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you enjoy doing and why is it important to explore the different ends of that balance ? SH : Yeah , I do . That was kind of the blueprint for that record . I love electronic music . You know , there are so many new sounds and new plug-ins and platforms and instruments , it ’ s just so exciting . As a musician , there ’ s almost too much going on . But at the same time , I ’ m a big fan of classic records and classic sounds . It ’ s crazy that , with all of the technology that we have these days , some of the best sounds and gear came from the ‘ 60s and ‘ 70s . It ’ s all the analog gear . For me , sonically , I like the vibes of real bass sometimes and a mixture of real instruments and new inventive sounds that are coming out in electronic music .
CM : When writing , do you ever hit an emotional wall where you feel like there is too much emotion in a song and feel the need to pull back , or do you prefer to just let the emotion take over ? SH : Sometimes . It ’ s interesting ; when I ’ m writing myself , I prefer to go to those emotional places . The challenge is when I ’ m in co-writing situations to get to that emotional place . I don ’ t think I ’ ve ever been in a place where I have to stop because I ’ m hitting a wall . I think my challenges are where I ’ m just overwhelmed with my schedule or with writing every single day . I think it ’ s important to step back and let myself get away from music for a minute , just to recharge , so when I step back in , it just feels natural . I ’ m not talking about long amounts of time ; I ’ m talking about a day or two here and there because that ’ s just as important , maintaining balance .
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PHOTO : GEOFF STAIRS
Karrie Douglas
Highs Karrie Douglas lives through and for music and will show you the way if you want to do the same . She is a musician at heart , in body , and for the soul . She exudes passion and enthusiasm and channels them through whichever microphone , synth , or keyboard – regardless of whether it is weighted or not – she brings to life . The band is riding a high on the success of their latest LP , this year ’ s Dazzle Camouflage .
THE GEAR
• M-Audio Axiom 61 MIDI Controller ( w / homemade casing )
• Apple Logic MainStage 3
• Various Soft Synths
CM : What is the newest piece of gear that you ’ ve added to your live set-up ? KD : To be honest , it ’ s not even anything that makes sound . My bandmates have constructed kind of a casing for my keyboard set-up that has the jacks and everything all wired into it so that my MIDI controller can just sit inside with some Velcro and it makes everything really quick and easy for my live set up . It ’ s still totally in process , but the lid is supposed to just fit right on . There ’ s handles and everything too , so it ’ s one of those things that just increases the reliability and longevity of things .
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CM : What was that first big music moment in your life that set you on your current musical path ? KD : I was studying piano classically for a very long time growing up and I ended up teaching piano . In my home , I was exposed to tons of different music and had a very broad experience because of the nature of my family . My older sister , she ’ s 10 years older than me , so when I was nine , she was at university studying voice and her opera diploma . Watching her and my other siblings work hard gave me a real example of what actual good practicing was and where hard work could get you .
I was also a confident kid but I felt inadequate musically compared to my siblings and was always nervous to sing and play the piano in front of my family . So , one of the big moments for me was one day when my brothers came out of the living room and thought it was my older sister playing even though I was still nowhere near as good as her . Then I was playing many different kinds of music , in jazz combos , things at church , and teaching piano , so I really got to use my music in a lot of contexts . So when I had the skills from my classical studies and could then kind of translate it into all of these
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other areas and make it be a very useful thing in my life and something that I could make more individualized in my interpretations of pieces , that ’ s when my world really exploded .
CM : With a substantial background playing the piano , how did you find the process of learning to play some synths for Highs ? KD : It ’ s totally different . I used to have this thing where I needed a weighted keyboard with weighted keys . I hauled this 46-pound keyboard around because I was very much a believer in the organic quality of keys as an instrument and the possibilities within that . But as I ’ ve been exposed to synthesizers and been experimenting with them , my mentality has completely changed . One of the biggest parts of this whole trajectory is just learning how to play differently . That ’ s probably been the biggest shift in terms of my mentality . Thinking like , “ What does this song need ?” and “ What does this part need ?” But a lot of my growth has happened just by learning how to make a sound using a soft synth and it really expands my whole world , because now I have access to all of these things sonically that I didn ’ t have a clue about . At the same time , it ’ s really cool for me to see people bridging the world of organic and electronic like Spencer Krug or the pianist Vicky Chow . So it ’ s interesting to think about key playing in the context of the band and even just playing the piano differently .
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54 • CANADIAN MUSICIAN |