It happened over a decade ago but Brandon Carter remembers the very first time Ryan Forsythe as if it were yesterday.
“When we first met Ryan was playing cover tunes with his little brother at the local watering hole in Fort Langley and I watched him and I was really impressed,” Carter recalled.
In fact, Carter was so impressed by Forysthe’s abilities that he said something to him.
“The first thing I actually said to him was ‘Great set but you’re wasting your time doing covers.’ Those were literally the first words out of my mouth,” Carter recalled.
It wasn’t long before the two began bonding over their love for music.
“I think it was the following day or the day after that, we were jamming together and we haven’t stop for 11 years.”
Since that fateful meeting in Fort Langley a decade ago, Carter and Forsythe have been playing together as members of We Hunt Buffalo, a self-described “stoner rock” trio that includes bassist Brendan Simpson.
“My experience with serious musicians and serious music projects have always had Ryan involved,” Carter said.
On Saturday (May 31) We Hunt Buffalo will be performing alongside Tokyo Police Club and Yukon Blonde as part of Rockstar Motofest 2014 at the Wastelands.
“We’ve played the Cambie a number of times and we love that place. It’s more like a place to go and play shows and party because there is the hostel upstairs,” Carter said. “We always end up at the poutine place down the street at like two in the morning.”
We Hunt Buffalo originally began as a band known as Yesterday’s Forgotten, but changed to their current name in 2009 and following the departure of a bass guitarist, the band decided to add Simpson.
“After a few auditions we picked Brendan,” Carter said. “He just blows us away every time we play a show.”
Since 2010, We Hunt Buffalo have released two albums, We Hunt Buffalo and Blood from a Stone and are currently working towards a new record.
“We are actually in the process of getting some demos together. We’ve got about half a dozen songs that are about 80 per cent there,” Carter said.
We Hunt Buffalo, have played at a handful of well-known venues throughout Canada including the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, the Red Dog in Peterborough, Ont., and the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto.
Last year, We Hunt Buffalo opened for Monster Truck on their 2013 tour, which Carter said was long and gruelling, but taught them a lot.
“It made realize that if we can be in a smelly crappy van with no heat and drive to Winnipeg and back and not kill each other and want to go out and play a show every night, then we can do anything,” Carter recalled. “We’re a ready for whatever anyone throws at us.”
Since their humble beginnings, We Hunt Buffalo, who are 2012 FOX Seeds winners, appreciate little things that come with playing at higher end venues such as the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver or the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto.
“When you do start playing these bigger venues, everything is on a different scale of professionalism. It kind of kicks you in the ass in terms of how you have to bring up your professionalism. I don’t want to say it’s a little more daunting but everyone puts in more work,” Carter said. “When you’re sound-checking and the stage is set up and you look around and you see all the amount of people working to make you sound good, it’s a totally different world than playing a small little bar with a built in crowd eating. You realize that you that you are definitely spoiled and you realize that it is an opportunity that not many people can have.”
Carter explained that seeing the effort that venue workers put into making sure bands have the best possible experience is key.
“It is a huge motivator and it conditions you to understand very quickly that you need to be on time and you need to have your A-game with you because this is the next level,” Carter said.
We Hunt Buffalo perform on May 31 at the Wastelands.
arts@nanaimobulletin.com