By: Jack O’Sullivan
After learning about Backseat Dragon while on a late-night mission to find new artists, I listened to their music on Spotify and became a fan after the first song I heard, tom bergeron fan Club. The music has a deep emotional richness that is expressed through a nostalgic and youthful point of view. All the songs seemed to be telling specific, detailed, stories in a relatable way to connect with the listener personally.
While going through their discography, I was reminded of an old late night/early morning playlist from high school filled with music from artists like Bright Eyes, Caving, and Elliott Smith. It had the same endearing solo acoustic feel with a unique lyrical style.
On May 27th, 2022, I got the chance to see Backseat Dragon play their second show live at Café Dekcuf as the opener for the first day of Ottawa Punk Fest. I was surprised to see three people on stage with a white Squier Jazzmaster, grey Gretsch Bass VI and a five-piece drum kit. The band jumped into their set and the new electric take on the music took my fandom to a whole other level. Their sound now seemed to remind me more of American Football and Snail Mail.
As Backseat Dragon began, everyone inside was focused on the music and congregated at the front of the stage. The band’s energy and comradery was contagious as it spread throughout the venue. Everyone who was familiar with the music began singing the lyrics to their favourite songs which only fueled the fire on stage.
Their set that night was memorable for many reasons. The sheer musical talent, the band’s hold on the crowd and the fact that it was their first performance as a three-piece band. I knew I had to be at the next show I could go to.
Later on June 18th, 2022, I saw Backseat Dragon for the second time at Live on Elgin. The bill that night was SVEN, Backseat Dragon, and Sorry Snowman. I, unfortunately, arrived halfway through SVEN’s performance but what I was there for was amazing. The place was sold out and the crowd was there for a good time.The people seemed to pour in out as the bands took the stage. Alternating between the full venue and the cigarette-smoke-filled sidewalk, being sure to never miss the start of the next band.
As Backseat Dragon started to set up, everyone lined up as close as they could to the two-inch-high stage. Once again, the band proved that their music has struck a chord with the younger generation of Ottawa. The happy crowd of new friends sang, joked, drank and danced as the band played for about 40 minutes. Sorry Snowman followed after with an amazing set and that is when I realized the connection between the two bands.
When I got home that night, I listened to the bands I had just seen as I edited the photos of the show and I knew I had to reach out to speak with them.
Arriving around nine p.m. on July 11th, at what feels like a second home, freshly caffeinated after a long day, I grabbed my camera bag and headed to interview Backseat Dragon at the Jam Barn.
I met Carrie Blair at the door. We sat on the ground outside the entrance as Sorry Snowman practiced inside and we jumped right into the interview with an introduction.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“First thing, I guess I’d start with my name, Carrie Blair… When it comes down to it, I’d like to say I do music, but I would say that I am just trying my best, like most,” said Carrie.
Backseat Dragon was an acoustic emo project that was born out of a childhood dream of being in a band coming to life during the Covid-19 pandemic. After realizing that the only way to see live music for the next while would be by performing at home.
So Carrie dusted off the old guitar and began to learn.
With a grasp on “the four most basic chords”, Carrie wrote a song about their friend Gwen and the cell phone recording was posted to Youtube after Gwen threatened to do so herself.
“I remember there was one day I was sitting there. I had pages of lyrics in front of me and just the thought of ‘I have put so much time and thought into all of this and I know how to do none of it.’ It was the feeling of how much I wanted to create music and then how much of it was in my head, so, I just set to it,” said Carrie.
Over the next six months, Carrie continued to learn how to play the guitar, worked on their songwriting, and learned how to record/mix music. The lockdowns allowed for them to have plenty of time to write while developing their sound which is influenced by artists like Pinegrove, Frat Mouse, and Worst Part Ever. Armed with a new randomly generated artist name, Backseat Dragon released their debut single, steven turns one, on October 10th, 2020.
The song was well received and the adolescents of Ottawa began to memorize the lyrics to their new acoustic anthem. The next single to follow was pigeons work for the bourgeoisie on December 5th, 2020.
Finally, after a five-month wait, Backseat Dragon released their Debut EP Splash Pad on May 1st, 2021.
“When you’re alone, you have so much time to write and I just kind of wrote almost all of the EP at the same time, actually, and then I put out steven turns one first because I… I don’t know just for whatever reason,” said Carrie.
