Sled Island Festival Series: Brock Geiger Interview

Brock Geiger on Sled Island 2026, Calgary’s Music Community & His Debut Album “Some Nights” | The Sonic Collective

In this Sonic Collective Sled Island series episode, host Darren Scott interviews Calgary-based songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and audio engineer Brock Geiger ahead of Sled Island 2026. Brock shares how he started playing music in Calgary, learned touring and studio life through bands like The Dudes and Reuben and the Dark, and built his production practice into Studio B. He discusses making his debut solo album, Some Nights, beginning during COVID in his home studio and later expanding it at Sound City in Los Angeles with notable players. Brock reflects on Sled Island’s impact, memorable early festival experiences, what makes the festival’s audiences unique, and how it supports Calgary’s independent scene. He also previews current projects, his Sled Island 2026 sets, recommended local venues, and advice for emerging artists.

Upcoming Performances 2026: 

June 17 - Dickens (Sled Island)
June 20 - Dandy Brewing (Sled Island)
July 25 - Calgary Folk Festival (as RALEIGH)

https://www.brockgeiger.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brock__geiger/

00:00 Show Intro
01:03 Sled Island Series Setup
02:33 Brock Geiger Background
02:44 Calgary Roots Early Bands
04:16 Touring Session Work
05:37 Recording Producing Obsession
07:56 Studio B Launch
09:00 Solo Album Some Nights
10:09 Sound City Upgrade Sessions
12:06 Sled Island First Memories
14:34 Playing Sled Island Community
15:36 Festival Impact On Calgary
17:51 Sled Audience Energy
20:53 Networking Through Festival
21:59 Current Projects LP Two
23:01 Sled Island Shows Schedule
23:54 Best Calgary Venues
25:19 Must See Acts This Year
25:58 Where To Find Brock
26:33 Advice For Musicians
28:26 Wrap Up And Credits

Brock Geiger Photo Credit: Sebastian Buzzalino

The theme music for The Sonic Collective is Dust by Les Gigantiques from Calgary. Our thanks to the band for letting us use and feature their music. Be sure to check them out. https://www.instagram.com/lesgigantiques/

Transcript

Intro 0:02

Welcome to The Sonic Collective, where music's past meets its future. Join hosts Alan, Scott Scott, and Darren Scott, as we explore the albums, artists, and movements that shape the music we love today. From legendary records and the influential musicians to rising artists creating tomorrow's soundtrack, we're passionate about helping music fans discover what matters. While streaming algorithms push what they're paid to promote, we dig deeper, connecting you with the classics you need to revisit and the new artists you need to hear. Rediscover the music that shaped the past. Discover the artists shaping the future. This is The Sonic Collective Welcome back to our special Sled Island series where we're exploring the artist stories and creative community that makes Sled Island one of Canada's most unique and important music festivals. Throughout this series, we're speaking with musicians performing at Sled Island 2026 to learn about their creative journeys, their connection to the festival, and how events like Sled Island help shape Calgary's music scene while providing opportunities for emerging and established artists alike. Today's guest is Brock Geiger, a Calgary-based songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, audio engineer, and one of the city's most respected musical collaborators. Over the past decade, Brock has built an impressive resume working on more than 50 recordings, touring internationally across Canada, the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom, and Japan, and contributing to projects that have appeared everywhere from Grey's Anatomy to Game of Thrones. While many music fans know Brock through his work supporting other artists, his debut solo album, Some Nights, firmly places him in the spotlight as a songwriter and a performer in his own right. Praised by outlets including NPR and Rolling Stone, the record showcases his gift for thoughtful songwriting, adventurous production, and a distinctive indie pop sensibility. In our conversation, we discuss Brock's musical journey, his experiences within Calgary's creative community, the importance of Sled Island, and what it means to build a career as an artist in an ever-changing music industry. I'm Darren Scott, and this is the Sonic Collective. Here's my conversation with Brock Geiger

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 2:33

All right. With that, we'll get going you're from Calgary, let's start there. I guess tell me about growing up in Calgary and how you started your musical journey.

BG 2:43

Yeah. yeah, I was lucky to have a real, you know, nice, suburban Calgary upbringing here, in the southwest. music was, not really like in my family per se. Like, neither of my parents are players or anything like that, but we were always listening to music, and I was lucky to kinda have a group of peers right out of the gate from a young age that were also just, very interested and, you know, ch- try- ch-chasing things down. so kinda started playing guitar as an early teenager, and kinda just went at it, very naturally. Was just became obsessed with, you know... I was super into, like, classic rock and, that at the time. had Pink Floyd cover bands in, like, junior high and high school and stuff like that. and just kind of, it just became a love super fast, so, stayed, stayed in it, and that community just kinda continued to grow. and kinda right out of high school was able to stumble into playing with a handful of bands that were pretty active at the time, and, yeah, just kind of a natural progression of, meeting people and, enjoying the ride.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 3:46

what high school did you go to? I always like

BG 3:47

I went to Henry Wisewood in the,

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 3:49

Wisor,

BG 3:50

the southwest here. Yeah, on Aldo. Totally.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 3:53

nice.

BG 3:54

Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 3:54

yeah, thanks. So I... Yeah, so with that, you start your musical journey. like you said, Pink Floyd, nothing like starting your

BG 4:00

Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 4:01

but trying to emulate Gilmore. Wow.

BG 4:03

Yeah. Yes,

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 4:04

yeah.

BG 4:04

totally

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 4:05

yeah, ob- obviously a great player.

