Do you dream of being on the beach? Fine-tuning that beach bod to show off and wow your suitors? Still deciding on whether or not to use your personal Instagram as a fitness account? Well, if you’re like me, the only beach bod for you is this week’s featured artist, Beach Body.
Hailing from Regina, Saskatchewan and having been formed in 2017, Beach Body is a quintet that brings sea-drenched reverb and landlocked yacht rock to your ears, molding the classic indie take on sounds similar to Mac DeMarco along with Bane’s World and fusing it with a more classic sound we would see from The Velvet Underground. I sat down for a phone call with the band’s main songwriter, Rory Copithorn, to question him on how the band came to be, industry showcases, and more.
Having had rather simple routes, Copithorn and bassist Ian Patterson started the band by just sitting down and working on stuff together. It wasn’t long after that Patterson ran into drummer Gaelan Malloy at the gym and asked him to join. ‘I had played on a sports team or two with Gaelan previously, so we all kind of knew each other when we reached out to him about joining‘, said Copithorn. Originally named The Southside Coyote Boys for having been formed in the south side of the city, they decided that was ‘a stupid name for a band‘, eventually making the switch to Beach Body. The other two members did not join the line-up until after they had already released their debut EP titled Plain Life: ‘Jon Neher, who is the keyboardist, is a very well-known musician around the city. Jesse Bryksa, our lead guitarist, I believe we met at a bachelor party for a mutual friend – found out he played guitar and asked him to join.’
The band later released their sophomore EP titled Curb Ciggiez in 2018; says Copithorn about its peculiar title: ‘I think [it] came to me after a night out and just seeing someone sitting on the curbside looking tired and smoking a cigarette‘. Having taken some prominent similarities from their debut EP, Curb Ciggiez comes across more polished and clean-sounding, which varied from their original tape recording sound as the band worked with Chris Dimas from Grind Central Studios. In a genre that pushes fairy tale-like nostalgia, Beach Body do a spectacular job at questioning said nostalgia and its ever-growing sensation. When asked about his writing style, Copitorn had this to say:
‘I start with the music first and once I got that, the lyrics slowly come. I often carry a book around and pen random thoughts when they come to me then expand those thoughts over time. That’s how I usually go about it.‘
Although Copithorn is not a gear head, he did let on that he is currently using an old Sears amp that his father owned: ‘I remember him trying to give the amp to me when I was first starting out and refusing it because I did not want to be caught playing a Sears amp.’
Beach Body made a big appearance at the BreakOut West 2019 music conference. For some of you that do not know what the fuck I am talking about, it is an annual four-day conference, three-night music festival hosted by the Western Canadian Music Alliance that also presents industry awards. ‘It’s weird because the trip to Whitehorse was amazing, but being someone who does not really enjoy playing live, it was a little disheartening to play and see a ton of people looking down at their phones because they are here for the conference aspect of it‘, said Copithorn about the experience.
Now, due to this whole pandemic thing, everything is on pause. However, Beach Body will be working on a new record once fate allows that to happen. The band will be working with Orion Paradis from Soulsound Studios, who recorded the first EP. Copithorn explained this move to me, saying that ‘trying to get back to that intentional/non-intentional lo-fi tape sound is where we are heading‘.
A huge thank you to Rory Copithorn for taking the time and answering all of my questions, and an even bigger thanks to Beach Body for making music that hits me and many others in a way that reminds us why we love music and why it is so important to the human soul. I can not wait for the new record, everybody – stay tuned!
Beach Body is…
Rory Copithorn – guitar, vocals
Ian Patterson – bass
Gaelan Malloy – drums
Jon Neher – keyboard
Jesse Bryksa – guitar
Follow Beach Body on Facebook and Instagram. Be sure to listen to Plain Life and Curb Ciggiez on Bandcamp or their own website.
