Calling All Captains may fiercely clash over one thing — whether Green Day or Blink-182 is the superior pop-punk pioneer of the early ’90s — but when it comes to making their own music, they’re in perfect harmony.

On Jan. 9, the Edmonton-based four-piece released The Things That I’ve Lost — a seven-track album that stares straight into the darkest corners of your mind…then drags you toward the light with hope and hooks that are meant for scream-singing in the pit. Comprised of Luc Gauthier (vocals), Tim Wilson (drums), Brad Bremner (guitar/vocals) and Connor Dawkins (guitar/vocals), Calling All Captains — and their fans — agree that this is their best work yet. The reason? It was a true group effort, which each member bringing a unique perspective to the table, lyrically, sonically and thematically.

On the heels of the release, PopHorror spoke with Gauthier and Wilson about the cathartic nature of writing death-driven lyrics over upbeat melodies, the powerful messages behind the band’s music videos, and how their mantra — “Thoughts become things” — is propelling them forward.

PopHorror: It’s been a little over two weeks since The Things That I’ve Lost was released. How are you guys feeling now that it’s out in the world? And what’s the response been like from listeners?

Tim Wilson: It’s been pretty overwhelming, lots of positive feedback. One thing we all think is cool, we keep seeing different songs pop up as people’s favorites. That’s a really cool feeling that the whole album is being well received. Because sometimes, you put out 10 songs and everyone’s like, “Oh, this one track.” But we’ve seen different people say track one is their favorite, track five, track three — all of it.

Luc Gauthier: One thing I noticed, too, is that everybody says this is our best material to date, and that’s how we felt releasing it. We felt vindicated. It’s not like we were crazy in our heads or anything. We’ve really done something with this release for ourselves.

PopHorror: What do you think makes this your best yet? What’s different compared to past releases?

Luc Gauthier: I think we really let off the reins on our songwriting and what elements can go in what song. We just decided that whatever conveys the emotion best is right for the song, whether it be full on hardcore, some emo trap action, some straight pop punk or just rock n’ roll guitar solos — it was all on the table. That was one thing that felt liberating about this release. We were really authentic to who we are. Even each band member has something different about them and you can find that inside the music.

PopHorror: These songs, did they come together fairly recently? Or have they been in the works for some time?

Tim Wilson: There’s one song in particular, “Salt Lines,” we had that demo cooked up for our last release [(e)motion sickness], which came out [in summer 2024]. That demo must have been at least a couple years old and it finally made its way onto this album. That’s our normal process. We write a batch of songs and a year later, we go into the studio with them. Then a year later, it’s finally released. So yeah, lots of this stuff simmers on our computer hard drives for a long time.

Luc Gauthier: I remember showing the demo for “Dark Clouds” what feels like years ago. But there’s something that really came together fast and it’s a song called “A New Type of Grey.” That one was the last one we wrote for the EP, almost a month before we were set for the studio. We just had these six songs and it felt like we were writing a really put together essay, but we were missing a whole paragraph. It’s like we had this idea and concept, or at least a feeling that we wanted to convey. So when that song came together, not only did it come together really fast, but it quickly became the standout track to put out as a single. And we actually got the EP name from that song. It was the final piece of the puzzle.

PopHorror: Your lyrics mean a lot to many people — they’re extremely relatable for anyone who is going through some dark times. Is it cathartic to get those words on paper, instead of letting them fester inside?

Luc Gauthier: There’s this thought process I’ve found myself falling into for songwriting. I’m an instrumentalist first. I didn’t really go into writing music with the thought of lyrics and melody and being a vocalist as my only focus. I wasn’t even the singer of the band originally. So with that type of mentality, it’s really fun and easy for me to write instrumental tracks, come up with the riff here and there. But when it comes to lyrics, sometimes it can be a bit difficult to find something in the moment. My anxieties and insecurities that I’ll be festering on when I start to think about lyrics for a song, I’ll just do my regular style of — and I have a side project which is mostly rap — starting the project and just freestyling over it. Maybe it doesn’t even rhyme. I’m just saying words. And I do that for Captains stuff.

When you’re writing and you have this emo instrumental behind you, you don’t know what words are going to come out, just freestyling off the dome. But that’s when your subconscious can do a lot of heavy lifting and you end up saying words that you didn’t even necessarily know you needed to say. Then when you write them down, you can go into that thought a bit more. Or it’s a thought that’s been ruminating over and over again. And then when you finally think about lyrics, you just immediately write those down because you know it’s the thought you’ve been having. Therapy is expensive, but I can make demos every day, so that’s fine with me!

