Music Review and Interview with Northern Borders
Northern Boarders consists of it’s two original founding members, 21 year-old-artists Joe Shambo and KCarter who are originally from Burlington, Ontario, Canada. They have released a début mixtape coined, “Two Blind Mice,” a 10 track LP recorded January of 2015 as a teaser to their upcoming full album which has not yet set to be released.
Joe Shambo and KCarter are lifelong friends who possess over 10 years of musical experience working together and writing. Northern Borders is their first ever attempt at producing independent music.
The track, ‘This Girl’ starts with “there is this girl that I think… / she reminds me of you” about a time when a couple once close; grew apart. It apears as though the future has different plans for the two as they drift apart. He’s looking for a “Fresh start” as he believes that they control their own destiny regardless of fate.
This really got me thinking yesterday as I was jogging down 5th avenue in manhattan (listen to this track) – watching couples hold hands, laugh, and just ‘be together’. I started to think about the percentage that would end up in heartbreak… Is this fate? Can they actually control what the future has in store? Maybe they can if they try hard enough…If they love each other enough… Maybe that is the key?
People make mistakes and he goes on to talk about “turning back time” and starting new; but as he looks in the mirror he’s afraid of what he see’s.. Does he have faith in himself to change and bring it back to the way it once was? Humans are so unique because of the amount of emotion that goes through ones mind. Break ups hurt! But, we prevail and move on. We patch them up or leave them in the past… Presonally, i’m a firm believer in fate… but who knows? Maybe there is something more that we can do for each other to survive as a couple if we just put forth the effort. Something to think about next time “I ride through my city”
By HBdidit – Exposed Vocals Music Reviewer and Breaking News Contributor.
A NYC fashion designer, music lover and lover of life!
Exposed Vocals: How did you hear about Exposed Vocals? What made you decide to sign up?
We first heard about Exposed Vocals through twitter. We followed your page and shortly after, Randy reached out to us asking if we wanted an interview. As independent artists, who just released their debut mixtape, we understand how difficult it can be to gain exposure. We thought Exposed Vocals offered a much needed platform for independent artists and wanted to be a part of the community.
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
Interestingly enough, KCarter and I were both born in Hamilton, Ontario. We finally crossed paths in Burlington where we met in middle school. We’ve been friends since we were 10 years old, both got involved in music at around the same time and we’ve been forming bands and groups ever since. From then on, our friendship grew into a brotherhood and the one thing that always kept us going strong was music.
Around the age of 14 when our parents would turn in for the night, we’d meet up in the hydro fields between our housing divisions, that’s where we perfected our freestyle. For us, that’s where it all started. Kris and I have always been writing music and lyrics but never felt the need to release anything until we felt we were both ready to take on something larger than just ourselves.
After high school, KCarter attended the University of Guelph for a year, while I stayed back to return for a fifth and final year at Lester B. Pearson. But University, it just wasn’t for him though, all the work and money for an arts degree I think he felt it was trivial. After completing first year he flew out to Alberta to work for his half-brother, that’s when I took my shot at the same University which unfortunately put an end to the music we had been collaborating on. We continued to write independently whenever we had the time but life would always seem to get in the way of that. It wasn’t until this year, my third year of University that KCarter flew in from Alberta. That’s when we decided to collaborate for our debut mixtape as a group, we had three weeks to work on it as well as record. You could say it was a challenge but having that deadline pushed us to work extremely hard.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
One thing that has always remained certain about us is the fact we are very proud Canadians. It was very important for us to keep that identity and have it reflect back to our name, it’s who we are. Realistically speaking, we are north of the border to the U.S.A. which of course is home to all the juggernauts of the industry. We kept working on it trying to find a variation of the words that fit perfectly and soon enough, that’s when we stumbled on Northern Borders.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
For us, we feel it’s critical for new artists release their music for free in order to give fans a reason to listen to them first. It’s always been the belief that we need to earn the respect of fans first in order to create that base, and that we can’t charge those who helped establish our identity as artists. That is why we released at the end of January 2015 our debut mixtape ‘2 Blind Mice’ free to the public to be followed up by a full 16 track album by the end of the year that we intend to market and sell.
Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?
Since we’re only in the genesis our own music career, without a doubt all we can tell other artists is that the most important thing to do is to promote, promote, promote. Your pages, your channels, blogs, pictures, everything and any platform you can get your hands on people will find it. In order to be heard you can’t do that without first being seen and by playing on curiosity you can make somebody click on your link instead of someone else’s. Some of the best music out there has yet to be heard by starving audiences everywhere simply put because many artists just haven’t taken enough time to do the ground work necessary to get the snowball rolling.
