By Nina Zhuang
Markham
John Loree, lead vocalist and guitarist of Pulse In Tempo, likens the process of making music to mead-making.
The initial writing and compositional stage, which he refers to as the fermenting, is about establishing a stable base. The second step incorporates new ideas and flavours from improvisation. And after the mead is infused and has stabilized, the final refinement stage takes place to create the final product. “The process is very organic,” he remarks.
Loree is heavily involved in Pulse In Tempo’s output—from start to finish. He plays the music with bandmates Lev Gorin (bass, keyboard, violin) and John McEwen (percussion/drums), records it, refines it, and sees it to the end of production. However, he plans to let go of some of the production reins in the next few albums.
“It’s like giving yourself a haircut,” he laughed. “The great weaknesses of producing on your own are the blindspots. You have to let your art filter through others’ art. It’s really important to have multiple people involved because collaboration always makes better art.”
As for the music that John Loree creates with Pulse In Tempo, he currently labels the genre progressive psychedelic rock. He describes that the music wasn’t fixed or boxed into a specific genre.
“Genre is dead,” he proclaimed. “It’s much more diverse, it is a multiculture of music now. More and more people are becoming more versed in different types of music because of the changes in pop music, which makes them naturally more thirsty for something new, different. This creates a gap for musicians that want to experiment.” That gap is where Loree allows Pulse In Tempo’s music to amalgamate or abolish genres, making for an ever-evolving discography.
Onstage, Loree incorporates his dramatic arts training from the intensive Arts York program (now known as Arts Unionville) into his performances. When asked how he views his musical performances compared to theatre, he argues it’s the same.
“It’s a matter of connecting with the audience, taking the meaning of the art you’re trying to convey to them, and finding the best way to communicate it as clearly as possible. For me, I try to focus on taking theatrical risk like pushing the mic away from you for a pause, then bringing it back. Something we took from working on improv was improvising the banter with the members. It adds tension, and music is about creating and releasing that. It all contributes to a really dynamic performance.”
Backstage and offstage, Loree is involved with the Markham School of Rock as a show director. He is also a teacher there—something he fell into after teaching friends and family on the side. What he treasures about his work there is that he gets to foster a supportive and collaborative community among young musicians.
“With performing, the satisfaction is instantaneous. With teaching, it is long-term. It’s like watching yourself learn the instrument all over again. Seeing the growth of my students over time affirms my musical identity.”
These days, John Loree has dabbled in beekeeping at the Ridge Meadery, where he organized live music featuring bands from around Ontario with Markham Arts Council. It turns out music-making and mead-making are closer than one might have thought.
Check out John Loree and Pulse In Tempo on Soundcloud.
