Interview: The Purple Helmets (Written)

Nova Scotia indie rockers The Purple Helmets (TPH) recently released (May 16th 2025) their brand-new album, ‘Weirdo Squad’. In this interview we get to know the band a little better.

1. Hello! Thank you for taking the time to chat to us. First things first, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started.

We all grew up in a small fishing community in Nova Scotia called Yarmouth. It’s a small town and we all knew each other as kids. Chris and Mike were neighbours and had started a metal band. Donnie had been playing in various bands around town and started jamming with Chris and Mike. Eventually, Jonathan was added as a singer and vocalist. Overtime we eventually moved to Halifax to play in larger venues and began writing and recording our own music. We released some independent music ourselves and eventually signed a distribution deal with an EMI subsidiary, touring Canada. In short, we were all friends first then started a band, then learned how to play our instruments and works together as a group. We were just kids but became more proficient as musicians and songwriters as we get older.

2. Someone comes to you and asks you to sum up what kind of music you play – what do you tell them?

We’ve always really enjoyed the 80s single era. Bands like Tears for Fears, Duran Duran, Bowie, REM, and the Outfield were always influential, especially in the way they sang melodies and created unforgettable ear worms. Living in Nova Scotia Canada puts us close to the United States and as a result, we also enjoy Americana, indie rock, and other genres from the US. We are also massively influenced by UK Indie and UK Brit pop. In our songwriting style, we just love to strip down a song to its essence and focus on melody and its memorable components. Our goal is to simply create an attractive indie tune that stands the test of time. Some listeners have referred to our sound as Americana Big Star meets UK Badfinger. A good song never goes out of style. To us it’s just “Canadiana.”

3. What’s currently keeping you busy? A new album/EP/single release? A new video? Playing live, or planning ahead?

We’re currently focused on promoting our album “Weirdo Squad” that came out May 16th on Spotify, iTunes, and most streaming platforms.

4. What is about this current period that is particularly exciting for you?

Music is changing so quickly that it’s really exposing the shortcomings in songwriting, especially as artists take shortcuts with Ai, using ChatGPT to prompt lyrical ideas, or play through AMP modellers or MIDI for live shows. We’re an old school garage band. We enjoy using amps and real drums to push the air pressure in the room. We gravitate towards being more organic and real and believe that sentiment emerges in the songwriting. What you hear in our recordings is very similar to what you hear live. Rock n roll always tends to return to its origins like it did with Elvis, then the Beatles, then the Sex Pistols and Clash, then Nirvana. We sense we are near that moment again. There are moments in musical history where art gets stripped down to its essential components. That’s attractive to us and forms the foundation of our musical being.

5. Tell me about the work that has gone into making it a reality and what it means to you.

We had common friends in bands like Burnt Black from Yarmouth NS who were still making good music and we felt we could do the same. It inspired us, and decided to write 30 songs, of which we narrowed to the 10 best and then recorded with Payl Suarez in Grand Cayman at Ironshore Studios. Paul worked in the shadow of Andy Wallace in NYC for many years and saw how many of our favourite records of all time were made. Later on, Paul engineered and recorded Korn, Biffy Clyro, Dave Mathews, Gojira, and even Guns and Roses. While his portfolio clearly leans to heavy rock, his process fattened our sound and added a professionally fidelity we hadn’t necessarily encountered before as an Indie rock band.

6. Making music and being creative can be a very positive experience and can be very good for the mind. In what way has making music had a positive impact on your mental health?

Most musicians and songwriters see music as healing. You’ll find that sentiment in some of our more recent songs like “Weirdo Squad”, “Escape From Which Mountain”, and “Blaze a New Path Forward.” The songwriting process is healing in itself, as is the finished product for the listener if it resonates. Making music keeps you grounded, and the creative process rewards the mind and the soul. It brings peace. There is certainly an emotional power that is released with the right lyric and melody especially when layered with harmony.

7. It can also be incredibly challenging, more so in the modern times. What have been some challenging aspects of making music and how have you overcome them?

The four of us are spread out with Mike and Jonathan in Nova Scotia, Chris in Grand Cayman, and Donnie in Ottawa. The songwriting process is now done independently for the most part. We’ll write and record demos from home, share with the band who then offer input and writing suggestions. So that part is virtual now. We’ll then meet up to play live, rehearse, or record in various places, but we make it work.

8. How do you handle the online aspects of being in a band? Having to put out content constantly, promoting across several different social media platforms, and having your success measured in likes and follows?

We come from an era when social media didn’t exist. We used to put out our own music independently, tour and play as many live shows as possible. While we believe we make great art and the end product is attractive, online marketing has become paramount. There’s been such an emphasis placed on online marketing across social media and streaming platforms that it unfortunately takes away focus from the art creation itself. That’s a shame. A lot of music is now self-produced, written and recorded at home on a laptop, and then released often with more effort placed on the online marketing campaign then was placed on the song.

9. How do you make this part of things enjoyable, and fulfilling, for yourself?

We’ve matured as songwriters and musicians and stay realistic. We love what we do, and hope it resonates with a new audience. It all comes down to how you measure success. The process of writing music, recording, playing live, is enjoyable and fulfilling to us. A marketing campaign is less attractive. We’d honestly like to find a boutique indie rock label that can help with these aspects as it is a business, and it is important. Sometimes the artist isn’t the best person to focus on marketing as it takes away from the emphasis on writing and recording quality material. And as such, it’s introduced a cottage industry of PR and marketing firms selling and guaranteeing more streams, likes, etc.

10. Speaking directly to listeners – what would you ask they do to help you?

If you like the tunes, please refer to your friends and share online. Send us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and tell us what song you like and why? We’re also interested in what you are listening to.

11. Outside of music, what do you like to do to relax?

We’re all a bit different. Mike likes the outdoors and camping. Donnie is into motorcycles and boating. Jonathan just drove across Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and Chris plays tennis, boats, and travels as well.

12. Where can people find you?

• https://www.facebook.com/purplehelmetsband/
• https://www.instagram.com/the_purple_helmets/
• https://x.com/helmetsmusic
• https://www.youtube.com/@ThePurpleHelmets