Local bars and even clubs are always interested in providing quality entertainment to their guests. The thing is, they aren’t going to find you in those crucial beginning stages if you’re not either, (a) in their faces or (b) at least easy to find. As soon as you can accomplish those your music will begin to be noticed. That said, the more local gigs a start-up artist can score, the larger their fan base develops while keeping a focus on working many types of venues to reach a variety of different audiences. Music speaks differently to each person and you never know who’s out there listening.
Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
Since we have just started taking music seriously, we have had limited experience performing on stage as Northern Borders. Needless to say, we have made some mistakes on stage and the most important thing to remember is that you have a show to do. We believe you are measured by how many times you rebound from your mistakes, not by how many mistakes you make.
A lot of the time, we as artists are the only ones who notice when we mess up and our audience never even knows it unless you tell them. The main thing is to keep going when you make a mistake and make it look like it was meant to happen. As long as you maintain your flow, it is easy to rebound during those unfortunate but character building moments.
We have also experienced many times in the past with other music groups we’ve been involved in mistakes during performances but at the end of the day, it is all part of being involved in the music industry.
Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
We currently have not released our debut tour date but we will be sure to update you guys once we are on tour and have some wild stories for you. That being said, touring will definitely be a big part of what we do leading into the launch of our full studio album either late 2015 or early 2016.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Joe Shambo: For me, inspiration comes at the most spontaneous times. I could be working, sitting in a class or hanging out with friends and there always seems to be something going on in my head. Sometimes, I can be inspired by certain situations I have experienced personally or observed others go through. What I tend to do is write down little lines that come into my head or something that I thought of during the day and compile them in a lyric bank. I then will sit down time to time and sift through everything I had written to see if there is a potential song written somewhere in there. A lot of the time, I will take some of my banked lines and build onto them in order to get a certain feeling or message across. Other times, I will sit down and let the pen do the talking writing everything I am feeling at that point in time. Most important thing to me is to never force it, you’ll never be able to connect with people that way.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
We haven’t acquired a domain for Northern Borders just yet, namely we’ve been using a variety of social networking platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud, Youtube and of course ReverbNation which has been a great help. We’ve got some others stirring in the pot right now such as Wikipedia, AZ lyrics, Datpiff, Vimeo, thesixtyone and Northern Borders very own Instagram to capture all the moments along the way.
Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?
KCarter: That’s hard to say, what Joe Shambo might find embarrassing might not be the same as I, but I have Blackout, by Breathe Carolina that I break out every once in a while when I’m by myslef. The same goes for Country in my Soul by Florida Georgia Line. I’m not a huge fan of country but I like catchy music. I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t like electronica either like pretty lights.
Joe Shambo: Interesting question, there is probably more than I can think of right now but I must admit I gripped I Just Met you by Carly Rae Jepsen a fellow Canadian artist, I think there could be a couple of Madonna songs in there somewhere and I dabble in a little bit of country every now and then. Who thought Keith Urban would have a place in my heart?
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
KCarter: Okay, well the first thing I’d do is pay off my stupid car. I drive a 1978 Jaguar XJ6L and I work in Edmonton, Alberta which sees some of the most inhospitable winters south of the Arctic Circle… its not practical up there but I’d bee moving back home to the GTA to pursue music full time with Joe. A million dollars can go a long way in jump starting a music career in terms of recording, producing, marketing and of course securing venues to perform at.
Joe Shambo: Wow a million dollars is truly all I need right now. The first thing I would do is fly KCarter back home so that we can get working and produce our studio album we are dying to put out there. The second thing I would do is secure our very own in house DJ, there is nothing better than having a DJ working exclusively with you without having to split their time. Lastly, I would expand my junk removal business in order to provide us with much needed financial stability throughout the start of our music career.
Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
Currently, we are working with an awesome engineer who runs his own studio based just outside of Guelph Ontario in Belwood. Our producer, Brian Hewson runs Escarpment Sound Studios which has had a Juno winner as early as 2012. Our goal for the time run through is to continue our partnership and have him to produce all of our music as a group. When we start progressing through our collaborations with other artists it will get a little more complicated working across North America but as they say, pressure makes diamonds. As long as we can stay on schedule everything should work seamless.
Our vision is to provide nothing less than radio quality music, we’re the type that have never settled for anything less than what was the goal. Whether we are working with our producer or with another engineer independently, it’s extremely important to maintain a certain benchmark of quality to maintain that level of professionalism. We’re currently networking as much as we can online as well as in physical presence, you can expect us to expand our partnerships as well as projects well into 2016.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
At this very moment, we’re solely promoting our music via social media platforms as well as music sharing websites. We’re in the middle of compiling quotes for different methods of local advertising such as posters and flyers. We’ve been hesitating to move full steam ahead on that for the reason we don’t want to spend our entire budget on just promoting our first mixtape. The goal is to secure that initial loyal fan base on the internet to establish ourselves nationwide, but also to create a stronghold in our hometown to make it easier to find gigs and then go on tour.
