- the duo has released four new tunes during the pandemic, and is recording another -
by Sylene Argent
Local band, “Fresh Breath,” which consists of wife and husband duo, Katie and Josh Pascoe, performed for an hour as part of the Canadian Virtual Music Expo event on Saturday.
The Canadian Virtual Music Expo’s website noted the event has been held for several years, and was launched virtually this year, for any music fan or musician. The event is set up to allow the audience to listen in as musicians perform their own tunes and talk about their music.
Katie said the event typically takes place in-person, but it went virtual this year because of COVID-19.
The local duo participated in a Canadian Music Expo gig in April, which Katie said went great, so Fresh Breath decided to perform again on Saturday. There were some great industry professionals involved in the event that offered free tickets online, she added.
The local band decided to perform “Live from the Studio,” which is situated in Cottam, in order to participate in the event.
During the session, Fresh Breath played a few of its new songs and chatted about what the duo has been up to during the pandemic, which included releasing four new songs with videos, including “Tomorrow Today,” which was written during this time of uncertainty and inspired by the frontline workers.
After that initial release, Fresh Breath released three more songs, including “Make it Together,” which was not written about the pandemic, but is pertinent to the time. Katie and Josh then released the tune, “Time for a Change,” and finally, a song titled, “Likes & Shares,” which takes a fun jab at media outlets and how individuals can get addicted to their screens. Social media, she said, “can be a great tool, but can also be destructive in our ability to be present in the moment.”
There is a music video for “Likes & Shares,” which was released on July 10. Local company Straylight Films directed the music video.
Typically, bands host tours to promote new music, but COVID-19 has challenged musicians to find other avenues to present their latest material to their audience. For Fresh Breath, that included making more music videos than it typically would, so they could be posted for fans to enjoy.
Fresh Breath, which has been performing and creating for over a decade, did have a West Coast tour planed for this summer to support its new music, but the majority of the dates were cancelled. Something new to the local band was learning how to live stream a performance.
“Before the pandemic, we had never done it,” she said, noting the first live stream the duo did was on St. Patrick’s Day, as they had a gig in Essex that was cancelled. “We decided to go live and had never done it before. As we continued to do it, we worked out the kinks and figured out the sound.”
Josh added that they and friends in the music community came together really well to help each other with live streaming aspects, and shared what equipment was working well for them.
The duo did get to play a gig on Manitoulin Island a couple of weeks ago, which was held outside, with social distancing measures in place.
“It was amazing to play for people again,” Katie said.
Currently, Fresh Breath is recording a Christmas song, which will be released in December. Katie jokes that their fans and friends are going to be surprised that they created a holiday tune, because they are not “Christmas people.”
“Once you hear it, you’ll get it,” Josh said, as Katie added, “It is definitely an original. It has a different take. It is not your traditional kind of song.”
More information about the local band can be found at www.freshbreathband.com, and their music videos can be viewed at www.youtube.com/freshbreath
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