Once upon a time, over a decade ago, guitarist Neil Bednisand singer Melanie St-Pierre met in their hometown of Sudbury, Ontario. Years went by and they wanted to start a band, so they put out an ad, and formed Casper Skulls in 2015. Melanie explains how they got their name: “The name is a reference from Richard Hell’s book I Dreamed I Was A Very Clean Tramp, in which Tom Verlaine and Richard Hell would sign their poems Caspar Skull.”
After moving to Toronto, they drew inspiration from the city’s diverse musical landscape. “Being around people doing so many different things inevitably influences the music we all make,” Melanie says.
With bassist Fraser McClean and drummer Aurora Bangarth, they all make beautiful alternative music. Their newest album Knows No Kindness is a continuation of their artistic songwriting and exquisite, moody melodies. “We give our sound a lot of room to breathe,” Melanie explains. “It is indie rock, but it has a lot of other influences in there as well. Since we had previously started out as a louder band inspired by bands such as Sonic Youth and Sleater-Kinney, those sounds are still sort of present but it now has more folk elements with an emphasis on storytelling.”
The new album is inspired by a small-town community called Massey, Ontario, where Melanie’s grandmother and grandfather lived. “It’s about growing up there and now following in my grandmother’s footsteps of becoming an artist and musician,” Melanie says. “She moved to Massey after letting go of big city life in Toronto, where I‘m now cutting my teeth.” Melanie credits the entire band for equal input in creating Knows No Kindness.
“The process was very democratic between Aurora, Fraser, Neil and myself. We self-produced the entire album, but worked with some fantastic engineers and people we trusted that understood our sound. Shout out to Leon Taheny, Darren McGill, Aaron Goldstein, Paul Phelan, Alex Bonenfante, and Calvin Hartwick.”
Here’s a day in the life of Casper Skulls.
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Date October 5, 2021
Time I woke up
7:30 a.m., a bit after Neil wakes up. — Melanie
6:40 a.m. — Neil
8:00 a.m. — Fraser
9:30 a.m. Hello delayed phase sleep disorder. — Aurora
Every day starts with
Rolling around in bed. — Melanie
Coffee! — Neil
An impatient husky who wants to go out. — Fraser
Replying to round one of the day’s emails and texts while still in bed. — Aurora
Breakfast consists of
Homemade breakfast sandwich or granola. — Melanie
More coffee! — Neil
A smoothie. — Fraser
Both coffee AND a smoothie. — Aurora
To get going I always
Play my dulcimer or guitar in the basement. — Melanie
Drink coffee. — Neil
Walk the husk. — Fraser
Absorb the impending sense of doom emanating from my to do list. — Aurora
I don’t feel dressed without
A turtleneck or my Reeboks. — Melanie
A fresh pair of socks. — Neil
Either a structured jumpsuit or a black bag dress. — Aurora
Before I start working I must
Put on a record or a playlist I made. — Melanie
Slam at least one coffee. — Neil
Procrastinate as much as possible. — Fraser
Open my eyes and roll over. — Aurora
Currently working on
A commissioned artwork for an episode of Radiolab(my favorite podcast ever). — Melanie
Secret government stuff. — Neil
Fender guitars. — Fraser
Dismantling late-stage capitalism one sound recording grant at a time. — Aurora
But I’d really love to be
Doing this commission haha. — Melanie
Writing and recording music. — Neil
Recording new songs with Casper Skulls. — Fraser
On tour. — Aurora
Book I’m reading
I just received Michelle Zauner’s book Crying in H Martand I’m excited to start it. — Melanie
I haven’t read a book in a while but the last one I did was The Story of Motownby Peter Benjaminson. — Neil
Computer for Dummies. — Fraser
A Composer’s Guide to Game Musicby Winifred Phillips and re-reading Death with Interruptionsby José Saramago. — Aurora
I don’t know how anyone ever
Drinks multiple cups of coffee every day. — Melanie
Operates without three nice cups of coffee. — Neil
Drinks coffee. — Fraser
Does one thing at a time (this is my own personal failing, not theirs). — Aurora
If I had to play one album on repeat, it would be
LOMA’s Don’t Shy Away. — Melanie
Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. — Neil
Spirit of the Beehive’s Pleasure Suck. — Fraser
Kendrick Lamar’s Untitled Unmastered. — Aurora
The perfect midday consists of
A little bit of Stardew Valleybefore work. — Melanie
One more cup of coffee and a nice sandwich. — Neil
A nap. — Aurora
To help get through the day I need
I like to have my made-up tea blend of chickweed, rosemary, decaf green and wild orange white. — Melanie
Coffee. — Neil
A couple good jams, maybe a podcast. — Fraser
A change of scenery. — Aurora
Not a day goes by without speaking to
Neil and probably saying pretty silly stuff on text. — Melanie
Mel and my parents. — Neil
My dog Lulu. — Fraser
My partner and whatever creatures I encounter in the backyard. — Aurora
My daydreams consist of
Playing shows and thinking up cool visual art project ideas. — Melanie
Record buying and writing songs. — Neil
Jamming with friends, playing live shows. — Fraser
Floor plans for the artist retreat in the woods I’ll build one day. — Aurora
In a perfect day, in a perfect world
I’d have an endless amount of time to play music and do art. — Melanie
I’d be able to write and record every day. — Neil
I’d somehow simultaneously be secluded deep in a forest and playing a show (see previous answer). And world peace. — Aurora
I’ll always fight for
The underdog. — Melanie
The underdog as well! — Neil
What’s right as opposed to what’s nice. — Aurora
Currently in love with
Tim Robinson, but always in love with Tim Heidecker. — Melanie
DetroitersTV show. — Neil
The six-month old Rottweiler named Daisy my mom puppy-sits. — Aurora
Hoping to make time to watch
Finally finish Hunter x Hunter. — Melanie
The Many Saints of Newark. — Neil
The Many Saints of Newark. — Fraser
The final season of Veep. — Aurora
By my bedside I always have
My Nintendo Switch with Stardew Valleyat the ready and Micron pens in case I decide to do some illustrations in bed. — Melanie
My water bottle or a Bubly. — Neil
A water bottle, six books I haven’t read yet and earplugs. — Aurora
To help get through the night I
Take CBD. — Melanie
Put on our cozy lights and watch something funny. — Neil
Take advantage of my 12:00 -2:00 witching hour then sleep like the dead. — Aurora
Bed time
10:30 p.m., Neil and I have our lava lamp, galaxy light and diffuser going with a movie. — Melanie
10:30 p.m. — Neil
1:00 a.m. — Fraser
2:30 a.m. — Aurora
When I think about tomorrow, it’s always
Save money for a house. — Melanie
A bit daunting these days. — Neil
Hope everything works out. — Fraser
A day away. — Aurora
