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Tuned In

On “DisNick Rock”
The unexpected gateway into alternative music

The best pre-show playlist I have ever experienced was at Meet Me @ the Altar’s Past // Present // Future tour in spring 2023. Jonas Brothers, Miranda Cosgrove, Miley Cyrus, Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson. It was early-2000s hit after hit. The audience, packed into Toronto’s Velvet Underground, sang along passionately as crews adjusted equipment and taped setlists to the stage. The playlist certainly reflected MM@TA’s latest album’s sound, which leaned into a poppier and energetic tone, but it also pointed to an observation that I had been sitting on for a few years.

When people ask me how I got into the alternative music scene, I have a few different answers. But when I’m feeling funny, I tell them that it was through “Paralyzed,” by Big Time Rush. The song was first heard on the boyband’s Nickelodeon show, in the episode, “Big Time Rocker.”  In an effort to show that BTR’s music really “rocks,” the boys stop Los Angeles traffic by performing on top of a black and red truck. They sing “Paralyzed,” a song that stands out on the band’s discography with its fast, electric guitar-driven chorus. In real life – not in the show – the song was co-written by Chuck Comeau and Pierre Bouvier of Simple Plan.

While telling people Big Time Rush got me into the scene is a way for me to get a couple of laughs, it isn’t that much of a joke.

“Paralyzed” and the songs off MM@TA’s pre-show playlist fit into a genre that I have coined “DisNick Rock.” Combining the words “Disney” and “Nickelodeon” alongside “rock”, it’s defined as music that sounds like it could be a rock song on a Disney or Nickelodeon TV show or original movie, even if it does not fit the exact criteria of “rock” in the real world. The sound is definitely pop to a rock fan’s ears, but it has much more edge than anything else on these children’s networks. Songs are upbeat and the lyrics are never too harsh, beyond youth heartbreak and not fitting in.

The most obvious candidates for the DisNick Rock genre are songs that come from the networks’ programs and stars. Soundtracks from Disney Channel original movies like Camp Rock and Lemonade Mouth fit the bill, as does solo music like Miranda Cosgrove’s debut album, Sparks Fly.

But the genre goes further. It captures the rock-influenced – yet still friendly for radio – songs from the early-2000s, like Avril Lavigne’s “Sk8er Boi” and Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone.” It includes music from today’s children’s content that once again, attempts to showcase alternative genres in parent-friendly ways, like the song “Now or Never” from Netflix’s Julie and the Phantoms.

DisNick Rock was my way into pop punk and other alternative music because it was a way for my ears to adjust to new sounds. Growing up on pure pop, it was an opportunity to slowly add electric guitars, heavier drums, and different vocal timbres to my music library. I could then build off them as I explored entirely new genres.

The DisNick Rock songs from my elementary and middle school years continue to make rotation on my playlists, not only because of their nostalgia factor, but because they remain at the core of my music taste. And anyways, you can never go wrong with a little bit of Big Time Rush.

Backstage

Calling for community with Calling All Captains
The Alberta-based band on making music locally, being Métis-fronted, and creating safe spaces

Luc Gauthier remembers the first concert he attended at The Starlite Room in Edmonton, Alberta: MGMT in 2013. The music venue, located in the downtown area of the city, is identified by its brick exterior and circular red “The Starlite Room” sign that juts out above the entrance. Inside, a slanted floor leads towards a stage tall enough so that the audience’s eyes are level with the artists’ shoes. It’s a situation perfect for concertgoers who want to crowd surf and stage dive.

Brad Bremner recalls his most memorable show at the “rowdy” and “infamous” Starlite: seeing and meeting New Found Glory, also in 2013. They had been one of Bremner’s favourite bands since he started playing guitar and listening to pop punk music.

Connor Dawkins reflects on his earliest memory at The Starlite: performing on stage with fellow Calling All Captains bandmates when they opened for Ontario rock band, Seaway, in 2018.

