Feel Alright Has Bros In Different Area Codes

Feel Alright is the band that’s going to break down borders between the U.S. and Canada once and for all. Well, maybe not, but ever since frontman Craig Fahner moved to Pittsburgh from Montreal (and Calgary before that) he’s found himself in the role of ambassador for the pop culture north of the border that’s completely unknown to 99% of Americans. If terms like Thrush Hermit, Big Shiny Tunes or Just For Laughs: Gags sound like gibberish, you’re not alone.

“Canada is such an echo chamber for American culture, especially music, so it’s interesting to see that the opposite effect doesn’t exist at all,” Fahner says. “When I first moved here, I spent a lot of time showing my friends Canadian bands. It’s a country that’s literally five hours away, yet there’s definitely a degree of isolation from all the things that don’t cross over. It also made me realize that Canada is basically one road connecting a massive small town with all kinds of amazing community exchanges.”

To combat this feeling of displacement while studying at Carnegie Mellon, Fahner devoted his spare time to writing the jangle-pop tunes that would make up Feel Alright’s debut. While its original cassette release came packed with trading cards of artifacts from the places he had called home (including Jaromír Jágr, Tubby Dog, and poutine), it represented even more for him personally.

“I think the songs themselves are kind of like tokens or promises to myself to keep on collaborating with my friends from a long distance,” he says. “I was really motivated to write these songs because it was a guarantee that they would turn into this fruitful collaboration in the future, and that we could make plans surrounding them. I guess it was just a way of focusing this homesickness and especially this longing for the culture I admire.”

Happily, the plan worked, and travelling back and forth between the three cities has resulted in several different Feel Alright incarnations. Yet this is no Mark E. Smith-style dictatorship, as the music has been crafted with collaboration in mind.

“The different line-ups motivated me to write songs with really simple components that can be easily transferred — portable songs,” Fahner explains. “Most things can be wrapped up into simple parts like the ‘Be My Baby’ beat, and that’s all you need. These things are part of the wider language of pop music, so any way I travel with the songs I can really easily put together new line-ups.”

“It has pros and cons because every different manifestation has been really different and really good in different ways,” he continues. “There’s no ‘best’ Feel Alright, it’s more like an evolving unit. I’m just excited that lots of people have been involved, and there’s nothing sacred about the line-up of the band. Whoever’s stoked to participate is part of it. When someone’s not in the same city, it’s not like they’re out of the band, or that it’s just me.”

Feel Alright – “Winter Goth”

This month, the four-piece Calgary line-up is the one hitting the road for a trip to the opposite coast finishing off at Halifax music fest Obey Convention. Fahner shies away from the word "tour," however, since they’re hopping on a plane and skipping the prairies entirely.

“We’re definitely cheating by jumping over the notorious Canadian Shield,” he says. “Touring has all of these lofty connotations though, and the motivation for the band is equally musical and social. Really, it’s a road trip. I’m not going to sugarcoat it or try to wrap it in this serious framework. It’s awesome though, and we’ve never gone on tour substantially before. I thought it would be this really frustrating thing because I’m in the States and had to do all of this coordination from a long distance, but it unfolded in this really awesome way that reminded me of all the friends I have along the Trans-Canada Highway.”

Even within northernly boundaries, Feel Alright acts as a cultural representative. Upcoming releases include a reissue of the debut cassette from Montreal’s Kinnta Records and a 7” from Southern Alberta powerhouse Mammoth Cave Recording Co. Fahner is especially excited about the latter collaboration, thanks to its own inroads into American soil.

“Mammoth Cave is an institution in Canada devoted to the opposite of the effect where our culture doesn’t permeate across the border,” he says. “They have such strong relationships with labels down here specifically distributing Southern Albertan music. It’s totally amazing that people I meet from the States know about bands from Lethbridge. Soon enough, we’ll be able to squeeze through. People will know what we’re all about.”

Feel Alright Spring Trip
05/25 MONTREAL QC - BRASSERIE BEAUBIEN w/ Silver Dapple
05/26 TORONTO ON – DANNY GREENS w/ Actual Water, Hussy, Horse Lords
05/27 LONDON ON - HOT DOG MUSIQUE AND CINEMA (afternoon show)
05/28 OTTAWA ON – THE COCK AND LION w/ Shearing Pinx, Random Cuts
05/29 MONTREAL QC - SILVER DOOR w/ Home Shake, Comely Fountains
05/31 SACKVILLE NB - TBA w/ Cousins
06/01 HALIFAX NS - CKDU STUDIOS ON AIR THING (afternoon show)
06/01 HALIFAX NS - BUS STOP THEATRE w/ The Pink Noise, The Soupcans, Crosss, Monomyth

@wipeoutbeat