The East Pointers: Performing at Queenscliff Music Festival
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The East Pointers: Performing at Queenscliff Music Festival

Three talented guys from Prince Edward Island off the east coast of Canada, The East Pointers are led by fiddle player Tim Chaisson, with his banjo-playing cousin Koady Chaisson and guitarist Jake Charron. We chat to Timothy ahead of their Aussie tour.

Hi there! Thanks so much for chatting to Forte, how are you?

I’m doing great! There’s a lot on the go these days – just finished our UK tour last night! A hot, sweaty night in London (good warm-up for a hot, sweaty Australian tour) – the first leg of our ‘What We Leave Behind’ tour complete.

You’ll be heading to Australia soon where you’ve spent some time here before, is there something in particular that keeps bringing The East Pointers back to our shores?

The people! In particular, the folks who love to listen to music, have a good time and like a good dance party. Also, the weather in Australia is just a little better than what’s going on in Canada from mid-November to the end of January.

What We Leave Behind seems to have a mix of traditional and contemporary sounds. How did this one come together?

We’ve written the tunes and songs over the last two years, which were spent almost entirely on the road, so a lot of the tunes and songs were inspired by where we’ve been and what was going on during that time. Our goal was to write songs that meant a lot to us personally and tunes that captured where we’ve come from and also where we’re going.

Was this process easier than the first album, or did you encounter similar or new challenges?

I wouldn’t say easier but we spent more time on this record. Our first album was recorded pretty quickly, not necessarily knowing what was going to happen. We just wanted to play music together! Since we secured that aspect, we wanted to explore the songwriting and production a bit more this time around. We’re really happy with the tunes we wrote and how each song means so much. There’s still the usual studio challenges that every musician encounters… Thinking you’re not playing good enough or you not catching the right vibe. Our producer was a pro and confidence builder!

And the incorporation of lyrics – is that something you will be toying with more in the future?

For sure! We’re all songwriters but didn’t do much of it in this band at the beginning. We were more focussed on tune writing and playing instrumentals. We love a great song and the stories behind them so we tried our best at capturing that on this record.

As a trio of lads, what’s the dynamic like when touring?

It’s been great! I think because we initially started the band as a fun side project with no pressure, it’s easy to treat everything a bit more laid back. We’re yet to have a serious argument, who knows, maybe it’s coming! I have my doubts though.

Thanks so much for chatting, what’s the best and most underrated thing about Celtic music?

Dancing to it! Put on a drivin’ set of jigs and reels and have a dance around. It just feels so good!

When & Where: 24-26 Nov – Queenscliff Music Festival, Queenscliff – November 24 – 26, Toff in Town, Melbourne – December 3 & Theatre Royal, Castlemaine – December 8