MACHINE GOES OUT WITH A GA-ZOOM!
by Amanda Farrell

Immaculate Machine. What images does this bring to mind? A polished, looming piece of metal? The perfect robot? How about a three-piece indie pop band from Victoria? Despite the interesting picture the name conjures, keyboarder and vocalist Kathryn Calder says the name doesn't have any particular meaning.

"We just sort of picked it. We randomly drew two words from our subconscious," says Calder. "If I ever have kids, I'm going to close my eyes and point to a random word from Calvin and Hobbes or something." Innovative band naming isn't the only interesting thing this local threesome is up to. All three of the members write and sing songs, something that's a bit different from your run-of-the-mill rock band. The more the band works together, the more in tune they become with each other as songwriters and performers.

"All of us write, and originally it made sense to just write then sing what you wrote," says Calder. "More and more, we write songs with each other in mind, and we write songs together."

This interesting arrangement has led to a diverse repertoire for the band."We all have different strengths when it comes to songwriting. For example, I tend towards writing the slower moody songs, and Brooke [guitars, vocals] tends to write upbeat and catchy songs," says Calder. "So, sometimes we switch vocals so that I get to sing the fun, upbeat stuff as well."

Interesting lyrical content is also an important mandate for the band. It seems that politics and social issues are the prominent subjects in much of the independent music of today, and Immaculate Machine is no exception.

"We like slipping a lyrical message into a fun medium," says Calder. We're political commentators, but more like, say, Dr. Seuss than Karl Marx."

Things are really picking up for the trio. They are launching their first full length album, Transporter, on May 1. The group produced the entire album on their own, and has also taken charge of all their bookings in their upcoming six-month Trans-Canada tour.

"It feels really good to see our work coming together," says Calder. "We have a pretty do-it-yourself outlook on our musical career. It's nice to have complete control over everything that you do." The tour kicks off in Vancouver, then rushes over to Halifax by May 21, before the band settles in Ontario for a few months.

We had an amazing time in Toronto last tour, so we thought we'd set up a HQ there for a few months and tour the surroundings," says Calder. "We're also going to try to spend more time in francophone Quebec we're all bilingual so it will be a welcomed experience."

Immaculate Machine is also known for fun and wacky live performances with lots of audience involvement.

"We like to have fun and dance around on stage. We encourage audience members to do the same. There's just nothing quite as satisfying as watching music fans who spent an hour coiffing their hair mess it all up dancing like fools!"