Finding Hope Through Lyrics and Melody

PopHorror: There’s a common thread that weaves through all of the songs on The Things That I’ve Lost — experiencing darkness, but also coming out on the other side. Being resilient. Especially in songs like “A New Type of Grey.” Was that intentional from the beginning, or did it come naturally throughout the writing process?

Luc Gauthier: You know what? That song was absolutely probably one of the saddest things I’ve ever written in my entire life until Tim helped write the back half of that song and really round out the theme of it. I think I’m good at getting out what’s nasty inside my mind, but I rely on the fellas to help me work through that and find the other side, find a new type of hope. Never mind the grey. So one thing that’s been really awesome with this past release is that Tim has been helping out with lyrics. That’s been not only super important as a band to all feel involved, but it’s not just me who has something to say. We all have something to say in the band. What’s really fortunate about the group of fellas that I’m with is that we all trust each other to bring our best ideas forward and advocate for the ones that we believe in.

That was a point in time where Tim was really advocating for changing the downtrodden vibe. He was like, “I don’t want to do this every night, I want to have some hope at the end of this song.” I was like, “Yeah, it needs to round out. And you know what? You’re damn right, it’s not all about me. This is about the group.” I’m super lucky to have an amazing group of musicians around me and lyricists, too. It’s not just singer writes everything. The whole band is involved with the music and that’s something I really like to point out to people.

Tim Wilson: I think Luc is being really humble. He definitely comes up with the vision for a lot of these songs and his heart and soul are really at the core of all the lyrical content. But yeah, I remember when we were putting together “A New Type of Grey,” that subtle change from grey to hope came on like an epiphany one night. I was writing some piano parts for that song and the piano, as an instrument, sounds very hopeful to me. It’s bright and it’s consonant, and so playing that triggered that thought process. I’m fortunate that all the fellas, we do share ideas and we are open to each others’ ideas because drummers don’t get to write too many lyrics. But when you come up with one and you feel strong about it, it’s nice to have a band that will back you up on it. So it’s a really good writing experience within the band. And again, Luc’s being very humble on that note. Lots of the best drum beats on the record are from Luc’s brain. Like he said, it’s not always so cut and dry with the singer writing the lyrics, guitar player writing guitar. Everybody has ideas about everything and that’s hopefully what gives us a unique sound. We’re all sharing ideas, spit balling and being creative like that.

PopHorror: One thing I love about this band, you have these devastating lyrics, but the melodies are just so catchy. Like “A New Type of Grey” — I want to be scream-singing that in a pit with a beer. It’s such a fun-sounding song, but then when you really listen to those lyrics, it’s like, “Oh, wow.” Is that balance between lyrics and melody intentional?

Luc Gauthier: I guess not intentional. Writing music, I like the high energy and I like the major key. It’s one thing to write stuff in a major key, but have the lyrics be depressing and I honestly think that’s what emo is all about. It’s where we’re getting through the bullshit in a happy way. We get to be in the pit screaming the lyrics, enjoying our time, but you don’t read the lyrics by themselves on your own in a dark room. I feel like there’s a point to having them attached to a vibe. The vibe itself can change the lyrics. Like, if “Photograph” by Nickelback was a hardcore song, it would probably mean something a lot different. The vessel you choose to allow your feelings to come into the world is important. So yeah, it’s not necessarily consciously, but we want to write stuff that’s like, “Oh, yeah! It feels good.” But then you’ve also got some stuff to say and you get to sing that over it. And growing up, the music that we listened to all plays a part.

PopHorror: Who were some of your favorites growing up?

Luc Gauthier: Green Day and Avenged Sevenfold.

Tim Wilson: For me, it was Blink-182 when I was a teenager, and then Blink led into post-hardcore and emo, also Silverstein, Alexisonfire and Underoath, that sort of stuff. Then all that led to the second wave of pop punk — Story So Far, Neck Deep. But fun fact about our band, we are split right down the middle on Blink-182 and Green Day. Me and Brad are Blink, which is the correct choice. Luc disagrees.

Luc Gauthier: I disagree!

Tim Wilson: It’s okay to be wrong. Yeah, Luc and Connor are Green Day. So if the band ever breaks up, it’ll be because of that rift.

