This family plays together
Happenstance — and birth — brought the members of Family of the Year together.
The obvious first link, said keyboardist and vocalist Christina Schroeter, is the fact two of the members — Joe and Sebastian Keefe — are brothers.
James Buckey (guitar and vocals) met the brothers when he moved to their hometown in Massachusetts.
Schroeter encountered the three of them outside a bar in Los Angeles and joined the band.
The name, Schroeter said, comes from a song Joe (vocals and guitar) wrote with a former band member called Family of the Year.
“It’s a totally beautifully creepy song about a really dark family,” she said, “and, I guess we identified with it. So, here we are.”
Family performs its own songs, works that are a collaborative effort.
“Lots of times, Joe will come up with a song idea and sometimes write the whole thing,” Schroeter said.
“Sometimes, he’ll bring it to us and we’ll all come up with some more ideas, lyrics, etc.
“Sometimes, one of us will have lyrics written and then turn it into a song.”
Writing comes easily to them, she said, because they like to do it and they like to work together.
“Most of the time, we record as we write, so we have something solid to listen to at the end and can kinda get a feel for the vibe of a song.”
It’s the first time the band’s been to Kamloops so, for those who haven’t seen Family before, Schroeter said to expect to see a band having a lot of fun.
“It’s the best part of our day. It’s when we can leave everything else behind for a little bit, forget about our ‘troubles’.
“You kind of enter this euphoric state of mind when really nothing else matters when you play. The folks in front might even get to play some percussion along with us.”
The band is opening tonight (Sept. 18) for Hey Ocean at the Blue Grotto.
Tickets for the 19-plus show are $10 and are available at the door.
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