INTERVIEW: Boys Night Out's Connor Lovat-Fraser
Scene Daddy had the honor of sharing some questions with legendary Boys Night Out frontman Connor Lovat-Fraser about his excellent myriad of projects and what he's been up to! Join us as we pick at the mind of an artist.
Scene Daddy: Musical influences growing up?
Connor: There are a lot of ways to answer this. These are the bands I was really into when I started playing music: 7 Seconds, Nirvana, Grade, Smiths, Trunk, NOFX, Beastie Boys
SD: First shows you can remember going to?
C: I was going to local shows around Burlington and Hamilton (Ontario) before I ever went to a full blown “concert.” In my first couple years of going to local shows, I was able to see Trunk, Treble Charger, Gleet, Col. Chunk, Hayden, Goo Hammer, and one of my favorites was seeing Grade & Believe in my high school gym.
SD: What are your aspirations as a musician?
C: They change over the years. When I started playing in front of people, I just wanted to see one person singing along or putting my band’s patch on their backpack. Later, when I started touring, it would blow my mind if kids from other cities (or countries!) would sing along or buy our merch. I just wanted to be able to quit my job to tour and write music full time…BNO allowed me to do that. I was broke, but it didn’t matter. My ultimate musical aspiration now would be to make enough money to get by writing and playing music and hanging with my daughter, Marlowe.
SD: Most rewarding aspect you've found as a musician?
C: I’m blown away that there are still people who know who BNO was, have BNO tattoos, buy/collect/frame BNO merch and cover BNO songs. I could never have imagined that would be a possibility.
SD: Greatest piece of advice you could give to a fellow musician?
C: Play and write the music that you would want to listen to, and have the ability to laugh at yourself.
SD: What gives you the intense love for music?
C: It all stems from taking road trips with my family as a kid. There was always a tape or an 8 Track playing. Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Peter Paul & Mary, Peter Gabriel. Those songs were my world. I started memorizing every word, then changing the words to make myself laugh, then writing my own silly songs and melodies to make my family laugh. Music has this intense power.
SD: Favorite record you've had the pleasure of working on?
C: Easily Trainwreck. I’ve always enjoyed writing music…but Trainwreck was different. Once it was decided that we were going to attempt a cohesive narrative, it became this wonderful process of deciding how the pieces would fit together. Having the privilege of working with Machine as the producer only made everything better. He understood what we wanted to do immediately. He could see and hear what we could see and hear. The making of that record was one of the most enjoyable experiences I have ever been a part of.
SD: Being from Canada can you give us insight on the difference between touring in your home country and the States?
C: There isn’t much difference between the actual performance experience, but the driving distances between cities can be hilariously long when touring in Canada.
SD: Looking back on Boys Night Out, how do you feel in hindsight with everything you guys have accomplished?
C: Surprised, to be honest. We certainly weren’t the most popular band, but we were so fortunate to have this intense support from the people who did like our music. There was a stage performance created (Shoutout to Rosie, Billy and the whole Niagara Patchwork crew!) which was based on Trainwreck! There are still people getting fresh BNO tattoos. If you are a musician (or any artist, really) and the act of someone having a piece of your creation permanently carved into their flesh doesn’t blow your mind, I can’t relate to you. I was afforded the ability to temporarily make music my career. I met amazing people and toured the world with some incredible bands. I wish we had kept it going for longer.
SD: Can you shed light on how that Trainwreck stage performance happened?
C: It’s one of those things that I never thought would come to fruition. Not because I didn’t believe that Rosie, Billy and the Niagara Patchwork crew could pull it off…but because there have been a number of instances where people have wanted to make some kind of performance adaptation of Trainwreck. I would get so excited about the possibility, and then never hear anything about it again. This time was very different! In fact, I almost blew it by missing emails or being very caught up in other aspects of my life. But they really did it! I was fortunate enough to see it for myself, and it was so beautiful and humbling, and the whole cast and crew was so kind and welcoming. I’m so proud of them for what they created.
SD: Thoughts on your other project Pale Drone? How did that project come to be?
C: Haha…thoughts? I think it’s awesome! We just started being able to practice together again now that lockdown restrictions are being lifted. It’s funny because I’ve crossed paths, musically, with three of the dudes in Pale Drone since the late 90’s. They were in bands like Spread the Disease, Karenza, New Day Rising…bands that my old punk and hardcore bands played with all the time. Trevor (Dykstra, Pale Drone guitarist) contacted me to see if I was interested in screaming in a hardcore band. I was hesitant at first, but giving it a shot was incredibly rewarding. I love being a part of Pale Drone!
SD: You're the Chief Marketing Officer at Pictar Digital Media, how did that come about??
C: It’s pretty amazing actually. My old friend Tristan Britt contacted me last year to see if I would be interested in lending my writing skills to a project he was working on. I actually scream on a song called “Burn Yourself Alive” by his old band Always Outnumbered. We go way back. I had lost my job in early 2020, and was feeling pretty lost…this opportunity came at the perfect time. We started formulating ways to create a completely original Augmented Reality Messaging Service, and that’s how we came up with PictAR. We founded the company with the incredibly talented and awesome Quinn Bleakley, and here we are! The stuff that we are creating is pretty amazing, and it’s the most fulfilling job (outside of music) that I’ve ever had!
SD: Have your years being in bands prepared you for this as musicians tend to have to be their own marketing teams at times?
C: It is exactly that. Tristan (PictAR CEO) and I talk about it all the time. We both have experience as touring musicians, and the way we approach this company is very much like having and marketing a band. Designing merch, image, all of it; our band experiences have been immensely helpful.
SD: Hammy Hamilton is a project you started with your daughter to create songs about her. Care to share how this idea came about?
C: HAHA! You have done your homework! Yeah, my daughter Marlowe loves to sing and make up silly songs, so we do it together. It’s remarkably fun. We have songs about the Easter Bunny, saying Hello, brushing your teeth, throwing tantrums…a lot of stuff. It’s a great way to involve Marlowe in the songwriting process and have some fun at the same time. I love it!
SD: Any parting words or potential news for future shows/music on the horizon for you?
C: No potential shows or new music on the horizon, but I’ve been enjoying the hell out of releasing some of the old stuff, and connecting with people who still give a shit about Boys Night Out through social media. I mean, I’m almost 42 now, and I’m JUST starting to actually use the BNO social media accounts. I try to respond to everything as much as possible, so thank you to everyone who takes the time to message the band. And to you for hitting me up with these questions!
We here at Scene Daddy thank Connor for his time and hope this article finds ya in boosted spirits. Tune in next time folks and be sure to support Boys Night Out, Pale Drone, Hammy Hamilton and PictAR!