A night of Edmonton’s punk music scene jamming out in support of each other.
On the brisk night of Oct. 19, the Carpoolers were anything but quiet. Backed by a crowd of fans and three other local Edmonton bands as their openers, the six person band celebrated the release of their EP album, Revenge Porn. Between the majority of vocals by Maddie McWatters, guitar hand-offs, an inflatable alien, and projectile candy, the air in the room was supercharged with the intense love for home-grown music. It won’t be long before they’re back on the Starlite stage again, this time, in competition.
If you’ve seen any of the Battle of the Bands posters on campus, the name “The Carpoolers” might be familiar to you. They are one of the five bands slated for the battleground (the Starlite room stage) this Jan. 10 for the chance to win the headlining spot of 2025’s Fall Fest.
Rhys Primus, who was on backing vocals, says the album took roughly a month of recording every weekend for four to eight hour studio sessions. Most of the writing was done in December of 2023, and was finished in the studio. The band received the mastered EP in June before its eventual October release.
Cameo Gow is a loyal Carpoolers fan. Her best friend, Rhys, is one of the band members. So, she’s been to many of their shows and knows the band always brings the right energy, and occasionally, freebies like candy. Gow says, “I feel like there’s such a good variety of performers as well. And also it’s nice to see LGBTQ representation in a punk band.” She also highlights the amazing sound production and cozy vibe of the venue, despite the volume and sweat.
Due to a last-minute scheduling coincidence, Re-Form stepped up to open the show, meaning the two bands “traded” opening for each other’s EP releases, with the Carpoolers opening for Re-Form’s EP release show late September. Re-Form started playing shows in Leduc over a decade ago. They knew how to get the crowd jumping and excited for the next few hours of punk, rock, and indie music. Speaking of indie, the band Pleasure Craft took on the second spot with a more relaxed sound. The third band on stage was the Misfortune Tellers, the 2024 SAMU Battle of the Bands champions.
One word Primus would use to describe Edmonton’s local music scene is “cyclical,” as bands switch off opening for each other. He says, “ … we’re all contributing to, like, an artistic conversation…it keeps it even, it keeps it fun … ”
To close the night, the Carpoolers took to the stage as the bubbling crowd pressed forward to greet them. They played all four songs from their EP album, Revenge Porn, and a few more as a treat. After cheering all night, my voice felt like the third song on their EP, a “Total Waste”. By the time the Carpoolers stopped to say their thank yous and asked the audience to listen to the album when it’s up, it was 12:22 a.m., which prompted a, “Oh fuck, it’s already out.”
Photos by Rebecca-Lynn Reeves
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