The band Brother Octopus doesn鈥檛 talk about how they got together. Despite the fact that the band is made up of three humans, lead singer Nathaniel Sutton, AKA 鈥淏rother Octopus,鈥� (he asked that he and his band members be referred to by their aliases), maintains that he emerged from the sea to create the band.
鈥淚鈥檓 Brother Octopus, and I鈥檓 from the ocean,鈥� he explained. 鈥淚 arose from the Pacific Ocean and originally started the band with Lady Friend, who used to be in the band 鈥� She had to go back to jail because she stole a candy bar. Long story short, we regrouped with new members. We have Little Guppy (Carmen Steele) 鈥� she controls tambourine and vocals 鈥� and she鈥檚 a friend of mine back in the Pacific Ocean, who came back and now she鈥檚 part of the band. We have another member who goes by the name of Golden Boy (Jordan Smith), 鈥� so he joined our band. We鈥檙e a trio right now.鈥�
Needless to say, they鈥檙e a unique band and they鈥檒l be playing two shows in Humboldt at the end of May, one rock and one acoustic. That鈥檚 only one stop on a Saskatchewan tour that they鈥檙e embarking on with another band, Wheels of Industry.
鈥淓verybody that we鈥檝e booked with seems really excited to have us, and that just goes to show me the potential of everybody else enjoying the music as well,鈥� Octopus said. 鈥淚t seems encouraging.鈥�
Other than a mini-tour within Alberta, this tour is a first for the band, who鈥檚 looking forward to it. Other than a visit when he was really little, it will be Octopus鈥� first time in Saskatchewan as an adult.
The ocean backstory isn鈥檛 just a one-off gimmick: the band commits to the story, with octopus tentacles and a plushie onstage, as well as Octopus鈥� signature red top hat.
鈥淚 like doing whatever you want to do onstage,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen you have that timeframe on stage, you鈥檙e free to play your original music. We get people to hear our music, but interchange them visually by bringing props and dressing up differently, so that sticks in their imagination and plays in their imagination a little bit more.鈥�
The idea for the gimmick came when the band participated in a battle of bands, and every band was the same; there wasn鈥檛 much variety.
鈥淚 was just kind of like 鈥業 want to do something different; I want to do something unique. I don鈥檛 want to sing about what other people sing about or put on a show that people normally put on.鈥� So that鈥檚 kind of where that idea came from. Brother Octopus has always been about doing unique things like that.鈥�
To this end, their song subjects run the gamut from superheroes to Winnie the Pooh to zombies to (of course) sea creatures.
The band is from Edmonton, which Octopus said is a great environment for nurturing musicians.
鈥淲e鈥檙e kind of like a community of musicians and everybody 鈥� kind of knows each other and are friends. (When you鈥檙e) playing shows out here for so long, you get to know these bands,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e really kindhearted and willing to help each other, so that鈥檚 what I really like about it.鈥�
Every band member has full-time jobs, which can cause complications with regards to balancing commitments; Little Guppy couldn鈥檛 get time off so she won鈥檛 be going on tour.
鈥淚 got my sister from the Pacific Ocean, Sister Octopus (Bailey Sutton), to fill in for her, so she鈥檚 going to be coming with us,鈥� he said.
Other than the octopus, Brother Octopus said his favourite sea creature is a swordfish, so he can fight off sharks. He recommends aspiring musicians just persevere, no matter what roadblocks appear.
鈥淜eep at it,鈥� he said. 鈥淒on鈥檛 stop making music. Even if you play a show and it has one person, play the heck out of it to that one person. Keep going because it鈥檚 worth it in the long run.鈥�
The band will be playing two shows on May 24: the acoustic show at Triskeles Cafe at 2 p.m. and the rock show at the Windsor Hotel at 7 p.m.
