Canadian Connections with The Daredevil Christopher Wright

By: Laura Stanley –

A band that’s not afraid to push the boundaries when it comes to their musicial style, brothers Jon and Jason Sunde and Jesse Edgington of Eau Claire, Wisconsin’s The Daredevil Christopher Wright.

Primarily an indie-pop sound fused with a little folk, The Daredevil Christopher Wright doesn’t make your usual sounding record that might fall under the same genre.

In the band’s new album, The Nature of Things, and the debut record released in 2009, In Deference To A Broken Back, the band performs their story-like lyrics with rich harmonies in songs that range from lush hymnals to infectious pop sounds.

“I really love artists who use artistic conventions when it serves the piece they’re doing but they don’t feel bound to them,” says Sunde about where he draws ideas from for the band’s continual changing sound.

“Our pace and aesthetic is not so wide ranging that there’s some choices we won’t make but I love that sense of freedom. It hopefully comes across as more diverse than scattered but that’s one of the challenges.”

In comparison to the band’s previous record, The Nature of Things found the trio sticking to the barebones of the band’s sound itself rather than a more expansive effort.

“I really love artists who use artistic conventions when it serves the piece they’re doing but they don’t feel bound to them.”

“With In Deference, we were really trying to explore every idea we had for those songs,” he says.

“We were around Eau Claire and a vibrant well of musical talent – in terms of all the music students and kids in bands and friends and the scene – so we’re like, ‘Let’s just make it this huge friend thing and try and collaborate a whole bunch.’”

Recorded by Patrick Stolley, the founding engineer for the music website Daytrotter, The Nature of Things reflects a tighter sound from the band.

Sunde explains that the process of the previous record, “Purged us of trying to make this big expansive thing.”

“It’s still not a record that we can go note for note live in terms of our ability to play every piece but I think it does have a more intimate, closer vibe. It was fun to juxtapose that from our last experience.”

Canadians got the chance to hear the trio’s dynamic live show as the band opened for Dan Mangan on his cross-country tour last year. The tour was highlighted, says Sunde, by the band’s Halifax Pop Explosion appearance that earned them a standing ovation from a very receptive crowd.

“It’s still not a record that we can go note for note live in terms of our ability to play every piece.”

“People were amazing,” Sunde explains. “That whole trip we were playing to rooms that were much bigger than we generally do so just getting in front of a lot more people and also in spaces – a lot of the spaces we played were United Churches or theatres – that are geared towards listening.”

After being on the same North By North East bill as Mangan a few years ago, the two bands continued to keep in touch trying to go out on tour together. It wasn’t until Mangan was touring in support of his Oh Fortune record that the two bands came together.

“He was really kind to have us on his tour it was absolutely amazing. We had a really, really great trip,” Sunde remarks.

With the new release comes a new Canadian record label, the Vancouver based independent label, File Under: Music. “With this new record we were hoping to shop around and explore different label options,” explains Sunde.

“One of the last shows of the tour with Dan was in Vancouver, obviously because he’s from out there, and that’s where we met the File Under: Music ladies, Karen and Lisa. They are really super passionate about the music and hardworking so it’s been a really cool partnership so far.”

All of these Canadian connections the band has made, and with the new album entitled The Nature of Things, which is also the name of CBC’s nature show with David Suzuki, I had to ask Sunde how would he feel if the band was called an honourable Canadian band and he was thrilled.

“We would be honoured to be honorary Canadians! I have a bunch of family in Canada and my Mom spent most of her growing up years in Toronto so I have a lot of affection for Canada.”

The Daredevil Christopher Wright have several Canadian tour dates scheduled this summer including a show in Toronto on August seventh at The Horseshoe Tavern.