Without a doubt, we’ve discovered the multiple advantages of using multiple online platforms and we believe it’s the best way to be heard by a large audience. A lot of artists tend to stick with the mainstream avenues such as Soundcloud and Reverb Nation but there are endless online platforms at little to no charge to the artist as long as you know where to look. Post it, and they will come.
Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
Joe Shambo: For me, it would be Tupac Shakur, he is by far the most influential rapper of all time. I have always looked up to him and the message he tried to deliver the world. Some would say that he glorified the hood and the street life but I would argue his goal was to illustrate the struggle to the world while providing the hope and desire to get out of the cycle. Being able to perform on stage in LA with him while delivering a positive and relevant message would definitely be a dream come true for me.
KCater: if I had that choice I would choose to perform with Common. He’s one of the most iconic old-school New York style rappers out there and his music was really the bait for me that got me hooked on hip-hop and old school flows. His ability to share his message and promote the history, struggle of living in a big city, as well as the progression of black music in America is not only admirable, but important to show how African-Americans influenced in a positibe light the music industry to what it is today. He’s definitely been my idol the entire way along with rappers Mos Def, Talib Kweli and if it wasn’t for them I really don’t think I’d be doing music.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
We are currently busy promoting our mixtape, we have plans to start writing for our upcoming album in the near future. We don’t yet have a title for it, what we do know is that we’re creating a 16 track piece to either release late 2015, or as early 2016. Our goal with this project is to bridge our old school hip hop roots, with that new school style to intergrate and breed a hybrid I don’t think people have heard or that many other artists have been hitting maybe the way they’d want to. We know that our sound is very different than what’s considered the norm in mainstream markets to date but that’s the way we like it. We’re a fan of controversy, it gets you noticed and as long as you’re not following the heard there’s endless paths of opportunity to create in order to marry old school and new school
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Joe Shambo: If I wasn’t making music, I would probably be taking University a lot more seriously trying to attain that much desired well paying job. The only problem would be the fact that I wouldn’t enjoy myself as much as I currently am trying to make a name in the independent music market. It’s not always easy especially in the beginning stages but perseverance and hard work always have a way of paving a nice path for your future.
KCarter: Honestly if I wasn’t doing this I’d probably be working a lot more hours that’s for sure. I work for a concrete cutting outfit in Edmonton, Alberta. The work is really hard and dirty but the money’s there. I’ve been trying to save up enough money to go back to college or university but honestly music has been taking up a large portion of my time. I really couldn’t be happier doing what I am now, it’s a dream come true.
Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?
Joe Shambo: The first album that was ever bought for me was a Ricky Martin CD from my uncle when I was really young. For some reason at the time, I liked the music he was making despite how different it is from my current tastes. The first album I bought for myself though would have been Rythm & Gangster by Snoop Dogg. I went through a huge Snoop Dogg stage in my early teens and simply streaming his music was not enough for me at the time.
KCarter: This takes me back a while ago, embarrassingly enough I was in boy scouts at the time but I had gone to a local shopping to the HMV to find it. I had to ask an older teenager to pick it because the jerk clerk at the store refused to sell it to me but it was ‘the Young and the Hopeless,’ by Good Charlotte. Really, the only thing I was thinking was how I could hide it from my parents. They eventually found it, and I still haven’t gotten it to this day.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
Joe Shambo: Balance, balance and balance. I am currently a University student, own a small junk removal business all while trying to make and promote my music at the same time. Some times it feels like time is stretched way too thin but I just keep reminding myself tht the sacrifices I make now will more than pay off in the future. My drive and dedication to making music is what gives me the ability to work in overdrive, staying on top of all responsibilities I currently face in my life.
KCarter: Good question, the answer is I don’t. I’m only exaggerating, but it’s harder than I had ever expected but staying consistent and being proactive has kept everything tied down. At the moment, Joe and I dedicate a minimum of four hours a day to the 2 Blind Mice project to doing things like posting, networking, and just interacting with friends trying to gain a larger following. Joe has much more developed type-A personality than I do so juggling things such as work, and relationships have rendered me a bit of a hermit. But as they say, all work and no play makes Johnny a dull, dull boy. I’m doing my best to retain my sanity but in the bigger picture it’s all worth it in the end.
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2015?
We have lots coming up for 2015. For the next few months, we’re promoting our mixtape locally and online to establish that base of loyal fans we spoke of earlier. Towards the summer, we will start performing live gigs around the Greater Toronto Area to give everyone something organic, as well as to attract some new fans we couldn’t otherwise reach giving them a chance to see us live. Depending on how things go, we may release our upcoming album which has yet to be titled for Christmas 2015, everyone will be getting some time off to spend at home and hopefully online to check us out. If not, our album will for sure be released in early 2016 to add only another page to our young and hopefully budding, music careers.