With so many memories made at the venue, it was a special feat for the Edmonton and St. Albert, Alberta-based Calling All Captains – comprised of Gauthier, Bremner, Dawkins, and Tim Wilson – to play their first sold-out headline show at The Starlite Room on July 7, 2023.

“I remember pulling up to the venue and there was a lineup,” said Gauthier, lead singer of the band. “We saw some Captains shirts. That was our lineup – we have a fricking lineup for the first time in our own city.”

He said The Starlite was packed “shoulder to shoulder, wall to wall, front to back” with people.

“It made me feel like a superstar,” said Gauthier.

Calling All Captains is a pop punk and post-hardcore band that started in 2014. Following their 2021 debut album, Slowly Getting Better, they recently released two new singles: “Unlike Me” and “GOD MODE” (a collaboration with American band, FELICITY). The former song is accompanied by a music video that was made across Canada. While the video team shot the main storyline and edited the piece in Toronto, the band shot the performance portions of the video at home in Edmonton.  

Alberta remains an important space for Calling All Captains, who have worked on much of their music from the Canadian province. The band says the location impacts the work they create.

“My mood is very dependent on the weather, so when we’re in the middle of winter and it’s minus 40 [degrees Celsius], it definitely affects the way that I write and the way that we do things,” said Dawkins, guitarist and vocalist. “When the sun is shining and it’s warm, I just want to write happy-go-lucky music, which is nice, but when it’s really cold and crappy and there’s a blizzard outside, you just feel really shut in and I think that shows through in the music.”

Dawkins and Gauthier both said that certain songs can only progress in the right weather, which is difficult with Alberta’s fluctuating temperatures.

“Sometimes we’ll have a demo that is really summery and then we’ll put it off. Then, we’ll try to pull it up in December or January and be like, ‘This doesn’t feel right.’ And then we’ll shelve it again, wait until the summer, then it comes back out,” explained Gauthier.

The band has only recorded music away from Edmonton once, when they worked on “Unlike Me” during their two days off from touring in Chicago. The short timeframe and band’s mid-tour exhaustion made the experience challenging, but Dawkins said that Calling All Captains looks forward to a day the band can work on a lengthier project away from home.

“That’s not to bash anything at home,” clarified Dawkins. “We have a really good set up and we’re more than happy to sit here and dig in with [Edmonton producer, Quinn Cyrankiewicz] and get quality product.”

While all four members of Calling All Captains stay connected to their local community in Alberta – whether it’s their music collaborators or crowds – Gauthier is part of another community. He is Métis.

Gauthier grew up actively involved in St. Albert’s Métis culture and community. He has been a Métis jigger for 20 years, continues to work for Métis Child and Family Services, and is filing to run for Citizens’ Representative of St. Albert District in September’s Otipemisiwak Métis Government election.

On Twitter, Calling All Captains describes itself as a “Métis-fronted” band, something Gauthier says is important for him to own as an Indigenous person.

“I’ve dedicated my whole life to music and making art that speaks, not only to me and my soul, but to other people across the country and if they know that music came, in part, from an Indigenous person, […] then it just puts more awareness on the eyes of people,” said Gauthier, who has Cree and French-Scottish-Irish ancestry.

“We have more monthly listeners than Métis people that are registered with the Métis Nation of Alberta,” he said.  

In July 2023, the Métis Nation of Alberta website stated that over 60,000 Métis Albertans are registered as MNA citizens, whereas Calling All Captains boasted over 112,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.

Listeners won’t hear Gauthier sing on-the-nose lyrics about being Indigenous. Rather, he finds that his experiences come through subconsciously, such as when he writes about feeling isolated and alone. It’s an emotion that comes up on tour.

“I’m lucky to have such a vibrant community with the Métis community [at home], but when I’m on the road – no offense to the fellas – I’m with three white guys every single day,” said Gauthier. “It’s been really awesome, as of late, because we’re playing with a more inclusive bunch, but I think just knowing that I’m the only Indigenous person in a room is kind of strange.”

