Pleased To Meet Me: Family Man

Introduce yourself… (Where are you from, what band do you play in etc..)

C: Hi, I’m Conner Root. I’m originally from Los Angeles but have lived in Montreal for 8 years now. I am the singer and guitarist in Family Man.

J: My name’s Josh. I’m from Sturgeon Falls ON and I play bass in Family Man.

B: My name is Bryan Andrew Thomas and I am the drummer for Family Man. I was born and raised in Ottawa, but left shortly after high school to participate in the music scene of Montreal, where I still reside.

G: Hi, I’m Griffin from Montreal, QC and I play guitar for Family Man.

JL: Hi! I'm Josh Linnen, originally from small town Bancroft, Ontario. However I spent many of my formative years in Peterborough, Ontario. I play guitar and shout a bit in Family Man! I also play in Midnight Crawl and Dirty Milk.

Why do you play music?

C: I have always played music - my real desire started when my dad showed me Tom Waits’ Table Top Joe when I was probably around 5 years old. While my reasons for playing have always changed over the years - for a while I’ve played as a means of catharsis. I’ve got quite a bit of rage - although I think most folks around me would say that my personality on stage doesn’t match my day to day. Playing music allows me to express this rage while maintaining some sense of sanity.

J: I play music because it allows me to live.

B: I play music because I have found nothing to be more stimulating than performing and composing original pieces of work. It is the medium in which I’ve always expressed myself best, allowing me to form connections with others and to better understand the world around me.

G: I play music because I have to. It’s a catharsis. Every time I try to walk away from it I’m pulled right back. I’ve given up trying to fight that.

JL: I grew up in a very musical family, surrounded by country and folk musicians, some pro, some hobbyist. My parents, although not musicians really, always played interesting and exciting music for me as a kid, and this influence eventually blossomed into a lifelong obsession with listening, playing and experiencing as much as the music world has to offer.

What was a major influence on you as an Artist/Band?

C: God there’s just so many. We all come from vastly different backgrounds as far as music goes, but some of my favorite artists that have inspire my writing recently are Tunrstile, Amyl and the Sniffers, Knocked Loose, 1tbsp, Nillufer Yanya, and Bon Iver.

J: My favorite artists are Meshuggah, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Nils Frahm.

B: “Joy as an act of resistance” by Idles was very influential for Family Man. Its vulnerability was loud and sincere, with harsh piercing textures balanced by simplistic light hearted rhythm. It concisely packaged all the individual elements we had been previously exploring into a platform for us to continue expanding on.

G: Jeff Rosenstock and The Strokes are major influences for my playing personally.

JL: In my most formative teenage years as an artist I quickly became obsessed with Nirvana. The unbridled passion and aggression, combined with direct songwriting and wild noise, turned me into a punk fan for eternity. Everything I do now stems from that punk obsession, in some shape or form.

What’s a favourite book or film?

C: Favorite book and film happen to be the same thing: No Country for Old Men.

J: Kubrick’s 2001 : A Space Odyssey. Favorite book : I really liked Cloud Atlas by David Mitchel.

B: Ozzy’s autobiography. It’s an interesting recalling of the history of rock ‘n’ roll from someone who was around for all of it but was too drunk to remember the specifics.

G: My favourite film for years has been “O Brother Where Art Thou”. The soundtrack is incredible and I love the aimless sense of adventure.

JL: I have been on a David Lynch kick all of my life. A film that comes to mind is Inland Empire. His craziest and most bizarre film by far. A freaky, nightmarish mystery of a film. Not an easy watch, and always perplexing, but it's cryptic, dreamlike nature always keeps me coming back to it. Whenever I can stomach watching it again.

Do you prefer the recording process or performing live?

C: While I love the freedom to explore that comes with recording - we have always been and while continue to be a live band. Playing live is where I think Family Man has something special. We all just want people to walk away from our show feeling excited, scared, and with a general sense of “what the fuck did I just witness?”

J: Performing live hands down.

B: One is the ultimate physical release. The other provides unparalleled emotional fulfillment and gratification. They both give purpose to life, so it’s hard to say whether I prefer performing or recording…I’ll go recording for the sake of answering the question.

G: Performing live, 100%. There’s no better feeling in this world for me than getting onstage and giving it all I’ve got.

