With their new EP, Stay up Late, Winnipeg quartet Kakagi serves moving anecdotal songs that encapsulate both the emotional complexities and simplicities of life in the Great White North.
Bandmates and brothers, Jacob and Max Brodovsky spoke with us about musical influences, the band’s growing bond and their unique brand of folk-rock.
Can you go through how you guys got started in music?
Jacob: I've been playing in bands since I was 11 or 12. I've always played guitar. I wanted to play the drums. My parents wouldn't let me, but they let Max, so Max started playing drums. I moved to Toronto when I was 18. I played in a band in Toronto for a while. When I moved home, Max moved home around the same time, and we figured it was time to get together. It kind of fell into place pretty quickly. My good buddy Jesse [Popeski] plays guitar, [Max's] good buddy Jonathan [Corobow] plays bass.
Were you guys from a musical family?
Jacob: Our parents are hilariously not musical. I always resent people whose parents are musical. I feel like they got an unfair leg up. I wish my parents made me practice more.
But did they at least expose you to the music that would have sparked this?
Jacob: Yeah, our dad's a big music guy. We got introduced to good music early and dissuaded from listening to bad music early.
Can you talk a bit more about those influences?
Max: For me, mainly The Band, Neil Young, stuff from that time.
Jacob: That's all stuff our dad introduced us too – like The Allman Brothers Band and The Band. Lyrically, I listen to a lot of Wilco, The Weakerthans, and The Wooden Sky. Influence-wise we get compared to The Weakerthans, Neil Young. We get compared to Death Cab for Cutie. We like to play Canadiana, CBC-friendly kind of stuff.
Bandmates and brothers, Jacob and Max Brodovsky spoke with us about musical influences, the band’s growing bond and their unique brand of folk-rock.
Can you go through how you guys got started in music?
Jacob: I've been playing in bands since I was 11 or 12. I've always played guitar. I wanted to play the drums. My parents wouldn't let me, but they let Max, so Max started playing drums. I moved to Toronto when I was 18. I played in a band in Toronto for a while. When I moved home, Max moved home around the same time, and we figured it was time to get together. It kind of fell into place pretty quickly. My good buddy Jesse [Popeski] plays guitar, [Max's] good buddy Jonathan [Corobow] plays bass.
Were you guys from a musical family?
Jacob: Our parents are hilariously not musical. I always resent people whose parents are musical. I feel like they got an unfair leg up. I wish my parents made me practice more.
But did they at least expose you to the music that would have sparked this?
Jacob: Yeah, our dad's a big music guy. We got introduced to good music early and dissuaded from listening to bad music early.
Can you talk a bit more about those influences?
Max: For me, mainly The Band, Neil Young, stuff from that time.
Jacob: That's all stuff our dad introduced us too – like The Allman Brothers Band and The Band. Lyrically, I listen to a lot of Wilco, The Weakerthans, and The Wooden Sky. Influence-wise we get compared to The Weakerthans, Neil Young. We get compared to Death Cab for Cutie. We like to play Canadiana, CBC-friendly kind of stuff.
This is your first year playing Harvest Sun, how did you guys get roped into that?
Jacob: I sent out a lot of emails in the fall, but I don't know if I even emailed [Harvest Sun Founder] Nadia. I think she emailed us out of the blue. I was very excited when she did. I had sent out like sixty emails to all these festivals across Canada, and most of them didn't respond. The ones that did were like, 'You guys are a baby band, call us in a few years.' Which is totally legit, because we are. Then I got one positive, and I was like, 'Ahhh!' So it was nice; like 'oh, we're not total failures!'
Have you guys heard anything about the vibe at Harvest Sun?
Jacob: Every musician I've talked to and told them we’re playing Harvest Sun, it's the same reaction – they go "awww! It's so nice there." So yeah, we've heard it's a lovely festival. I'm looking forward to it immensely.
Is the first festival you'll be playing as a band?
Jacob: No, we've played a few, and we're playing a few this summer. This is certainly the biggest one and definitely the one we're the most nervous for.
Max: It's the perfect way to end the summer, after a nice summer full of playing leading up to that festival.
Jacob: Yeah, we're stoked because we're touring in July, and playing a few dates before that, so we'll be really tight, hopefully.
Max: Or we'll hate each other.
Jacob: Yeah, sick of each other and not speaking.
And then break up right on stage.
Max: And there'll be a 45-minute drum solo.
Jacob: Also known as the sound of a band breaking up.
From your first EP to now, in what ways have you grown as a band?
Max: We like to listen to the current EP. I don't like to listen to the old EP. Musicianship-wise we've all gotten a lot better. We've gotten a lot more comfortable playing with each other and knowing our tendencies. We've also gotten a lot better at identifying the kind of songs we like to write and knowing what parts serve the song. I think that, honestly, is probably the biggest difference from last year.
What can people expect when they see you at Harvest Sun?
Jacob: They can expect, hopefully, what they think is good music. They can expect energy. We’re energetic on stage.
Max: And we'll try to make you laugh in between. It may not work, but we'll definitely give it our best shot; but yeah, we're all going to have fun.
Catch Kakagi at The Harvest Sun Music Festival in Kelwood, MB - August 17 - 19th. Early bird tickets are available until August 1st.
Follow Kakagi on Facebook, on Instagram and on their official website.
Be sure to check out @harvestsunmusicfest on Instagram on July 14th, as Kakagi takes over our account for the day!
Interview by Janet Adamana
Janet Adamana is the Founder/Editor-In-Chief of Sound, Phrase & Fury Magazine - a Winnipeg-based digital publication dedicated to promoting independent artists and industry professionals from all over the world. More than just about inciting hype, she interviews/writes to capture an artists’ essence and their greatest passions to ignite meaningful connections between fans and really great bands.
Janet Adamana is the Founder/Editor-In-Chief of Sound, Phrase & Fury Magazine - a Winnipeg-based digital publication dedicated to promoting independent artists and industry professionals from all over the world. More than just about inciting hype, she interviews/writes to capture an artists’ essence and their greatest passions to ignite meaningful connections between fans and really great bands.
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