Mixtape caught up with comedian and Racoon Bandit lead singer/songwriter Fraser McCallum gearing up for the In The Dead Of Winter music festival in Halifax. He takes the stage solo, for the first time, Jan. 24th at Parentheses Gallery and 25th at Bus Stop Theatre.
Mixtape Magazine: What can listeners expect from you at In the Dead of Winter? Will you be playing mostly Racoon Bandit songs, your own songs, covers or a combination of the three?
Fraser McCallum: I’ll be playing mostly Racoon Bandit songs—both established and very new—in a more stripped-down format. I’ll also shoehorn in a few songs of my own that aren’t part of the Bandit arsenal.
Can we expect some good banter at In the Dead of Winter? Or a possible improv set?
Haha, I absolutely guarantee good banter. No scenes from a hat or freeze-tag this time around, but certainly plenty of good cheer.
How did you get involved in comedy?
Charlottetown’s always had a niche comedy scene downtown and about 10 years ago four of us created an improv show, 4 Skit’s Sake, which was modeled largely after Whose Line is it Anyway? That ran for about four years, and around that time a local comic asked me to try my hand at standup and MCing, which I’ve done off and on ever since. Charlottetown—the city of opportunity!
In what ways does your music career and comic career overlap?
I love the relationship between comedy and music—they come from a similar place within and share many characteristics. Racoon Bandit was started in 2009 and has become my primary artistic focus. I still do some standup and improv shows here and there, and frequently host all and sundry kinds of events (recently, a live auction for the PEI Symphony, that was wild).
Music and standup are completely different in process and format, though, and one of the major things that attracted me towards starting a band was the collaborative spirit involved, which had been one of my favourite things about the improv comedy troupe. In my standup I did a lot of satirical songs on guitar, so it’s interesting to now find myself back on stage solo, but singing mostly folk songs about heartbreak and my neuroses.
Something I love about comedy, though, is the clarity in its audience response. In both standup and improv, you really know when an audience is on board with you and your material—”Well, that worked.” Sometimes it’s a bit foggy with live music.
Speaking of Racoon Bandit, it’s been a few years since Into the Hills. What’s next for the band?
It’s an exciting time as we’re in the early stages of work on our third album, with aims to record this summer and release something by the end of the year. We’re demoing and shaping songs right now at our studio here in Charlottetown, and will be bringing them to our good friend Colin Buchanan from Paper Lions, who will be co-producing this album in some capacity. We’ll be touring less this year in order to focus on the new songs, but can’t wait to share them with people soon.
Who are some PEI musicians and bands people should keep an ear out for?
Some great new bands on the PEI scene are Wildcat and TEEM. Both feature members from other successful Island bands (English Words, Boxer the Horse, the North Lakes) so they’ve come out of the gate with a very developed sound and two groups of players that are very experienced. Another great young singer-songwriter is Dylan Menzie, from Eastern PEI. He’s doing a Shotgun Jimmie kind of thing playing drums and guitar simultaneously, and has a towering, Plaskett-style voice. As always, there’s a very dynamic scene on this Island.
Fraser McCallum plays In the Dead of Winter on Friday, January 24 at Parenthesis Gallery along with Ryan Hillier and Ostrea Lake. Show starts at 8:15. $10 advance/$12 door
Photo: Sam Stewart
