Nov. 16, 2005 - Issue #526: Sex, Lust & Love

Rise of the Machines

Victoria's Immaculate Machine is on the up and up, thanks to a little help from a long-lost uncle

“Is it snowing there yet?” asks Immaculate Machine’s Kathryn Calder with a hint of trepidation. She’s worried about the band’s tour van, a 25 year-old Ford Econoline that’s current condition could be described as anything but, well, immaculate. Apparently it’s been acting up lately and, at the moment, Calder is in London, Ontario, crossing her fingers and hoping that her beloved van will be able to transport the band safely back home to Victoria.

“I mean, I love our van, and I’m not going to say anything negative about it, because it’s absolutely amazing,” she says. “We’ve put 47,000 kilometres on it these past two years, and for a van that’s older than I am, that’s pretty good. If it hasn’t snowed yet, that’s great, because as much as I believe in our van, I don’t think it would be so much fun if we were stranded on the side of a road somewhere ankle-deep in snow.”

Calder, along with high-school pals Luke Kozlowski and Brooke Gallupe, are making their way back to B.C. after a two-month stint supporting the New Pornographers on their tour across Canada and the U.S. Calder also recently became a member of the west coast supergroup—the newest pornographer, if you will—and although her inclusion into the band might reek of nepotism (founder/frontman AC Newman is her long-lost uncle, seriously) she earned her spot in the lineup solely because of her musical prowess.

“My mom was adopted and about eight years ago she found her birth family and [AC] is a member of her birth family; he’s her brother from this other family,” explains Calder. “But I’ve been in bands since I was in high school, so basically I had my own little music thing going on, and I guess he did too, apparently. But anyhow, somehow he heard about Immaculate Machine and that I could actually sing, and AC asked me to be sing and play on Twin Cinema (the latest New Pornographer’s album); it was really fun.”

So far, Calder hasn’t encountered any downside to her two-timing ways. Even though she’s had to work twice as hard during every show on this past tour, both as part of the opening act and the headliner, she says simultaneously juggling two bands isn’t as difficult as it seems.

“There was no conflict when were on tour together, and it was so much fun,” she says. “It was like this big party that went from town to town. When you get that many people together it’s extremely incestuous—umm, I mean, in terms of musicians, nothing else.”

Immaculate Machine has undoubtedly benefited from Calder’s association with the New Pornographers, but even without the additional exposure, they’ve still managed to carve out quite a reputation for themselves since the band’s inception three years ago. On their own, they have released two independent albums which both hit number one on college radio across the country, and they recently signed their first record deal with Vancouver-based Mint Records, who put their latest effort, Ones and Zeros, on store shelves earlier this fall. Needless to say, the three self-described band geeks have come a long way since high school.

“Brooke, Luke and I started out together in our school’s rhythm and blues band—but it really wasn’t authentic rhythm and blues, more like these white kids trying to impersonate Aretha Franklin or Otis Redding,” she says. “But from the minute we met, we all just got along. When it came time for us to form Immaculate Machine, it just made perfect sense. We’d played together before, and all of the elements just fell into place really quickly. All three of us have always been on the same page, and honestly, as simple as it sounds, I don’t think we would have gotten this far if we didn’t like each other.” V

Immaculate Machine
With Bella and DJ Nik7 • Sidetrack Cafe • Fri, Nov 18 (8 pm)

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