Bearings Interview

We had the pleasure of being able to speak to Ryan Culligan of Bearings. We found out all about the band, what they do and whats next for the guys. This is what he had to say:

1) What's your name and role in the band? 

My name is Ryan Culligan and I play guitar and do some vocals in the band.

2) What made you want to be in a pop punk band, write pop punk music?

I grew up listening to bands like Blink-182 and Sum 41 and was instantly hooked. I would spend every moment I could jamming those records and it made me fall in love with the genre. I have grown to like many different styles, but pop punk will always be the foundation of my musical taste.

3) Your band is from Ottawa, What is the punk scene like there?

The punk scene here is growing rapidly fast and we are seeing a number of bands break out and blow people away. We attend shows every week and we keep seeing new talent all the time. It really feels like a family here in Ottawa and all the bands support each other. We are happy to call it our home.

4) Why did you guys pick the name Bearings? What does it mean? Do you have your bearings?

Bearings was actually chosen by our original drummer back in the day. He told me the name and I thought it fit us really well. It doesn’t have too much meaning or anything, we just thought it sounded cool and went with it. Still looking for our bearings though.

5) If you were to describe Bearings to someone on the street, what would you tell them?

I would tell them we are a Hard Rock outlet from Alabama, and then probably laugh and say we are a mix of the pop punk and the emotions.

6 a) You recently recorded with Anton Delost, what did he bring to the sound of your new music? Did you get the Seaway treatment?

We have been working with Anton since the beginning and he has really helped us shape our sound. He always brings great ideas to the table and has a strong interest in our direction. I’m not sure if we got the same treatment as Seaway, I think he loves us in a different way. He might put us in the annoying little brother category haha, but we enjoy every second working with him.

6 b) Why did you decide to make such a personal song as "North Hansen" the new single? What do you hope the listener takes away from it?

North Hansen has been getting an incredible response so far and we are truly grateful. The lyrics are very personal to Doug, and it means a lot to all of us. We didn’t plan on writing a song like this, I believe it just came out naturally. I hope other people can relate to the song and know that someone out there has gone through a similar situation to them. It’s an emotional song, and we enjoy playing it every night.

7) You guys just recently announced you are going on tour with Brigades and In Her Own Words, how did that come about?

Unfortunately that tour had to be cancelled because of health reasons within another band. We’re super bummed about it but we are working on getting new dates together immediately.

8)  What was it like to work with Loeden from Rarity on the new music video, then having AP post about it?

Working with Loedon was awesome. He has a great eye for how a music video should be shot and we’re very happy with how it turned out. He was the one that came up with the flower idea and we think it worked really well with the song. Having AP post about the video was really cool, we’ve been following that magazine ever since we were kids so it’s a cool feeling to be featured.

9)  How did it go on your recent East Coast tour? What were the crowds like and their reaction to you?

The east coast tour was a blast! It was a brand new experience for us and we got to see so many cool places. We played to new people every night and made a lot of new friends. We are hoping to get back out there again sometime.

10) What is next for you guys?

We have a ton of tour plans coming up and can’t wait to announce them. We recently got our work visas for the states so we’re very excited to cross the border this year. Along with more new music and plenty of shows, 2017 is shaping up to be a wild ride.

11) Which bands from around the local Ottawa scene would you suggest to someone looking for new music?

Ottawa is honestly packed with great bands and we’re friends with so many. Pine is a really cool emo band and they have big plans up ahead. Another band to check out would be Mayfield. They’re an incredible live band and just dropped some new music. If you ever get the chance to see a house show in Ottawa, don’t miss out.

Published 1/27/2017