JL: It's incredibly difficult to pick. But the answer for me is that playing live is far more exciting and cathartic and wild. Something that really gets my blood pumping. Recording is more satisfying creatively, but also more stressful and work oriented. Live is by far the most fun for me.

What would be a dream collaboration?

C: We’ve actually got some really cool collaborations in the process right now. We are working with a French producer named Khamsin who is remixing some tunes from ICONOCLAST. With that being said, my top two ideal collaborations would be with METZ or Mark Bowen from IDLES. Metz are just a Canadian classic and Mark’s brain is just wired differently when it comes to producing music.

J: I’d love to write a musical based on Tommy Tokyo (& Starving For My Gravy)’s absolute epic 2008 album “Smear Your Smile Back On”.

B: Zach Choy of Crack Cloud. He writes, drums and sings for one of my favourite post-punk/noise rock groups. Would love nothing more than to spend a week with him in a recording studio with ten thousand percussion instruments and a couple of Moog synths.

G: I think collaborating with IDLES or the OBGMs would be an incredible experience for Family Man. Both are churning out incredible tunes in a similar vein to ours and I’d be curious to see what we could make.

JL: My all time dream collaboration, for a long time, would have been to record with the incredible Steve Albini (RIP). Since I was a teenager I had dreamed of going to his studio and getting a chance to work with that amazing sound.

Describe a favourite album.

C: The whole favorite album question is always so difficult, but right now I’ve been super into Beck’s 2005 release Guero. It’s an album my parents played when having people over at our house when I growing up - so there is some significance there, but it also perfectly captures my idealized memories of Los Angeles while growing up. From the latinx influences in the chord progressions that are emphasized by soaring fuzzy top melodies that descend into Meet Me In the Basement era synth pop jangle tunes - t’s just awesome.

J: Tommy Tokyo & Starving For My Gravy “Smear Your Smile Back On” : it’s an indie folk (?) album that feels like rock-opera. Tommy’s unhinged delivery and songwriting style oozes with emotion and creativity like nothing I’ve heard before or since.

B: “Viet Cong” - Preoccupations. Haunting vocals. Dissonant harmonies. Screeching noises. Bellowing synthesizers. Dystopian lyricism. Driving rhythms. Hypnotic flow. One of the best albums to blend electronic and acoustic drum sounds.

G: In Rainbows by Radiohead is the first one that comes to mind. I’ve listened to that record to death. Masterful musicianship and hauntingly beautiful from front to back.

JL: An album that comes to mind, for me, is Bjork's Vespertine. A gorgeous, sumptuous piece of art pop with an underlying theme of tenderness and sensuality. Most of the beats and music with recorded with string ensembles and percussion made from found objects in Bjorks home. All of course topped off with her unbelievable vocal presence and disarming lyrics. Must-listen songs are “Pagan Poetry” and “Aurora”.

What's your favourite local haunt?

C: This is also a tough one that changes with my mood. If I’m feeling fierce, gotta go with Traxide. I know there’s some serious issues going on over there right now, so big shout out to the employees who are taking action to not only save the space, but to make it safer for everyone to come enjoy. Aside from that - I always see fantastic music at Bar de Courcelle. There’s actually quite a bit going on in the south-west side of Montreal. The Plateau has taken too much credit for too long. Still love it up there, but the kids are missing out on the scene happening down here.

J: Before it closed Paradis Montreal (Don Nopal) on St Denis next to Esco was my go to. I used to get novelty sized margaritas there.

B: My old favourite haunt was a AAP venue called Traxide in the south west of Montreal. A small two floor room that was held together by 2x4’s and chain link fence where you could smoke inside and see the cities best/upcoming music five nights a week for cheap. It was recently shut down and to be honest I’ve yet to find somewhere to fill that whole.

G: Turbo Haus. Cheap PBR and good pits.

JL: If just going for a quiet pint, Else's in the Plateau of Montreal is a gorgeous little establishment. For music, I adore the scene that surrounds Bar de Courcelle. Always full of great musicians and the sweetest people.

What's your strangest experience while performing live?

C: Montreal is a fantastic city for fostering creativity. Everyone is doing something cool here and that helps drive you to be better. It’s a double-edged sword though - there’s always something cool going on, and the last thing I want is for that pretentious “eau de Toronto/LA/New York” to seep into the scene here.