PopHorror: That’s a valid fight, honestly! Though I’ve always loved Green Day…

Luc Gauthier: Ahh!

Meaning Behind The Music Videos

PopHorror: I’d love to talk about a few of your music videos for this album. “Dark Clouds” — it’s so sad, but simultaneously so fun. You’ve got a funeral, a clown and pastel suits going on. Where did the inspiration for this concept come from? And what were the vibes like on set that day?

Luc Gauthier: The vibes were great, despite having a casket and laying in it. It was super chill. One thing about me and why we had this overall concept is that there’s an overall theme of death being a part of all our lyrics. It’s not in a way of getting mad at it, but it’s really an acknowledgement of it and how it’s a part of our lives. You can run from it, romanticize it, but it’s still a part of your life. I’ve had the unfortunate experience to have been to over 30 funerals in my life. My youngest memories of being a kid were at a funeral. There’s a line in our song “Salt Lines,” the song directly after “Dark Clouds,” where the it goes, “Death is a really good friend of mine.” This song and this video wrestles with the thought of the romanticization of what dying would be like. The whole time in the music video, I’m alive. I’m singing. I’m doing all this stuff. But I’m not even there. I was actually in the casket the whole time.

It’s a story about your fears and what you think dying would be like, how people would not care and how death is a clown joking at you, mocking you. But then you come to the realization that it’s actually okay and it’s going to be a part of your life whether you like it or not. You can have acceptance. The confetti at the end, it’s a celebration because even the lives that are cut short, life can still be beautiful for those fleeting moments. That’s the point of this video — even though death is such a serious and stark concept, you can still have fun. I’ve done a few eulogies in my lifetime and I don’t think it’s a good eulogy unless people are laughing. I think that’s really, really important, especially being Indigenous — laughter is our best medicine. We don’t like to cry and wallow. We’ll just make a joke instead and I turned that into a music video.

PopHorror: The other video that’s really striking is “A New Type of Grey.” It’s incredibly emotional from start to finish, following a young Indigenous girl through her struggles in the foster care system. Where did that concept come from? And what inspired you to spotlight the foster care issue that is called out at the end?

Luc Gauthier: I wish I could say that it was a story I thought up fully. But this is a story about some of my family members and other Indigenous people I know in the community. They get removed from their family and go to new places that do their best, but they’re often lacking the compassion toward somebody removed from their culture and way of life. When the kid goes to the first home, she doesn’t even have luggage. It’s a garbage bag. And that’s a reality for lots of kids. This is actually a really soft spot for me as well. Why I chose this theme is that my mom is a program manager for Métis Child and Family Services. She works with tons of foster families to make sure they have the appropriate and adequate care for Indigenous needs, whether it’s First Nations, Métis or Inuit. My dad also worked in social services and I ended up working as a youth worker at several different Indigenous agencies, nonprofits that have focused on the health and wellness of Indigenous people.

Something I’ve noticed is that lots of people are dealing with the trauma that stems with isolation from their family and community, removal from the home. Working in the social services industry, one of the things that really bothers me is that, let’s say an Indigenous family is on the poverty end of lifestyles. A child can be removed from poverty, get placed in a home and then that foster parent gets paid because that foster kid is in the home. Why couldn’t that money be provided to the child in the first place in the [family] home? This is a really broken system that has unfortunately affected not only Indigenous people, but kids across North America and Europe. It’s one made with good intentions, but more often than not, it allows people who want to take advantage of those in a precarious position or those at risk to do so because they are now in a position of power.

It was something that I wanted to say and I had a really supportive band and team. This had to go through a lot of different people in order to come to life. We needed an extra budget for it, we needed an extra day of shooting. We really pulled all the stops out just to make sure that we could tell a message. Growing up in the community and seeing it firsthand on the family side, as well as the social services side, it just led me to a point where I had no other option than to make that video. The story was amazingly done with Versa Films’ Dylan [Hryciuk] — he was the main writer for that story. We worked together on the concept. We had an Indigenous consultant to make sure everything was kosher. It was just a really well made production and I’m thankful that we got to share that message.

PopHorror: Tim, what did it mean to you and the other guys of the band to help Luc tell this story? What has the fan response been like?

