The Year of the Deer

2014 may be the year of the horse, but for us it’s the year of the deer. We’re on a writing roll, booking shows, mapping out a small summer tour and planning an EP recording. You gotta strike while the iron is hot.

But first, a little history about how The Deers came together. After a few years of supporting each other’s music projects, we started jamming together every week or so with an aim to create a new sound, built from thoughtful minimalism, bright tones and driven rhythms (think Daughter or The Cults). But after a couple of months, it wasn’t working. The songs we played felt stale, we weren’t writing, and the sound we set out to create wasn’t coming. It was starting to become frustrating, but we kept playing and looking for new influences in the hopes that we’d break through our creative block.  After putting a fresh spin on tunes by a few of our favourite artists (LCD Soundsystem, Animal Collective, Lykke Li), we finally wrote a new song (Trespassers).  It was exactly the sound we wanted to create. After writing another new one (I’ll Say) we started looking for our first show.

In February Run Deer Run played an opening slot for local talents Heigh River at Below Deck Tavern in YYC. It was a stage we’d shared a few times so there was a familiar comfort, but the nerves were strong and we really wanted to play a tight set. People were piling in and the room was packed, and although the nerves were running high we were so in love with our new sound and couldn’t wait to share it. The night couldn’t have gone better - the crowd was awesome, we played better than we usually jam, and Heigh River was incredibly supportive. We were overwhelmed by the feedback we received. It confirmed we were doing something worthwhile and drove our desire to immerse ourselves in the YYC music community even further.  

Coming off the high of our first show we decided it was time to do more writing, together and from scratch; stay tuned for an upcoming post about our process and writing style. With six original songs finished and a few new ones in the works, we’re itching to play more live shows. We have a few on the books that we’re so stoked for and we can’t wait to explore more of the YYC music scene and beyond by rocking new stages and checking out more homegrown talent. Keep in touch with us via Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, we hope to see your lovely face at one our shows soon.

With love,
The Deers