Moose Jaw indie rock duo PandaCorn are excited about returning to Lethbridge— this time with a brand new drummer.
They play two gigs this week, Thursday May 2 with Jesse and the Dandelions and Peer Support and again at the Owl Acoustic Lounge, May 4 with Jesse Northey playing a solo set and Jay Bowcott .
Keyboardist Megan Nash and guitarist Brodie Mohninger have welcomed drummer Ryan Schnell to the fold.
“ It’s been a lot of fun. Nick (Davies who was on drums with them at their last Lethbridge gig on Jan. 17) was great, unfortunately he’s in Alberta. He has a 13.3lot of energy and is a solid guy,” Mohninger said.
Schnell was in Moose Jaw punk band Short Stop and was looking for a band that toured more frequently.
“He’s a good friend and knows my sister. We were talking at a gig and he said he was looking for a band that toured more like Pandacorn,” he said.
“ Then we reconnected at Long and McQuade and I gave him some of our songs.”
He’s been with them for the past three months and has since played about 10 gigs with them.
PandaCorn formed about a year ago when Mohninger, who was in Brain Sauce, an experimental, jazz/ progressive rock band and Nash, a successful indie-rock/ folk singer decided to write together.
The have been playing regularly for about six months and named themselves after a misdated Halloween gig for which they sported panda and unicorn costumes. The costumes have become the most eye-catching part of their show though the ear are caught by catchy, synth powered indie rock hooks.
“The unicorn and the panda represent the idea of collaboration that we have. We started about a year ago when Megan and I decided to start writing together. But we’ve only been playing gigs for five or six months,” he said.
They have two gigs in Lethbridge this week.
“We were doing a gig exchange with Jesse (Northey and the Dandelions). So Megan booked a couple gigs for him and he booked the Lethbridge ones for us,” he said.
“It will be pretty much the same show, so it works for people’s schedules. So if you miss one, you can catch the other. Or both. And Megan has a second keyboard now,” he said adding they have spent a lot of time, money and energy procuring the proper equipment for their music.
They have a day off in between gigs so they will get to hang out with their Lethbridge friends for a while.
“I grew up with Tyler Stewart, Jesse and the Dandelions ’ drummer. He’s also from Moose Jaw. So we have that Saskatchewan connection,” he said.
In the meantime, they are busy recording.
“When we have five or six songs, we’ll record them onto an album, which will probably be out in late Fall, and then do a big tour.”
It will be a combination of songs they have been playing live as well as some new songs.
They will be playing a combination of both those things in their Lethbridge shows as well.
