Interview with Christine Savard

1. What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

• I got into music as a kid. I took piano lessons growing up and always enjoyed writing simple, classical-style songs on the piano. I got into making instrumental synth music in college and eventually, I started exploring singing and writing lyrics. If I didn’t get into music, I’d probably have focused more of my time on making visual art. I will always need a creative outlet whether it’s music-related or visual.

2. What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

• When I’m not playing music, I spend a lot of time being active with fitness, yoga, and hiking. Nature is a big inspiration for me for my creativity. I get tons of song ideas when I’m on walks. I try to always record ideas on my phone as soon as I have them or those ideas usually never come back!

3. How long have you been making music?

• I’ve been making music for quite a while, but I’d say in the last decade I’ve been taking songwriting and music production more seriously. I released my first official song five years ago in 2018.

4. Where are you based and how did that influence your music?

• I’m originally based out of Thunder Bay, Ontario. I moved to Toronto after high school and the EDM scene really influenced my music at that time. I’ve been in Victoria, BC for the last fifteen years and when I first moved here the indie-folk scene really inspired my songwriting and it still does to this day.

5. Tell me about your most memorable shows, if you haven’t played live what is your vision for a live show?

• Playing live is definitely a goal of mine since I haven’t done enough of it. As a solo musician, my vision for a live show would feature a lot of live instrumentation to back me up, like acoustic drums, bass, and strings and cool visuals. I love the idea of doing live shows in historical theatres or concert halls that have lots of character and beautiful acoustics.

6. What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

• In Victoria, I’d love to play at the Alix Goolden Performance Hall someday. I love the acoustics of this space and I’ve seen some great shows there. On a bigger scale, the Fox Theatre in Detroit looks amazing.

7. If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

• Lately, I’ve been really enjoying Sharon van Etten, Caroline Polachek, Florence + The Machine and Alt-J. Performing with any of these lineups would be super exciting for me.

8. What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into making music and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

• For someone just getting into making music, my advice would be to not be shy to share your music during the songwriting process with other songwriters. It can be super helpful to get another musician’s take on your song ideas, whether it be in the arrangement, lyrics, or stylistic choices in production. My advice for my younger self would be this same advice! I only recently started consulting with other musicians during my songwriting process and it’s really refreshing to get other people’s perspective.

9. Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

• I would say my first released single titled “Waterfall” means the most to me. I wrote this song as a reflection of overcoming some difficult headspaces in my life and the song was about rising above emotions and letting things go rather than holding on.

10. Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

• At the moment, I love playing my most recent single “Wicked Woman”, but I have yet to perform this song live. In the past, a lot of people seemed to really dig “Waterfall”.