OVC vet student goes from dorm room jams to sold out crowds
It was a Saturday night in downtown Guelph and the most thriving venue of the night was not a dance club or fast food eatery, but instead Van Gogh’s Ear, playing host to a series of bands, headlined by Boyscout with their homegrown Guelph alternative rock. Nathanael Bachynski, the band’s frontman, enchanted the audience with his energetic and charismatic vocals, which blended with soul-reaching instrumentals, including the unique inclusion of a violin.
The band’s roots were established in Bachynski’s first year as an undergrad at the University of Guelph, when he decided to teach himself to play guitar as a hobby. He could never have anticipated where it would take him five years down the road. “I went from playing in my dorm room to this year: we have our first album, we have our first music video, we played a show with Peach Pit, which is my favourite band, we’ve sold out DSTRCT, and we’re headlining shows regularly now!” said Bachynski.
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So how did Bachynski get from strumming his first chords to playing venues across the province?
“It’s about vulnerability — taking those vulnerable moments, putting yourself out there,” said Bachynski, who points to a slow progression from playing with friends, to playing open mics, to opening shows. Although it initially started out as a solo endeavour under the name “The Bachynski Project,” a growing sense of collaboration — as well as fans’ struggles to spell his name — led to a rebranding as Boyscout, with Adam Brown, Shawn Fisher, and Trevor Cooke completing the lineup.
Alongside the rebranding this fall, Boyscout dropped their first album, By Your Side. It was an inevitability, said Bachynski. “We owed it to the people. The people of Guelph created these insane moments and memories, and we had all these songs building up over time and it was a shame not to do something with them.”
This sense of connection with the city is a very strong part of the band’s identity. “It’s more than being in a band and making stuff,” said Bachynski. “I’m only 50 per cent of the music — you, as the listener, are the other 50 per cent. You get to decide if this is good or not.”I asked Bachynski what the most rewarding part of the experience has been.
“When people make their own connections,” said Bachynski. “When someone comes up to me after a show and says ‘this song reminds me of this,’ or ‘I really appreciated that.’ I think that’s beautiful. I think that the intangible, unspeakable part of music is that I can feel sad, and you can feel that same sadness, and we can communicate that through instruments,” he said.
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The band also feels a strong responsibility to give back. In an annual tradition, now named “Music for Change,” Boyscout gets together with several other local bands to host a concert, with all proceeds being donated to various local charities. “I’m sure a lot of students would like to donate a grand to somewhere,” Bachynski explains, “but when you’re in debt, you can’t do that. It’s a moment to say ‘we’re individuals and we’re humans and we’re cool people, and we can do something.’ It’s using our talent to create money to create that movement and make that change.”
The 2018 installment of Music for Change will take place on March 23 at DSTRCT.
Photo by Karen K. Tran/The Ontarion