Tim Wilson: The response from the fans was amazing. We noticed in the YouTube comments, some people were sharing their own similar stories. We had people reach out and say, “This was my experience, thank you so much for validating it.” That tugged on our heartstrings quite a bit. And the experience of helping bring it to life, it was huge for us to be able to do something about this. The first step for societal change is awareness. You have to start somewhere through awareness. For myself, Brad and Connor, to be able to use the platform we have to help Luc and the Indigenous community share this story and share this topic, it meant a lot to us. Sometimes, we’re not sure how we can help. You look out at the world and it’s crazy. It’s chaos. You think, “Where do I even begin? Where do I start to help?” But as musicians and artists, this is how we can do it. This is what we do best. This is the platform we have to influence, to shape, to inspire. So it was a great experience for all of us.

The Perfect Lineup 

PopHorror: Luc, you touched on it earlier, but for new fans who might not know — you started as the band’s original drummer and Tim joined when you switched to vocals. How has the band’s dynamic been since this current lineup took shape? And how are you both feeling in your respective roles?

Luc Gauthier: Not gonna lie, it feels so weird when I sit behind the drum set now. I’m like, “Why was I ever even sitting here?” I grew up on the stage. As a very young boy, my dad — he was an emcee for lots of different events — would get me to come up on stage, tell a joke, since I was, like, four years old. When I was nine years old, I started performing Métis dancing, so I literally grew up on the stage. I’m so comfortable standing on the stage that the transition to being a frontman wasn’t actually that bad. It was the singing that I was like, “Oh, no, I’ve got to be a singer now,” because I never even had that thought. I was just trying to play the drums. It was a big learning curve and I had a lot to step forward for when it came to vocals. I know I’ve come a long way.

But I remember when we had the thought that we needed a new drummer, it was literally just like, “Tim Wilson.” He was a legend in the city. Our old bands would open for his band because they were popping. We were like, “Tim, come fill in.” And at the end of the tour, we got him.

Tim Wilson: Overall, this has been the best band experience I’ve ever had. Calling All Captains is probably my 30th band. We’ve all been doing this since we were teenagers. There were lots of stepping stones for us all to get here. We all had bands that would rise and fall. We had bands that would fizzle out. So I joined up with Captains about seven or eight years ago now. It was a long road to get here, but now that I’m here, this is the best experience. I’m really grateful that the boys thought of me when they were looking for a drummer. And it’s funny, I always joke with Luc, “You went from drummer to singer. You got demoted, I’m really sorry.” His career took a step down with that one. [laughs] But Luc stepping to vocals, he was a natural. He really is a good showman and I think it was a pretty seamless transition. Mad props to Luc for shifting roles like that and taking on a lot of new responsibilities. And I was just happy to come and play that role.

PopHorror: Do you remember those early days of this lineup, maybe the first show you all played together? Did it click pretty easily?

Tim Wilson: I do remember that show!

Luc Gauthier: I remember that show, too, in Kamloops.

Tim Wilson: What was really cool is, Captains had asked me to just come and fill in for this tour. The first night, I think we had maybe 14 dates, two or three weeks on the tour, and we show up to Kamloops and there were dedicated Captains fans there, which was super, super cool. Just a good omen for the rest of the tour. I remember playing, getting off stage and being like, “Wow, these guys have already laid a lot of groundwork around the country.” I toured in my previous bands and it’s tough to build a following in your own city, let alone in cities across the country or across the world. So doing this tour, I saw that Captains already laid a lot of good groundwork. They had a lot of dedicated fans and I caught the vibe immediately.

Luc Gauthier: I’ll never forget it because I pulled up and I was wearing my Tommy Hilfiger windbreaker that I just got. I was feeling so fly. And then I went to go sing and I was like, “Oh, man, singing’s tough.” I was so used to singing at practice and I was going crazy on stage and getting tired. But everybody in the crowd was so supportive. That was some of our day ones. Our first ever out of town show that was crazy was Kamloops. I remember when we first booked the tour, we were like, “Well, we have Kamloops on the tour, I hope Tim has a great time.” Everybody there just made the whole experience amazing. It really set the tone for not just the tour, but the rest of being in the band.

PopHorror: For anyone who has yet to see you live, what’s a typical Captains show like? I love that your stage setup is really simple and the focus is on the band.

