. Believe it or not, it’s given us more time to be able to work on music and be creative.
Kat: What’s next?
Johnny: Our album is coming out and we’ve been keeping busy making videos and doing press. As soon as it’s safe to do so we will be getting together to do some rehearsing for some live streaming events.
For more on Tucker Lane visit: www.tuckerlane.ca