Artist Spotlight - The Starling Effect

Hey Music Fans! Are you ready to be introduced to some of the amazing local talent we have here, and to be reacquainted with some of your favourites? We have such an incredible music scene here in the GVA, and there are so many amazing artists just waiting for you to check them out.

The darkest of the days of winter are finally coming to a close, and with it come the eventual sprouts and blooms of spring, and the warmer days that accompany them. We'll begin to see the start of the festival and event season, and are excited to see what this year holds for our next spotlighted artist. 

Check out today's spotlight: 

The Starling Effect 

Here's what they had to say... 

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        Q: For those who don’t know you, can you please introduce yourself and describe your sound?

I'm John Lucas, and I sing and play guitar in the Starling Effect, in which I'm joined by Greg Williams on keyboards and guitar, Alex Reed on bass, and Michael Nathanson on drums.

Musically, we have a number of touchstones that reflect our varied individual backgrounds and influences, from prog to punk to shoegaze, but if I had to sum it all up, I would say we're a melodic indie-rock band with a penchant for atmosphere and dynamics and a fondness for effects pedals.

        Q: What’s one of the biggest successes you’ve had as a musician?

I'm not sure if you mean me generally as a musician, or the Starling Effect specifically, but let's face it: success is relative. I have shared stages with some of my favourite artists and I've sat in a movie theatre while music I made soundtracked a pivotal scene in a feature film. I've performed on national television and I have seen albums I helped create make the national college-radio chart.

But I don't continue to make music because I'm chasing those sorts of experiences. For me, it's about creative expression and the joy of making something that I'm proud of, as well as entertaining people who are attuned to the same weird frequency as me. By those measures, I feel the Starling Effect is a success.

        Q: What’s your favourite venue to play?

I'm going to say the Princeton Pub, and not just because it's where we're playing next. The stage barely holds us and there's no one really doing sound or lights, but that place has a vibe all its own and many memorable characters, which makes every show there an experience.

        Q: What do you think was the best Medium for music to be on? (Vinyl, Tape, CD, Digital)?

This is a really timely question for me, because I finally just got rid of my entire CD collection, which had been doing nothing but gathering dust in storage for a long time. Shout out to Allan MacInnis for taking them off my hands!

To be honest, I think CDs probably do sound the best of all the various formats, but I had amassed thousands of them during my former career as a music journalist, and I just needed to purge them. I do most of my listening on streaming services these days.

However, I do prefer the overall aesthetic experience of vinyl LPs, and I do still buy records. I always try to visit record stores in any city I find myself in. I think Amoeba Music in San Francisco, Rotate This in Toronto, and Vancouver's own Audiopile are probably my top three.

Cassettes are garbage, and no amount of misplaced Gen X nostalgia will convince me otherwise.

        Q: Who is your favourite local band to see perform around town?

This is a tough one. There are so many great bands in Vancouver that I can't really pick a favourite. The Evaporators are always wildly entertaining, but I don't think they even play shows anymore. As far as new/current acts go, I saw a local shoegazey band called NMA a few weeks ago, and I would definitely like to see those guys again... possibly on a bill with the Starling Effect?

        Q: What’s coming up next for your music?



On March 21st we're playing at the Princeton, along with China Syndrome and Moonfoil. That will be fun. And there's no cover charge!

Last January—which seems like a very long time ago—we recorded the bed tracks for four songs at Little Red Sounds with Felix Fung. We finished two of those and released them last spring. They're called "A Strange Habit of Disappearing" and "Blueskiesgrey" and you can hear them on Bandcamp or Spotify or wherever you get your tunes.

At the end of May we're finally going to go back to the studio and finish the other two songs, "Pile of Ash" and "Memory Palace". Those will probably come out in the summer or fall. But there is a way to hear those songs before they're released! Come and see us play them live, as they are both on the set list for our next show.

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To learn more about The Starling Effect, listen to some of their music, and to find out about their  upcoming shows, head on over to their Linktree! 

 

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