The band this article focuses on is probably not known to many. In fact, I didn't even know who they were until I was given the opportunity to interview them. But there's a very good chance that if you ever listen to the radio, or even watch TV, you've heard one of the member's voices.

The person I'm talking about is Kathryn Calder, and the group she plays in is called Immaculate Machine, but to most, she is known as the keyboardist and one of many singers in The New Pornographers.


When not on tour with them, she writes, records and tours with Brooke Gallupe and Luke Kozlowski, who complete the indie-rock trio, currently signed to The Porno's old label, Mint Records. Before their record deal came about, however, the group had two successful independent releases, which found the band on concert bills with the likes of Arcade Fire and The Constantines. It wasn't long, before record labels started to perk up their ears.

Now, here is where it gets a little strange.

At about the time Immaculate Machine were starting to gain some momentum, Carl Newman, frontman for The New Pornographers discovered a long lost sister of his who, as he found out, had two daughters. One of them is Kathryn Calder. The two made contact, and soon thereafter, she joined his band as a regular member. Now, after several years with the group, she's a tried and tested Pornographer.

Calder has also been able to take that experience back to her work with the Immaculate Machine, which has affected the band's songwriting, recording and even stage performance. But while any band would have a difficult time trying to do with three members what The Pornos do with eight, on a good day, one of the ways they have overcome this difficulty is with their use of three-part harmonies.

“We all like to sing, and we all really like harmonies in general,” Calder said. “It adds a really nice element to music... and with three-part harmonies all over our songs, we like to make our lives difficult when we play live, and try to do as many things as we can."

The three-member limitation also tends to put a strain on the band in terms of musicianship especially when there's no one there to cover up for any mistakes they make. This pressure is only multiplied for Calder, who forms nearly half of the band herself, playing the bass part, keyboard line and singing all at once. So if she forgets the chords to a song one night, the band is, as she so eloquently put it, “kinda fucked.”

But such is rarely the case for Immaculate Machine, who recently won over crowds in Europe during a stint overseas. They did have some interesting tour stories to tell, though, including one about a German audience member who liked Calder's singing voice, but complained directly to her about her “high and squeaky” speaking voice (I disagree, for the record).

Another involved a club owner who told them outright that they do not deserve to cover The Beach Boys' song “Good Vibrations.”

According to Calder, the band just shrugged it off with a laugh, though.

“You have to be able to take criticism and you don't have to believe them,” Calder explained. “Just because somebody says it doesn' t mean that it's true...but the next night Luke was really shy to play [‘Good Vibrations'].”

Now, on a Canadian tour that takes them across country from Vancouver, B.C. to Sackville, New Brunswick, Immaculate Machine have their calendars booked up for the next few months. They'll be stopping by the Salt Lounge on March 18, and if you're a fan of The New Pornographers, or just fun rock and pop music, you should go check it out.