Nice To Meet You, Dogwood and Dahlia

It seems as though fate really wanted Sydney Thorne and Neil Smith to start a band.

Having known each other through previous, non-music related arrangements, the gravitation of creative destiny managed to pull the two together in several settings. Eventually, the pair found themselves at a songwriting workshop at the Cultch, embracing instruction from Said The Whale‘s Tyler Bancroft. Together, armed with a stern folk methodology and florescent pop sensibilities,

Thorne and Neil formed Dogwood and Dahlia in the Spring of 2011. Since their initial conception, it has been a relentless journey through the Vancouver music scene for the pair.

With the release of their two-track EP, Nice To Meet You, the band started to make headway in the Vancouver folk-pop scene. Upon solidifying a spot in the Vancouver Folk Fest, the group gained the opportunity to meet their musical inspiration, Josh Ritter, who had also played the festival. For Neil and Sydney, it was a surreal experience be included in such high company. “We had backstage passes because we were one of the bands,” Neil explains,” and I look over and there’s Joel Plaskett chilling out, drinking a coffee”. On top of the honour of playing at Folk Fest, the band has been busy this summer playing shows frequently, including opening up for other Y57 Alumni, Wintercoast, for their EP release party last month.

While Dogwood and Dahlia aim to maintain their rigorous show schedule, they have started pre production on their debut EP. While most of Septemeber will be spent writing and recording the EP, Syd and Neil have been quite adamant that it wont affect their performances. In fact, Dogwood and Dahlia will be performing at the Media Club on September 21st with Anthropolgy of Love, Rayneman, and Katelyn Molgard.

Make sure to check them out on Facebook and on their website for more information regarding upcoming shows and any more information regarding the process of their upcoming EP, or you can check back here at www.y57.ca.

Currently Listening To: Boys and Girls in America – The Hold Steady

Photo courtesy of Gillian Ree

About the Author: Jamie Cessford

His musical taste ranges from obscure art-pop that you probably don’t like, to the most mainstream hip-hop that you could pop yo colla at. Aside from being a musical elitist/snob and writing witty (and frighteningly accurate) auto-biographies in under 5 sentences, Jamie spends the remaining 2% of his life either saving lives and breaking hearts at his local swimming pool as a lifeguard, or expanding his intelligence as an English Major at SFU. Contrary to what this degree may imply, he has no immediate aspirations to become a teacher. Instead, Jamie looks forward to eventually following his dream of touring Canada as a struggling musician in a unsuccessful indie rock band.

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