Hello! Today we delve into the mind of the ever so awesome Cody Smith, vocalist of Elementals, resident of your favourite house.
1. How would you describe your sound?
In the early days we were almost constantly compared to Nirvana, but five years down the road our influences have shaped our sound in such a way that I would have to say we will always have an alternative rock foundation, but we’re slowly creeping into folk and country roots.
2. Who are your influences?
This is just a general answer from all the dudes: Deer Tick, Wilco, Motörhead, CCR, Black Crowes, CCR, Nirvana, Elliott Smith, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Head and The Heart, Tony Rice, Leadbelly, Refused
3. What’s on the horizon for your music in 2019/2020?
We are currently in the middle of writing our third record, we have a lot of songs and we’re kinda just polishing them and picking which ones are gonna make the cut. We love being on the road so we hope to tour more as well:
4. What is your creative process?
I usually write the song and then bring it to the band and we hash it out together, that’s kinda just always how it’s been and it works for us, we’re all really open with our ideas so the song can really transform from the original idea once we play it together, or sometimes it just stays the same.
5. Where do you draw inspiration from?
That’s a tough one, I guess right now mostly friends and family and just the oddities of life. I’m 23 and this period of my life is both really fun and really stressful, so any kind of situation I get myself in can be “inspiring”, haha.
6. How do you deal with nerves before a show?
I don’t wanna speak for the other dudes but I think generally we don’t get nervous anymore. I used to be very anxious about it before I really got into the scene but the typical ritual is just to have some beers and a shot or two, have some good hangs before we play.
7. Fave venue in Ottawa?
House of TARG is always a blast, I love the intimacy of not having a stage, the crowd right in front of you within arms reach, I love that shit. Ask a Punk we love to play for that reason too, plus the night’s a lot cheaper, haha.
8. Craziest thing you’ve seen at a show?
The first week I moved into Ask a Punk, I came home while a metal show was still happening, and this girl just bursts through the backdoor covering her face and crying, I thought she was just upset, turns out someone broke her nose in the mosh pit!
9. If you could tour/play a show with any line up who would it be?
At this very moment, I think if we could tag along with Deer Tick anywhere that would be frickin’ sweet.
10.Advice for new musicians/band
Play a lot at first, get your name out there, especially if you’re brand new and don’t really no anyone. Go out and see other bands, make friends with the people in the different scenes. Ottawa is very diverse musically, obviously there are more popular genres at the moment but you need to place yourself everywhere to meet everyone you can. It makes it a lot easier to play when you have a variety of paths to follow. ALSO, hit me up if you’re new and wanna play at Ask A Punk! We see a lot of amazing acts come through here and it’s a very fun and friendly community.
11. Any shout outs you want to make?
Shout out to you, Stumpo. Thanks for the interview bahd. To Ottawa Sound too, helping showcase bands all over Ottawa.
And shout out to my roommates at Ask A Punk.
And mom.
Hi mom.
12. Social media links/music links
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElementalsBand/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4LEBeNjdy4rmnNbgpw6MRE?si=MdL_NmRlTS-0kpV9W6NOGg
Apple Music: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/artist/elementals/1157859652
Bandcamp: https://elementalsband.bandcamp.com
YouTube: youtube.com/elementalsvideo
Instagram: @elementalsband
Twitter: @elementalsband
The Ottawa Sound 