J: Bandmate lying on the ground does a backward somersault into standing position all while holding his guitar in mid performance. The pure boldness of such a move still inspires me.

B: I was almost crushed by a falling light rail while performing in Brussels. It collapsed mid song and missed my head by about half a foot because it got caught on my crash stand on the way down. It didn’t dawn on me until I was offstage how seriously it could’ve injured me.

G: We played a show in a warehouse one time during a blizzard in 2018 where people were getting tattooed, playing with reptiles, and painting on canvas. During the performance some guy who was off his head came up and started antagonizing us. I’d say that was probably the strangest. Still a fun gig though.

JL: For me, someone who has only been playing live again for a little over 2 years, playing MTelus was a magnificent and surreal experience. That, or a whole stage-lighting setup collapse in Brussels, almost wiping out the Family Man rhythm section, who managed to keep playing!!

What are some of your favourite aspects of being a musician in Montreal?

C: Montreal is a fantastic city for fostering creativity. Everyone is doing something cool here and that helps drive you to be better. It’s a double-edged sword though - there’s always something cool going on, and the last thing I want is for that pretentious “eau de Toronto/LA/New York” to seep into the scene here.

J: As a musician in Montreal, it’s nice to be surrounded by so many other musicians. I like the healthy competition but also.

B: Montreal is a busy place. Not in the over- crowded, can of sardines sense of New York, or the overwhelming and at times performative style of Los Angelas. It’s a perfectly compact island rich with history and diversity, whose contributions to the arts are felt across the country. It’s the birthplace of a lot of really cool Canadian music, where there’s never a shortage of shows to see or things to do, so the inspiration never run dry here.

G: Montreal is an excellent city to find likeminded artists and hone your craft. It seems like nearly everyone has some sort of side gig or passion project. While it can feel diluted at times it allows for you to try new things without fear.

JL: It truly just has to be the tight knit scene. There are many places to play and audiences widely available here, but the closeness of the scene and the way that everyone knows and supports eachother is by far my favourite aspect.

If you weren’t playing music in (your city here) where would you be ?

C: I’d be back in California - I know I know. Falling into the trope here. And while I love Montreal - it’s the coolest city on the planet - there are very few other places where I can be in the middle of the desert in the morning, at the top of a 3,000 meter mountain by midday, surfing at sunset, and finish out the day eating the best damn tacos this side of the border. Plus all my family is there. Also it doesn’t get down to -30 ever.

J: If I wasn’t playing music in Montreal, I’d probably be in BC or in the states.

B: Nashville, most likely playing country music in dive bars.

G: Los Angeles or Sydney, Australia. While Los Angeles’ music scene speaks for itself, Sydney’s is underrated. I spent 1.5 years managing a music venue there and find that the Australian talent pool should be on more people’s radar. Also who doesn’t like a bit of sunshine?

JL: This is hard to answer, because Montreal is so delightful. Maybe I'd find myself playing in Toronto, or back home in Peterborough, a place that always had a surprisingly good scene.

Any sage advice for young musicians?

C: Damn, am I really the old dude now? Whatever, I guess I’ll embrace it. If I can give any advice to younger musicians is to practice as much as possible and observe more than you speak. During the pandemic, Bryan and I would lock ourselves away in our studio space for days on end. I know what he’s going to play before he even knows and vice versa. Griffin was right there with us during that time so his reintroduction has been seamless. And the Joshes are just absolute animals when it comes to playing. But practice. As far as observing goes - learn from the people around you

J: Find your uniqueness and make yourself indispensable.

B: Practice your craft for at least an hour every day. Drugs and alcohol don’t enhance your writing skills in a productive way. Save your money and live at home as long as you can.

G: Don’t stop playing. Surround yourself by people who are good on the backend (booking shows, social media, etc.). Play as many live shows as you can.

JL: Don't be afraid to let things take time. Music takes time. Learning to establish yourself in the scene takes time. Getting tight live takes time. Finding your voice takes time. I remember being 18, 19, 20, etc. and seeing famous bands breakout at that age, wondering what I was doing wrong. That is definitely the outlier. Now that I'm 28, I realize there are way more bands around my age or older than there are much, much young. Don't feel like you have to rush things to find any success. Do good work and take your time.

You can check out Family Man + Indica Records here:
https://indica.mu/en/artists/family-man/