In the deep dark depths of February it feels like we couldn’t possibly miss the summer months more than we do now and then something comes along that reminds of how we can barely remember the colour green, or how much we enjoy the music of June Body. Thanks to photographer/videographer Alex Boyd we get a bittersweet refresher on both with this newly released tour mini-documentary from June Body’s trip through Ontario and Quebec with Species of Trees last summer.
Connor James, June Body’s primocorpus, had just returned from a short solo acoustic touring of the band’s Life from Underneath, which had just been released back in April, 2018. The quick sojourn through Ontario and Quebec was successful enough to lay the groundwork for a late-summer tour that would include the full band.
There were only a minor details to get sorted out first. Like the fact that the June Body were about to lose their drummer, Dillon Shillieto.
“It was a stressful process trying to book and coordinate everything myself, but on top of that, we knew we were losing our drummer at the time. We booked the tour and with maybe a month and a half to spare before we left we finally found our new drummer Jonny Renken, and just started rehearsing as much as we possibly could,” says Connor.
“We would drive for like an hour each way to the music school Jonny worked at in Windsor to rehearse in their space.
And like that, the band were off for an August-long ramble through verdant valleys and lush tree-lined city streets. They wandered, gallivanted and made-merry in warmer climes far more suitable for human habitation. Naturally, it was documented in full, including candid moments and some questionable live performances in the midst of London, Ontario.
“A few weeks before we departed, our good friend Alex Boyd reached out to us regarding the tour. He’s a photographer and has shot almost every local show we’ve played since we started. He proposed coming on tour with us to shoot the shows and possibly compile footage for a mini documentary,” says Connor.
“We loved the idea, but we were travelling in my Santa Fe that barely had room for our drum kit, amps, guitars, and luggage, nevermind another human and his stuff. But the idea just seemed too fun to pass up so we found a way to take up every inch of that SUV and fit the 4 of us in there. If we were a 4-piece band and not a trio, this documentary would never have been made.
“The tour was a blast from start to finish and Alex, being the talented guy he is, took amazing photos, live footage, and some candid banter at diners over breakfast. It took some time to piece the whole project together, but what we’re left with is an amazing piece of nostalgia.”
The band hasn’t announced any upcoming show dates but, on the bright side, we are fairly confident that summer is only half a year away.