Splash Pad was inspired by Carrie’s loneliness during the pandemic and missing their friends, so the EP feels as though it invites you into their lives. The happy-go-lucky emo-folk songs tell the stories of high school friends growing up through quirky lyrics, gang vocals, and samples of conversations that make you feel as if you’re hanging out with friends.
“I was lucky that for steven turns one I recorded it when I could have everyone over to my house, and then for Splash Pad we were in lockdown again so I couldn’t have anyone over,” they continued. “So, I would drive my microphone, the cheap ass Blue Yeti microphone, over to my friend’s house and leave it on their doorstep.”
The title, Splash Pad, refers to a grocery store-sushi picnic at a local school where Carrie and friends spotted a dragon in the playground splash pad. This is just one of the many personal details tucked into the EP that make it so unique. People who attend Backseat Dragon shows and know of these inside jokes like to join in friendly banter with the band trying to egg them on to explain the tales behind the songs. The most known seems to be the story behind the hit songs mazda 3 and steven turns one.
“I’ll tell the Tom Bergeron story because it’s a much better story,” said Carrie. “All of the song titles on the EP have nothing to do with the song… I was joking with my friend like ‘we love Tom Bergeron so much, haha’ and they were like you should name that song Tom Club… So I DM’d him like ‘hey, I wrote a song. The title is tom bergeron fan club. The song has nothing to do with you. Are you ok with that?’.”
The beloved retired America’s Funniest Home Videos host responded to Carrie with his personal email asking them to send the song. After listening to the recording, he gave his approval with the words “hey, why not?” and the finalized EP was sent off to distribution the same day.
Backseat Dragon’s debut EP spread throughout the adolescent scene in the nation’s capital and they became a must-hear new artist. Splash Pad gained the attention of Sean Lundy when he stumbled across the project on Bandcamp the day it was released. Like most upon first listen, he became an instant fan. In September of 2021, Sean messaged Carrie to express his interest in joining as a drummer.
“It was May 1st, I listened to it and I was like ‘damn’,” said Sean. “I just thought they were really good songs. The whole summer went by, and I had told a couple of people about this really cool Ottawa band, so I texted Carrie’s Instagram saying ‘hey, I found the songs and thought they were sick. I don’t know if you have plans for a live band but if you do I would love to play drums.”
Sean’s roommates heard the EP and invited Carrie over to jam. They worked on some stuff and felt a musical connection. Carrie eventually advertised the opening for a bassist on Instagram and Cole Hallman quickly jumped on the chance.
“You posted on Instagram like ‘who wants to play bass?’ and I was like ‘me me me!’,” said Cole
“But I liked the fact that you opened up with ‘Sean probably wants to play drums’,” said Carrie
“I think I responded with ‘let’s rock’ or something,” said Sean
The three of them got together intermittently over the next couple of months adding drums and bass to the Backseat Dragon discography. On April 9th, 2022, they released their next single, taxes taxes taxes. Things had changed for Carrie over the 11 months between Splash Pad and their latest song. They had taken a gap year, moved out, and the Covid-19 restrictions had begun to relax but when they got back to making music it was like nothing had changed.
“Being stuck in your basement and everything it was like when a lot of your songs are about missing your friends and now you’re seeing your friends,” said Carrie “It’s hard to keep up with it… I had never felt like I had taken a break if that makes any sense. Like I was still thinking about the project almost just as much as ever, it was just that I was almost letting it ride.”
The new song quickly became a fan favourite and their second most streamed song. Following the release, Carrie performed a solo set at Avant-Garde with Robin Kenny and Modeville. This was the first time they saw people at their shows singing along and it was a surreal moment. After being inspired by the result of the solo set, the new version of Backseat Dragon began actively practicing and developing their sound in preparation for their first show together, Ottawa Punk Fest.
Since their debut performance as a three-piece group, the band has sold-out Live on Elgin, performed in Montréal, Toronto and the independent music festival Side by Side Weekend. They are currently working on new music that is being recorded at Pebble Studios with Robbie Vigneault and you can look forward to seeing Backseat Dragon live at Club Saw on August 20th.
“When it first started out it was emo-acoustic, now, I have no clue… honestly when it comes down to it I’d like to say we’re just having fun and just making whatever noise sounds good at the moment,” said Carrie