Gauthier said the people around him, from the peers he grew up with to his Calling All Captains bandmates today, have always made him feel confident in being Métis, but sometimes feelings of isolation arise.

“It’s not necessarily like it feels bad just because I know there’s not a lot of us [and] it’s not like pop punk is really pumping on Métis settlements and reserves, so I’m just really thankful when I get to meet another Indigenous person who comes out to the shows,” he continued.

Calling All Captains has also tried to make their shows more inclusive for other groups that fall outside of pop punk’s dominant white, male audience.

On June 24, 2023, the band played Wise Hall in Vancouver. While gearing up to play “Loyalty,” one of their heaviest songs, Gauthier noticed the crowd. There were “big, scary dudes throwing hands” in the mosh pit and there were many women. It dawned on him to try something new: open up a girls-only mosh pit.

Gauthier was inspired by punk band, FIDLAR, when he saw them encourage a girls mosh pit during their set at Shaky Knees Music Festival. Gauthier said it was his girlfriend who first mentioned that Calling All Captains should try it at their own shows.

In a video clip from the Vancouver concert uploaded to the band’s TikTok, the frontman makes an announcement to the crowd: “I know there’s a lot of people mosh pitting right now. For the next song, I want only the girls to mosh pit.”

 “All of you girls who have never mosh pitted before, this is your chance to mosh pit,” said Gauthier, later in the video.

“Obviously, I messed up my words. I said, “mosh pitting,” so you could tell how impulsive and how out of my heart it came,” reflected Gauthier, during our interview.

The video, initially recorded by a fan who gave the band permission to upload it online, gained unexpected traction. It currently has over 700,000 views and over 5000 comments on the band’s TikTok. The video was also shared on Twitter by a now-private account, where it received numerous quote retweets and replies.

“We had no idea that it was going to blow up like this and be so controversial,” said Bremner, guitarist and vocalist. “[Posting] it wasn’t even a conversation in the band. It was like, ‘Hey, we had this cool idea, we tried it, it went really well, everybody enjoyed it, let’s post it.’”

Discourse around the video ensued. One commenter said women should not be part of mosh pits if they “can’t hang,” some argued that girls-only pits infantilize women, and others made personal comments against Gauthier.

“We were talking about pulling [the video] down, but we ultimately decided to keep it up,” said Bremner. “We got 10 times more love than we did hate.”

Various commenters shared their own stories of feeling unsafe as women in pits, white TikTok “stitches” pointed out that girls-only spaces are nothing new – Meet Me @ the Altar, Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes, and bands from the Riot Grrrl movement have all done it. Many also thanked the band for creating a space for women at their shows.

But Calling All Captains doesn’t want the girls-only mosh pit concept and viral video to become their brand.

“I don’t want to be out here making a profit or gaining notoriety off of the backs of having a women mosh pit as an all-male band,” said Gauthier. “That aspect of it didn’t sit right with me, but what didn’t sit right with me more was the amount of hate and people trying to drag me for what was supposed to be a really awesome moment.”

The band says that they will continue to do what feels right “in the moment” at their concerts – sometimes opening up the girls’ mosh pit – and always feeding off the energy of the crowd.

“At all of our shows, we really try to foster a loving and supportive environment,” said Gauthier.

Alt New Monthly

July 2023’s Alt New Monthly features the brand house-dance-pop-rock (?) track from Hot Milk, a recent summertime discovery by Laterdays, and the quintessential Miranda Cosgrove “DisNick Rock” song.

To find songs previously featured in the Alt New Monthly playlist, check out the Alt New Archives on Spotify.

Thank you for reading the fourth edition of Alternative Motive. Be sure to subscribe if you haven’t already and follow Alternative Motive on Instagram and TikTok.

Talk to you next month,
Kendra