Neon Dreams
Halifax indie pop duo Neon Dreams is kicking off the new year with “Turn Back Now”.
Produced by Corey Lerue, the Canadian duo created an uplifting pop record with the help of their friends and collaborators Nathan Ferraro and Famba.
“Last year I witnessed my mother go through chemotherapy and beat cancer. I was amazed at how positive she remained through the entire process. It made me realize the power of positive thinking. I wanted to create a song that would help inspire others facing struggle,” explains Kadillac.
Frank Kadillac and Adrian Morris are currently on tour in Canada and will be touring around the U.S this March.
“Turn Back Now” is now available worldwide.
Artwork: NORE
Introduce yourselves - what's the band's story?
I love origin stories so I’ll tell you ours.
I moved to Nova Scotia when I was 13 didn’t have many friends so my mom’s boyfriend taught me a few chords on guitar. The very next day I made my first guitar out paper just a couple sheets taped together and I drew on the fret board to practice where to put my fingers until I could afford a guitar.
Then in high school I started my first band and lost a bet the same day. We drew straws, smallest straw had to sing. I just wanted to play guitar and keep my head down. Lucky me I got the shortest straw and became the lead vocalist of this band.
Shortly after our drummer at the time couldn’t perform at our first big gig. We searched on YouTube, found Adrian playing a drum cover of Flo rida’s “Low” (Travis Barker remix) asked him to fill in and he learned our songs in one day... Ever since then he’s been apart of my life and has gone through multiple bands / genre changes with me till we merged into Neon Dreams as a duo.
How did your sound and artistry evolve over the years?
At the beginning of 2019 we had a full album and we scrapped it. I didn’t feel we were connecting with our fans the way we should be. I also got rid of my apartment and decided to live like a nomad to to experience life differently. I’ve been to a few different countries like Korea, Germany, Uk and Copenhagen all this year and just observing their cultures has changed my opinion about genre blending, sound design, rhythms and lyrical content.
It’s funny looking back at where we started. We used to be a 4 piece EDM band that would pack a venue and throw rave then we started thinking bigger and wanting to make a song last for more than a year. So we started leaning towards pop music our fans started calling us Alt-Pop as we started to make a peaceful blend of pop, rock, urban and folk styled songs.
Someone said to us recently “old people made genres... I just like music” and I just laughed and realized the world is always changing and there’s always room for weird combinations of music.
How did things change for you since your first release?
Making a song that everyone loved in our hometown is what we’ve always dreamed of. The confidence that came with it helped our driving force but also blinded us a little bit from our craft and the knowledge given to us.
Around 2017 I learned a valuable lesson about music. The people decide if your song is good, not just you. I was delusional from the confidence and thought all my ideas were great and didn’t think about anyone else consuming the music after a long day of work or while they’re just sitting in their room. I had a reality check... a lot of my songs neglected the fans I made from the first single.
Our fans wanted us to inspire them... bring them from a low place to a point of ecstasy... I want that for myself too. So now I think of everyone in this mutual transaction. The best thing about doing something you love is failing at it because it really shows you how much you love what you do and how far you’re willing to go.
How would you define Neon Dreams, the band?
2 piece band that sounds like 6 people playing on stage. We like to take everyone on a journey through our personal stories and play about 5 different instruments... We are working on adding more haha.
"Turn Back Down" is your new single - what's the story behind this song?
My mom’s a recent survivor of cancer. In the process of it all, it really shocked me at how happy she became. I think I cried more for her than she did herself.
I wanted to make a song for anyone in a bad situation to feel ok about it. Some people don’t have anyone saying it’s going to be alright and I want us to be that band that you hear in a grocery store after you had the worst day of your life - for some reason you’re smiling and wondering what is this song and why is it making you feel better.
Who helped you create this particular song?
Our collaborators on this one was with our best friend and old band member Corey Lerue and our good friend Nathan Ferraro, you may know him from a band called Midway State and my old roommate Famba.
What made you want to release this song as the first single of 2020?
Felt with everything going on and all the sad music I was hearing... putting something happy and upbeat out in the world would do some good.
What do you like the most about this song?
On a musical side of things, Nathan Ferraro is whistling the drop and my mind is still blown that he can whistle like that.
What can you tell us about the artwork?
We were working on another music video and found some crazy art design that was lit up by neon lights and made joke about us being Neon Dreams so we took a picture and sent it to our manager... He thought it looked great so we just decided that should be the artwork and sent it off to our friend NORE to turn it something magical. He does most of our artworks so he can just read my mind all the time.
What appeals you the most about creating music?
The fact that the ideas come out of nowhere hit you like a lighting bolt hits a tree with perfect timing and precision. My biggest song I wrote in 30 mins at 3am cause my friend was bored and wanted to go to the studio and we made 20 more songs after it before we really showed anyone haha.
In your opinion, what makes a "good" song?
I’ve heard songs that none of my friends liked blow up and I heard songs that I didn’t like blow up... There’s no formula to a good song, there are just cultures they belong too. But in my completely biased opinion, what makes a good song is the familiarity it has in the melody and production. Then the nostalgic or relatable lyrics.
Photo credit: Troy Veinotte
You've been touring a lot. What advices would you give to anyone who's about to go on tour for the first time?
I usually tell my friends how to pack their bags and what to expect. But everyone figures it out if they do it long enough.
What I wish I heard on my first tour:
Drink less liquor and more water haha
If you’re an opening act, study what the crowd is liking from your set and what is not working then adjust
Be flexible, practice new ways of showcasing yourself with speaking moments and alternate versions of your songs until you find something that suits you
Bridge people from the music to your entire existence and they will be your friend
What do you like the most about being on stage?
In high school I never got invited to parties and if I ended up at one I wasn’t really wanted there.
Being on stage is like me throwing my own house party for only me and my friends. It just makes me feel like I belong somewhere with a group of like minded people that want to experience the same thing together.
How would you describe the music scene in Canada?
Canada has a lot of really talented musicians, producers, writers etc. That spans across a lot of genres. A lot of those artists wear their culture on their sleeves and it’s really interesting to see in a country like Canada where we are really culturally diverse.
It’s been exciting to see how it’s grown over the past few years and how it’s been reaching the rest of the world with streaming.
Toronto is really striving as a music hub right now and I think it’s really starting to be recognized as that internationally.
What do you want to accomplish as human beings?
I think a lot of our goals as human beings in general is to just discover our own happiness and I think what is looked at as happiness is different for everyone. It could be any number of things like making an impact on the world or finding where they fit in, finding love, unlocking greatness within creatively or physically.
We want to help people find that happiness through our music and words.
What lessons did you learn in 2019?
To not be afraid to show who you truly are to the world.
Realizing your only true competition is with yourself to achieve who and where you want to be.
What are your goals for 2020?
To share what we’ve gone through as humans through our music and if even if that relates to just one person and helped them get through what they’re going through, then we’ve done our job right.
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