What are your names?
Clara O’Page

What is the bands name?
Debbie Christ

How did you come up with the bands name?
I actually came up with the name about 11 years ago, but the name was never intended to be a band name. It originally came from a joke a friend and I had about people who use religion, specifically christianity, to spread their own bigotry. It was my twitter handle for years. When I decided to start a new project, my old stage name Peach Guevara just didn’t fit anymore, and I just kind of thought, “what about Debbie Christ”. It fit, it was perfect for what I’m trying to address with my music.

What is your genre of music?
It’s like a fusion of femme garage rock, folk, and punk.

Give us a little bio about you.
Coming out of the depths of the pandemic, a new music project “Debbie Christ” is born. Going from a solo songstress, Clara O’Page took her soft yet potent tunes and gave them some force by adding drums, more guitars, bass, and some synth. Inspired by artists like The Velvet Underground, and The Pixies, Debbie Christ will grab your attention with every instrumental layer, while still reaching your inner depths with Clara’s always independent sound and intimate and honest lyrics.

What made you go into music?
It was something that was always around. I’m the youngest of 6, and my siblings are quite a bit older than me. So growing up Much Music and MTV were always on. Some of my earliest memories are of me glued to the TV watching the latest music videos and dancing and singing along with them. One of my brothers, who I am especially close to, is a musician too, so I definitely followed in his footsteps. As a kid I remember being his shadow, and always wanting him to play the piano or guitar for me. I just thought that he was so incredibly talented (I still do), and I wanted to be just like him one day. I was a bit late to the game, I had only started learning guitar when I was 16, but I had always written lyrics since I was about 6. When I started applying my lyrics to bits that I had written on guitar, it’s like something finally clicked for me, and I haven’t been able to stop since.

Who are your influences?
First and foremost, Lou Reed, then my brother’s project Scott Hardware, my dear friend and roommate, Sabrina Cote, whose music project is called Teenage Witch. Then there are queens like Angel Olsen, Jessica Pratt, and PJ Harvey too.

Are you a signed?
Not yet!

You released your double single ‘I’ve Got Time’ & ‘We Carry On’, tell us more about the singles and the meaning behind the song.
‘Well I’ve Got Time’ was supposed to be optimistic and upbeat, because I had never really written anything like that before, but then it ended up being about the struggles of wanting to be further ahead in your life, because we all have this idea of where we’re “supposed to be”, but being held back because of having to overcome trauma and challenging childhoods first. But ultimately it’s saying even if you’re not where you think you’re supposed to be, you’ve still got time to figure things out, and to find your path in life.
‘We Carry On’ is about learning to let go, because you have to choose yourself, and ultimately that you will survive, even though change is terrifying and can be heartbreaking.

Describe each track in two words.
I’ve Got Time ‘hopeful and charismatic’
We Carry On ‘melancholic and spacey’

What was the writing and recording process like?
Well like all of my songs, they are originally written when I’m alone in my room. Both of these songs were written before I even tried playing with a band. ‘I’ve Got Time’ was written in a single evening in 2019, and ‘We Carry On’ was written over the course of 9 months, starting sometime around Summer of 2020, something like that. Luckily for me, the drummer in my band is also a professional audio engineer, so he has a recording studio set up in his living room. A few months back the band got together at Jack’s one evening to record ‘We Carry On’ and ‘I’ve Got Time’ along with another single that we’ll be releasing later on this year. It was a very relaxed experience, as relaxed as recording can go really, which is awesome, because usually I dread recording the most. We also have band practice at Jack’s place, so to be in a familiar environment really took off some of the stress. I feel like if I were in some sterile, state of the art recording studio, working with some pretentious recording engineer, I’d be feeling very out of my element, which would alter my ability to record comfortably and not in a good way.

Who did you work with on the singles?
Well worked with my bandmates Christian Lee (bass), Jacob Barton (lead guitar), Jacob Tarasofsky (synth), and Jack Moore (drums), who also recorded, mixed and mastered everything.

Will we see visuals for any of the singles and if so what can we expect from the creative process?
Not at this time, but expect a music video for another single sometime this fall. Will we see an EP or Album and if so, what can we expect from the creative process?There’s going to be an album out later this Fall. Essentially this album is a summary of the last 5 years for me since moving to Montreal. The album is titled ‘Tower’ and the overall focus or theme of the album is how sometimes everything must fall apart, in order for things to come back together again.

Do you have any live shows coming up?
I’m playing a solo show on August 12th, and then there’s two more late in the month with the full band on August 22nd and 24th.

Let us know where we can get tickets if so.
The first show you can find the tickets through the promoter Kick Drum either through their instagram or on their website. The other two shows’ tickets aren’t available yet, but you can find the link on my instagram later in July.

What else can we expect in early 2023?
Well we have our album coming out later this Fall, but we will be releasing two singles and a music video before then so stay tuned!

Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
Honestly the ultimate goal would be to be touring half the year, and the other half would be me living outside of the city, in a cute little homestead, with goats and chickens, where I can work on music, and paint all day long. Dream big.

What quote or saying do you always stick by?
My guitar mentor Marshal Hopkins said this once to me and I’ll never forget it “comfort never made anyone brave”.

When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
To apply my favourite red lipstick
To also apply this weird, kinda gold, kinda silver nail polish, it’s good luck I swear.
I can NEVER forget to do vocal warm ups.
My guitar tuner
And… extra guitar strings.

Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
You can find me on Instagram, Debbiechrist_music. I refuse to go on anything else, I am addicted to instagram so the last thing I need is any more time spent on social media.