Five Minutes With: Indie Rock Band The Projectors

The Projectors are a five-piece indie/garage rock band based out of Victoria, BC, led by singer/songwriter, Dylan Rysstad (Isotopes Punk Rock Baseball Club, The Jolts, Mandelbaums) on vocals, Robbie Shirriff (Old Towns, Bufflehead) on guitar, Dustin Tiljoe (Surveyors, The Smears) on second guitar, Conor Brandt (Rampant Lion, Good Grief) on bass, and Evan Matthiesen (The This, Fall Fair Car) on drums. 2023 is shaping up to be a busy year for the band with festivals and touring planned, including shows with Daniel Romano’s Outfit and The Dirty Nil. Not unlike Romano’s ability to shift between genres, Dylan has an extensive and varied catalogue ranging from folk/country to hardcore punk. The two worked/recorded together on Rysstad’s fifth solo release, Halfway Houses. The Projectors have established themselves as a buzz-worthy band that has the ability to appeal to both die-hard indie rockers, and the average listener who may not know who Guided by Voices or The Replacements are. With an undeniably strong debut record, an album’s worth of new material ready to record, a growing fanbase and the drive to tour, The Projectors are ready for the spotlight.

The Projectors
Photo by: Lara Zukowsky

Name:

Dylan from The Projectors

Genre:

Indie/garage rock

Founded:

2020

# of Albums:

1

Latest Album:

The Projectors

Latest Single:

“Golden Age”

Latest Video:

Favourite musician/bands growing up:

The Ramones

Favourite musician/bands now:

The Bug Club and their album Green Dream in F# has been on repeat for the past month.

Guilty pleasure song:

“Jiggle Jiggle” by Duke & Jones & Louis Theroux – big Louis Theroux fan.

Live show ritual:

To get nervous, thinking that we didn’t rehearse enough, and then have another drink.

Favourite local musician:

Layten Kramer

EP or LP?

LP

Early bird or night owl?

Night owl, schedule/responsibilities permitting.

Road or studio?

Up until recently, my answer would’ve been the studio, but I’m looking forward to getting off the island and back in the van!

Any shows or albums coming up?

By the time this gets published, we’ll likely have just opened up for The Dirty Nil and Daniel Romano’s Outfit and then we’ve got a short tour out to Alberta and back, playing a few shows with Edmonton’s Real Sickies. We also just finished up a new single, “Waiting For Us”, that we’ll release in the next few weeks and plan to record our follow-up album in the late summer/early fall.

Where can we follow you?

Website | Instagram | Youtube | Spotify

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Rapid Fire Local Questions:

What is your favourite local restaurant?

We’re fairly limited for vegan options here but there’s always Be Love or Nourish for dining in, or Virtuous Pie and Superbaba for takeout.

What is your favourite street in your city and why?

I tend to avoid busy streets and downtown in general, but it’s always nice to walk down Fort St. on a sunny day.

What is your favourite park in your city and why?

Beacon Hill Park – it’s on the ocean and a good reminder that this is a pretty nice place to live.

What is your favourite music venue in your city?

Probably Lucky Bar or Little Fernwood (RIP Logan’s), but it’s nice to play and see shows in bigger rooms like The Capital Ballroom as well.

What is your favourite music store in your city?

Ditch Records for their selection and Vinyl Envy for putting on shows and supporting local bands.

 

 

About Demian Vernieri 592 Articles
Demian is an Argentinian retired musician, avid gamer and editor for the Montréal Guardian, Toronto Guardian, Calgary Guardian and Vancouver Guardian websites.