Darrian Gerard is a Vancouver Island-based pop-rocker who has been creating music in her home studio, with a string of successful singles on the UK Alternative charts and critical praise for her anthemic pop-rock sound.
June 2024’s Zone @ 91-3 Band of The Month, Darrian Gerard is fresh off the release of her EP, Basement Stadium, and gearing up for a big summer of live performances.
After climbing electrical towers and avoiding allergy attacks with Rocktographers, Tyson Elder and Darrian gushed over Avril Lavigne, songwriting, and playing Laketown Shakedown.
Tyson Elder: Let me be the first to say welcome to The Zone’s Band of the Month. Congratulations!
Darrian Gerard: Thank you so much!! I’m so honoured to be a part of it. I’ve been listening to the Zone since I was little! It’s a wild feeling getting to say out loud I’m The Zone’s Band Of The Month for June 2024!
TE: You’ve been grinding away in the music scene for the last few years but it was when you won last year’s contest to play the Laketown Shakedown mainstage that you popped up on our radar. That must have been quite the experience. Every photo and video I saw from your set looked epic.
Darrian: It was absolutely wild. I’ve always wanted to be on stage and make music for real. I started really taking it seriously in 2020 during the pandemic and haven’t stopped grinding since! Winning the contest to play the mainstage at Laketown Shakedown last year literally changed my life. So many doors and opportunities were opened, it was a dream come true!
TE: During our photo shoot you mentioned that you started playing music at quite an early age. What’s kept you pushing forward as a musician and what inspires you?
Darrian: Yes! I started playing guitar at 7 years old then just learned instruments like piano, bass, and drums through practice and watching other people play online. Ever since I can remember I’ve wanted to be an artist, it’s always been a goal in the back of my mind all these years, finally I made the scary leap to try and make it a reality! I love the feeling of writing a good song and putting a great soundtrack to it, as I produce it all myself. It’s super rewarding even just getting to record a song and hear it come together. It’s a whole other world getting to perform those songs and see them be received so well online. I have an endless list of goals that I want to achieve and I’m not stopping until they’re all checked off! And then I’ll add some more.
TE: You’re Band of the Month single, Explosion, is just that: an anthemic explosion of pop rock. It’s the type of song that I picture people scream-singing along to while driving down the highway on warm summer day. How did the Explosion come about?
Darrian: Explosion! That song came about in my childhood bedroom when I was playing around with my guitar and amp and found a cool tremolo sound. I knew I wanted to write a faster pace song, and had a few ideas in mind for a theme but I just wrote the first verse then left it for a few months. One day the word “explosion” popped into my head and I knew I had to use it. The song is about finally breaking out of the normalcy of everyday life and realizing you have to be a bit selfish and cold-hearted if you want to achieve your dreams. And if people get in your way and try to distract you, you might just “start an explosion” [laughs]. I finally finished writing the song and then produced the entire thing in my basement. Malcom Owen-Flood worked his magic and was able to mix and master the song into something incredible!
TE: Explosion is the first track off your debut EP, Basement Stadium. The EP itself feels larger that life and it’s almost hard to believe it isn’t a big budget record. One of the tracks I found myself circling back to over and over was Powerless. It’s just one of those songs that catches you from the moment you hear that first note. What was the process of creating this record like?
Darrian: Wow, that is a huge compliment, thank you for saying that! I’m also so happy you like Powerless! That was also a song I just had a word in my head and had to write about it. When I was writing Basement Stadium, I did every song individually and actually didn’t even plan to have them all be released together as an EP, but I ended up really liking how every song I created was able to fit in. The process looked a lot like writing the song, very stripped down, just me and my acoustic guitar. I’d then produce each of them individually and try to use every tool I had to make it super interesting but true to the meaning of each song. I wrote, recorded, and produced each song in my basement of all places [laugh] hence the name, Basement Stadium.
TE: There’s a rumour that you are a huge Avril Lavigne fan… She’s played a huge role in so many young musicians’ lives in this country. How has her music impacted your life?
Darrian: Avril is literally the reason I make music! When I was super young my aunt sang Sk8er Boi to me while we were playing on the beach in Lake Cowichan and I’ve been obsessed ever since [laughs]. She has such a cool demeanour about her, and an attitude that makes you want to just go for whatever you want. I started writing and playing guitar because of her!
TE: Okay, confession time. I had the biggest crush on Avril Lavigne when I was in high school and I finally got to see her live a few years back at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. What a spectacle of a show!
Darrian: She is spectacular live! Her vocals are amazing. I recently just saw her again in Vancouver – I think for the 7th time? She just keeps getting better.
TE: Amazing! Do you come out of a show from one of your favourite artists inspired? Is there something you’d take from her live performances and implement into your shows?
Darrian: Always. I’m always inspired after going to a concert. I saw Blink-182 before Laketown last year and it set another spark in me to just give my all on stage. I also love seeing all the opening acts, it’s super inspiring to know they were all once just like me and now they’re opening for household names like Halsey, Avril, and blink. That’s the dream!
TE: I have to ask because I love unhinged conspiracy theories. What are your thoughts on the conspiracy theory that Avril Lavigne was replaced by a doppelgänger after her first record?
Darrian: [Laughs] Definitely NOT true. She’s still Avril [laughs]. I think she looks and sounds the exact same!
TE: I think it would be too easy for us to talk about Avril Lavigne all day – Let’s talk about some of the musicians you surround yourself with. Your backing band is made up with some local heavy-hitters. Breanna Montague from Carmine and Shale on bass and the recent addition of Nate Prevedoros from Sleepshake on guitar. How did you connect with them?
Darrian: Oof, they are amazing musicians. I kind of went backwards in my music career and built an international following before the local one. When I started performing live last year I really got to connect with all the local bands and musicians and was able to even steal a few for live shows!
I was introduced to Breanna Montague when her band performed at the same fundraiser as mine. She has such a cool vibe and is an amazing musician. Rowan Hensley, who also plays with Breanna, is a menace on the keyboard and I’m so honoured to have him at Laketown this year. Nate Prevedoros is my guitarist for Laketown this year and he is wildly amazing at his craft, I was also introduced to him by Breanna and Malcom! Luke Cuthbert has been the drummer for me from the start. I also met him through Malcom – he is a wicked drummer and an even better human being!
I still get a smile on my face every time I think how people are willing to learn my songs and play them with me live, it’s crazy to me.
TE: Let’s circle back to Laketown Shakedown. You’ll be rocking opening night later this month with our friends Trophy Dad, The Bankes Brothers, and Jesse Roper. What can we expect from your live set?
Darrian: It’s going to be so much fun! I can’t wait to get up on stage again this year alongside so many of those amazing bands and performers. This year is going to be full of energy and jumping around! You can expect a lot of running around, high energy, and some good, loud tunes. I have a feeling this is going to be my most exciting performance yet, we have some great vibes going so far and I’m so excited to perform, I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it!
TE: Darrian, it’s been an absolute pleasure getting to chat with you and I’m really looking forward to hearing your song, Explosion, on The Zone @ 91-3 this month.
Darrian: Thank you so much Tyson, you’re the best!
June 2024’s Band of the Month, Darrian Gerard, will be blowing up The Zone @ 91-3 with her single, Explosion, all month long. The song is available for download, along two other songs, and different photos from this session, on her Band of the Month microsite.
Rocktographers is a proud supporting sponsor of The Zone’s Band of the Month program.