By: Lexxington ManyHeads
In just two years, Pollux has made quite a name for themselves in the music scene. The collaborative chemistry is the foundation of Pollux, a heavy music trio made up of guitarist, singer, and songwriter, Jax Running Rabbit, and siblings Lucas, drummer, and Isabella (Isa) Canji, bassist and vocalist, each bringing a distinct piece that fits together like a puzzle. Together, they blend and balance each other’s heavy music, technical, and melodic influences, creating their own, unique sound. “I bring riffs that I have to the band. It isn’t just me; it’s a band effort. What I had pictured doesn’t work out but it turns out way better when I bring it to the band.” Jax said. Lucas shared that a lot of their songs are written this way, “we have an idea that we like and we bring it to the band and it just evolves from there”.
The name Pollux had been living in Jax’s mind for years. Before the band officially formed, Jax had already been performing for about four years, cycling through countless potential band names. When Jax, Isa, and Lucas first came together, Jax briefly considered calling the band Jaxx, but quickly realized he didn’t like it. “I didn’t want it to just be my band,” he said. “It’s a group effort.” Out of all the names Jax had played with over time, Pollux was the one that always stayed with him. In astronomy, Pollux is the brightest star in the Gemini constellation, and at the time Jax had a strong interest in space and the stars. The name felt unique, meaningful, and fitting for a band.
Interestingly, the band came together on the set of a music video for another local, Siksika band Quarter Ounce. Lucas and Jax had been invited to play kid versions of the drummer and guitarist, and Isa went along with Lucas to the studio where the music video was being shot. At the studio, with instruments at their disposal, they decided to have a jam session. “After we were like, ‘we should jam again and see what happens. And then it happened, thanks to Quarter Ounce!” Lucas shared.
The band’s sound first started out as stoner-metal, but over the two years they have been together, it has evolved to include a multitude of genres. Pulling from a wide range of influences including Tool, Deftones, Poison the Well, Failure, Title Fight, and Gojira, Pollux has perfectly blended and balanced each of their own personal heavy, technical and melodic tastes. “It doesn’t clash and actually blends really well together,” Jax shared. “I bring my melodic element, Lucas brings his technical stuff, and Isa brings those hard bass riffs.” The blend of the band’s influences and tastes has their own unique sound. “We’ve found that unique sound recently, been sticking to it, and it’s been working for us. We’ve been together for 2 years and there’s been a lot of progress and now we’re where we want to be at.” Isa shared.
Some of their strongest moments of connection as a band happens during their writing process. When they’re writing a song, sometimes it doesn’t always click at the start, but the moment it does and they play it all the way through, Lucas shared, “I feel like that’s a big part of feeling the connection because then we’re all on the same wavelength of what we want to do and how we want to do it.” In recalling parts of their writing process, isa shared a moment when the band locks in: “there’s parts in our writing process where we’re just jamming and then we play it and then we all stop playing, look at each other and go ‘what was that? that was a crazy thing!’.”
Their live shows have become the beating heart of their growth. One of their biggest, rowdiest, and most memorable show was the Montgomery gig where they co-headlined. There was over 500 people in attendance, and they played alongside other bands like Killing Spree, Solar Plexus, Yellow Cake, and Tipless. “It was insane,” Lucas said. “During our cover of Undone by Failure, the crowd became a double layer because everyone was on each other’s shoulders with their hands in the air!” Jax, who described himself as introverted, usually keeping his head down while playing, remembers looking up mid-song and being stunned by what he saw. “I saw all these people on their friends’ shoulders and I was like, ‘woah, this is so weird!” he laughed. Isa notes that as they become more established in the music scene, their crowds have transformed. “We’re starting to get these crazy crowds and pits and insane energy at our shows!” Jax shared, “it took a while, but people are finally coming to shows for us.” “We love our fan base,” Lucas added.
When Pollux isn’t busy with rocking out at their shows, they’re in the studio recording and working on their debut album—so far spending 60 hours in the studio. They recorded drums at Chill Kill Studios and everything else with producer Scott Bennett in his home studio. They’ve also been working with Sketchy records, a Calgary based and independent record label dedicated to fostering the local punk rock scene, to help produce CDs and distribute Pollux’s music. Soon, they plan to release one or two singles before unveiling their full debut album. In the meantime, they will be playing a show on March 28, hosted by the Community Music Initiative.
For the members of Pollux, encouragement comes from experience. Lucas shared, “don’t be afraid to put your all into it. Being in a band, is like having another family. You build a connection with those people. Isa and I are siblings, but I feel like we’ve built a different connection from being in the same band, not just the usual sibling [one]” Isa added, “the best music is created when you don’t hold back, and you give it your all. It’s such a different world when you enter the music community. You get to the know all these people with the same interest as you and you get to make friends. It’s something that a lot of people don’t get to experience so when you do, it’s pretty awesome.” For Jax, he hopes to inspire Indigenous youth, particularly those on the reserve, by showing them that life has more to offer than substances, and that there are positive places where you can focus your energy and hard work. “I used music to cope with my problems, and it helped me a lot.”
If you would like to follow along with Pollux and their inspiring journey, be sure to check them out on Instagram, @polluxbandyyc.
