Already on my radar since the start of the blog, I took advantage of the fact that they were going to play a few dates with another Canadian band to suggest that it would be a good idea to talk about those shows.
The singer Joel Browne was happy to talk about this Canadian mini-tour with The Corps and to highlight a few tracks from their most recent EP, Relevance.
We love The Corps and had been talking about doing a run with them since playing with them in Kelowna and Penticton last year. We just finished a handful of shows with them on the coast and Vancouver Island for 'The Heartcorps Winter Tour'.
They’re doing exactly what I’ve wanted to do since I was 14 years old, so getting to chat with them about their touring experiences and the bands they’ve played with was super inspiring. Jackknife Brewing in Kelowna never, ever disappoints. From sing-a-longs and watching someone crowd surf from the front of the stage all the way to the venue entrance and back was pretty rad. I’m a huge advocate for crowd surfing. Please do more of it!
Photo by Nathan Penner
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Photo by Nathan Penner
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Photo by Nathan Penner
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Photo by Nathan Penner
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Having a bro-down with Dave, Dan, Dan and “More-Dan” after the Nanaimo show was easily my favourite part. You get such limited time to get to know the other bands on quick runs because there’s usually so much driving involved, so any time you actually get to connect is really valued. The band breakfast hosted by Geoff from Shift Promotions was awesome too.
Another highlight was watching The Corps crush it in front of their hometown crowd in Vancouver on Valentine's Day. Before the show, we blew up hundreds of red and black balloons then unleashed them in the crowd mind-set for their ballad 'The Pocket'. It was a vibe!
I’m big on pre-show rituals. I have a stretch and steam routine that I do a couple of hours before we hit the stage. And I’ve definitely got to make a bunch of weird sounds (vocal warm-ups) before every show. Our bassist, Ryan, sings a lot of harmonies so he usually joins me for a steam and vocal warm-ups as well.
Photo Credits : Nathan Penner / One Eyes Shut Media
We played the first year of Anarchy in the OK and would like to play it again in the future. We recently played Blizzard Fest in Rossland with The OBGMs and Midnight Peg, which was a great time. Two great bands too. Check them out!
We're playing Rock the Rails in Fort McMurray in June. It's a rad little 2-day fest with skateboarding and dirt jump competitions. Kind of like a small town Warped Tour stop! It's free, all ages and this year it's headlined by Ignite and Good Riddance.
In the future, we'd love to play Massif Fest, Alternative Waves, Moments Fest, Heart of Gold, and a number of Quebec festivals like Pouzza Fest, Red Bridge Fest and Music 4 Cancer.
So far, 2026 is mainly about writing and releasing new music. We want to follow up Relevance with something that hits even harder. There are a couple whispered tours in the works but I don’t want to jinx anything.
Relevance is very personal. The main themes revolve around self-struggle and the way I tend to examine my perceived failures under a microscope. I found a lot of catharsis writing about some heavy relationship failures as well as societal norms that I find pretty appalling.
Good ear! Thrice, Strung Out, Propaghandi would be 3 main influences for us. Belvedere and a Bigwig were some other bands we listened to a lot throughout the writing process.
“Fuck With Fate” is definitely one of my favourite tracks to date, and it’s the only one Joe McLeod and I co-wrote lyrically. Joe was exiting a relationship that wasn’t serving him anymore, and I had exited one the year before. Both were toxic for us and probably for our ex-partners in similar ways. The song is about that “aha” moment when you finally see a situation for what it is and the relief that follows when you realize there’s a way out.
“Brain Rot” is a song for the everyday troll. Afraid, self-loathing, silently judging every aspect of other people’s lives while contributing nothing of value themselves. These people deserve zero recognition, so I wrote a song for them.
Photo by Nathan Penner
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Photo by Nathan Penner
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Photo by Nathan Penner
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Photo by Nathan Penner
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I’m getting old. I was going to shows in the Okanagan in the ’90s and early 2000s when the scene was thriving. We used to hit Cop Out Records in Kelowna to grab tickets to shows like AFI, Strung Out, No Use for a Name, Mad Caddies, Face to Face, and Gob on the regular.
By the mid-2000s we struggled to hang on as pop-punk, screamo, and hardcore started taking over. Not to shit on those genres, but they definitely shifted the scene. Suddenly “punk” was in fashion, and once fashion and media get hold of something, it usually dies. Warped Tour went downhill shortly after that and people stopped going to shows.
It’s been really cool to be part of the resurgence we’ve seen lately. There are a lot of people working very hard—Idiofame’s very own Jesse Nelson (the nerd on guitar) is a key person here—bringing in quality shows through his promotions company Ollie North Productions. And a huge shout out to Damien at Jackknife Brewing and Matt at Dunnenzies downtown for giving bands a place to play! We're seeing more kids at shows, new bands, and local zines. The scene is alive and well!
Thanks for taking the time to read all of this!
No doubt the guys from Idiofame had great moments of camaraderie during their recent tour, and it’s likely to happen again. On another note, Joel’s answers hint at exciting things ahead, with new tracks to listen to and plenty of chances to see them live soon. I also sense the pull of Quebec festivals, and I hope big events like Music 4 Cancer and Pouzza Fest will answer that call.
In the meantime, dive into their latest EP, Relevance.