Luc Gauthier: If you see us in our hometown, we’ll usually get a bit of extra production. We’re thankful to have our manager also run lights for us. But typical Captains show, we show up on stage, say what’s good and we get right to it. We encourage stage diving, moshing. Our last Edmonton show, we actually had to stop after the first song. Somebody got hurt. They were all good, but it gets rowdy. It’s definitely a high energy performance. Tim takes his shirt off after the third song. We like to have laughs on stage, too, so if we can make a joke here or there, we definitely try that. We just like to have fun. If we have fun, then we hope you do, too.

Creating Music In A Digital Age

PopHorror: Myself and many fans discovered Captains — and probably numerous other bands — through social media. What’s it like being a band in this digital era? It almost feels like a double edged sword — you can get your music out to people quick, but then there’s so many other people trying to do the same thing. Is it hard? Have you found any tactics that work, or do you kind of post whatever and see what sticks?

Luc Gauthier: I’m probably at odds with it the most just because I really like the idea of that old way of rock n’ roll, where you just go to the studio, put out a record, go tour, come back, bills are paid. But that is just so not the reality. Now, it is a double edged sword. I’m thankful that I can post something to the internet and hundreds of thousands of people can have the opportunity to check it out. But at the same time, that 100,000 people, or however many, is spread out throughout the world. So unless you’re boots on the ground touring and promoting in each of these cities specifically, you won’t get a chance to build the live fan base. One of the things about being an artist is that you could have 500,000 monthly listeners and then book a tour and you got 20 people at your show. It’s like, “How did we get here?”

It is just strange, to be honest. It is such a positive way to be an artist — you can not have to grind so hard and be on the road 200 days out of the year just to feed yourself. But it’s also wild that you can do this from anywhere. We’re from Edmonton, Alberta, but we’ve been able to sell out Chain Reaction in California just from social media and marketing. And that’s such a powerful tool. But when you get to band practice and you end up filming Reels and TikToks for three hours and you don’t get to play your songs, it’s like, “Ahh!” It’s just a strange give and take from it. But it is its own art form. You have people like Tim who make the most out of it and just get laughs, who can do skits. That’s one of the coolest aspects about it. I like that it’s available, but I don’t like how it’s mandatory.

@timcallingallcaptains

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Tim Wilson: It’s just like you were saying, it really is a double edged sword. For the average musician, discoverability has gone up, but income has gone way down. That’s kind of the trade off that we get in the digital age. It’s a lot easier to be discovered, but that dilutes how much musicians are able to make as income. The last thing we do this for is income — we’ve been getting paid in pizza and beer for decades and we’re fine with that. We’ll do that until we die if we have to because we just love what we do.

Luc Gauthier: Yeah, ’til death!

Tim Wilson: But that’s just the trade off. You gotta balance it, make the best out of it. I do like what Luc said about how content creation in the digital age is its own art form and I 100% agree. People begrudge the fact that it’s almost mandatory now, which kind of sucks. There are definitely some musicians, they just want to create music and I feel that. But what I’ve realized over the past couple years though is it’s all creativity. Whether you’re making music or making videos or anything to do with that, a lot of the creative principles apply to all of them. Composition is composition, whether it’s a song or a video. There’s balance, structure, contrast. Everyday when I’m making videos, I keep finding parallels between the music process and the video creation process. So I’m trying to embrace it and I’m actually having a lot of fun with it because I do like making skits. We like having a laugh.

I do have a “strategy” for my social media. Four times a day for 10 minutes at a time, I tell myself I’m going to go blast positivity all over the internet. I do that five or six days a week and it led us to you! We’re big with manifesting in this band. We think that what you put out into the universe, you’re going to get back. And this [interview] is literal proof. Those little pockets of time where I was like, “I’m going to blast positivity into the internet,” it connected us.

Luc Gauthier: What’s our mantra?

Tim Wilson: Thoughts become things.

PopHorror: I love that — I could talk for hours about manifestation. Last question since we’re PopHorror…what’s your favorite scary movie?

Luc Gauthier: I detest scary movies! Wanna know why? Because I get scared! [laughs] You know what though? The scary movie that I actually really like would be Insidious. It’s a big jump scare, the vibes were crazy.

Tim Wilson: I don’t know if this would count as a scary movie, but the Alien series. I know it’s kind of sci-fi, but when I was a kid, Alien and Aliens were top notch in my books.

Luc Gauthier: And Goosebumps the TV show.

Tim Wilson: That’s the one.

Thanks for speaking with us, Luc and Tim! Keep up with Calling All Captains at callingallcaptainsband.com/ and on social media.