On Thursday, Sept. 14, Kitchener band Courage My Love opened for Simple Plan at the Guelph Concert Theatre. Lead singer and guitarist Mercedes Arn-Horn sat down to discuss the band’s latest album, Synesthesia, and what it’s like to open for pop-punk icons.
Fiona Cashell: So according to your Wikipedia page, you were discovered at a battle of the bands in Stratford and signed to Warner Music. How did that change the band?
Mercedes Arn-Horn: Obviously, it was crazy. We were pretty much expecting it to be for fun, to play some shows on the weekend with our friends. We never really considered that it was going to be a career path. But once we actually had those opportunities in front of us, we didn’t want to waste it. It basically changed our whole mentality when we realized that we might have a shot at getting signed and touring.FC: And you got a Juno nomination as well, right?
MAH: Yeah, we did, a couple of years ago. For us, that was a huge deal because we got to go to the awards show.
FC: You said you didn’t expect this to be a career path. What does your work day look like now?
MAH: If you want to call it work — it’s pretty sweet. Our only real obligations would be anything creative: writing songs, designing album art, or performing onstage. On a tour like this, we get up, drive to the venue, load in, do our sound check, and then get food before the show. If there’s down time before we play, that’s when we usually bust out the laptops and try to write some songs. Then go on stage, try to have a good show, hang out at the merch table — and then our night is done and we get to go to sleep.
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FC: So far, what has been the highlight of your career?
MAH: Warped Tour is one that sticks out for me right now, just because it was a really great tour. It’s the kind of tour that makes or breaks a band, you know? You survive it, you learn about yourself, you learn about what a tour like that is really like — or you crumble under it. Getting nominated for a Juno was amazing, going to Japan was amazing. It’s hard to pick one. FC: How has your relationship as a band changed over the years?
MAH: When we first started, we were really young and super wide-eyed and innocent. We were so excitable about everything. Now we don’t really get nervous on stage, and if we do we know how to channel that nervous energy to make the show better. The three of us have gotten a lot closer because we’ve been through a lot together.
FC: What role did your new album play in your evolution as a band?
MAH: We were at the point where we could just keep doing what we were doing or we could totally shake things up and see what happens. We decided to do that, and it’s been really good for us because we’ve never had a song on the radio before — we’ve never done arena tours ’til this record came out. It opened a lot of doors for us, and I think as songwriters it helped us evolve our style a little bit and not be afraid to push outside the box.
FC: Do you have a favourite song from this album?
MAH: I think it changes all the time — we play a lot of it on this tour. At the moment, my favourite to do live is a song called “Two Headed Monster,” but it’s like trying to choose your favourite child.
FC: What makes a great song?
MAH: I ask myself that all the time. For me, if it’s relatable, if you could play it to someone who is 16 years old and someone who is 60 years old and they can understand it. The lyrics should be personal, but also relatable, and it should be real. If you write it from the heart and if you show your vulnerability. All my favourite songs are where the artist shows their vulnerable side. FC: In reference to this tour specifically, it’s an anniversary tour for Simple Plan. There are a lot of people in the audience who grew up with Simple Plan, but may be hearing you for the first time. Does that put on a little pressure?
MAH: Yeah, we’re really happy to be direct support for Simple Plan. When I got the call that we were confirmed for the tour, I assumed we were the opening band. We would take any position, honestly. But It’s great to be the ones right before Simple Plan because you can feel the energy of the crowd starting to get really excited. It puts a little bit of pressure on us, but at the same time, all we can really do is go out there and do our thing and hope that people like that at the end of the day. And the Simple Plan fans are really great and open-minded too.
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FC: What does the album No Pads, No Helmets… Just Balls mean to you?
MAH: Like everyone here, I grew up with those songs. They remind me so much of my cousin and Phoenix [Arn-Horn, Mercedes’ twin and Courage My Love drummer] just jumping around to “I’m Just A Kid.” Songs like that are the soundtrack of your youth, and it’s so cool to hear them every night.
FC: Guelph is a university town. If you were to go back to school now, what would you major in?
MAH: Well, you’d think the obvious thing would be music, but if I went to university now I would probably want to do something different. I would probably want to major in human resources or something like that. Maybe art, or something that I don’t know a ton about. It’d definitely be something either involving people or involving art in some way.
Synesthesia is out now via Warner Music Canada.
Photos by Karen K. Tran