BG 4:07

Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 4:07

so, so from there you kinda... How did you get into becoming, I guess, a studio musician or a musician for hire? How did that happen?

BG 4:16

Yeah. I think right out of the gate, like when I-- O- the, one of the first bands I joined when I, I guess when I was 19, I, I started playing bass in a local band called The Dudes here, and that was, They were, well-established at the point that I joined the group. They'd been a band since like the late '90s.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 4:35

Mm-hmm.

BG 4:35

so all of them are, you know, a decade older than me or so. But, I, They needed a, a new player, so I kinda jumped in, and they were still on, kinda riding the waves of like a push from, a new record and stuff. So I kinda got introduced to like the touring life and studio world, kinda right out of the gate. and that kinda just allowed me to transition some of those skills and connections and ideas to like the projects I was working on, on my own on the side. and I mean, Calgary's just like a small scene as you're kind of, you're probably familiar with, you know, as you... I mean, it's big and growing and diverse, but at least like, you know, if you're, if you're in it, there's so many like like-minded people in those worlds that it's just like, okay, we're... My experience at least was like people helping each other out, like building a community, kind of being introduced to this, that, and the other thing to kinda just continue growing and kinda, you know, tr- treading your own path along that way. But, it was, always community-minded in that way, where it was like I'm just l- learning from my peers or like tapping in on a session and like grabbing a skill set here and there. and then the recording and producing thing kind of evolved from necessity, as it does for a lot of people with like, you know, the accessibility to recording technology and that these days being, it's no replacement for like your world-class studios, but it's, you know, you can crack out some pretty good quality demos and recordings with, mm, you know, nothing more than a phone or a laptop these days. And like, I kinda got into that, like making my own demos and recordings, with some of my buddies at the time, kinda right out of the gate. So it became kind of the part of the process, with playing music was like, oh, we can also record this even if it's not to be released, but it's, you know, if it was two microphones off of a cassette machine or whatever and we're just recording our jams. You know, I have tons of cassettes of just, us like, you know, playing and figuring things out. So I kinda really liked the, capturing part of things, even if it was just like archival. And, figuring out how you could make things sound, became kind of an obsession early on too. So that became pretty integrated with my process as like a writer, artist, was, kinda using the recording studio and those tools as kind of parts of my inspiration.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 6:44

Yeah, amazing. And so, I mean, you contributed to a lot of different musical artists. I guess, is there... Like, are the ones that, you remember the most that you played on?

BG 6:55

Yeah. I mean, I spent a lot of, a good portion of my time, like, I was in that band, The Dudes, and another band, Reuben and the Dark, for, like, over a decade. so those were like, you know, we were, we were a band and, like, co- group effort in that capacity. So that I'd consider less as, like, a session player. But, those, you know, we made a lot of fun things with that, those groups. it's... There's no favorites, honestly. There's like, I've, over the years, I... It's just, like, been a diverse list, and there's, like, always stuff to pull from, and, grow into the next thing. So that's kinda what keeps it fresh and, moving forward and exciting for me, is, like, the fact that nothing is ever the same. It's always, like, a new kinda problem to solve or, like, way to present, an idea. and that's, yeah, that's kinda what keeps it fresh and exciting.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 7:39

you also played with, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald.

BG 7:41

Yeah, I continue to play in his band. Yeah,

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 7:44

Yeah,

BG 7:44

totally, totally. I've been on a bunch of his records over the years and, I'm kind of one of the core groups of his touring act for the last, four or five years as well. So we've, we've been good buddies for a long time

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 7:55

Yeah, yeah. So, so you're playing the studio, and then you also open your own studio, Studio B. I guess when did that start?

BG 8:03

Yeah, that has been kind of like more of an official, thing for the last, five years or so.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 8:09

Mm-hmm.

BG 8:10

and a- again, just kind of came from, like, naturally evolving. Like, I wanted to do- record my own music and projects, but, I think as people kind of realized that that was kind of part of what I was doing, and liking the way things were sounding coming out of my space, slowly kind of started getting calls or interest from other people wanting to throw some stuff down. and I've kind of, leaned into that as much as possible, as kind of like balancing out my own a- artist career. It's like being a producer and collaborator for bringing other people's visions to life has been really fun and, and just, like, another way to kind of keep the, the ball rolling. so that's, yeah, that's kind of become, like, a big focus for me is, is operating the studio and working with other, other artists as well.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 8:54

Yeah, very cool. So, so you play with a lot of people, you've been in a lot of great bands, and those are big names.

BG 8:59

Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 9:00

you're doing that for 15 years, so out from behind all that and you just released your first album last year, 2025, I believe, And Some Nights. so tell me about that and why now? Why did you step out from behind to the forefront?

BG 9:16

Yeah, you know, it's again, just kind of, it's a lot of just, like, things falling into place. It's not too much, you know, I'm, I'm a go-with-the-flow kind of, guy. definitely, like, ideas plotted and things I wanna chase down, but this, that was kinda just, like, came naturally with a lot of timing. I've always, you know, been writing and have, had a band called Rally for years. that was kind of... That's where my personal writing would get filtered. but basically COVID hit, and all of our, touring schedules with the, you know, previously mentioned acts really slowed down. and I had just a ton of time to kind of refocus where the energy was going. So having the tools and the access to the studio, I kind of just dove into my own tunes and, basically made a version of that record, alone at my studio, in the early COVID, years there. And then, took that, shared it with my good buddy Will, who is, working down in Los Angeles, as a very skilled engineer-producer himself. And he was like, "Hey, these are great, but, like, do you wanna come blow these up with me down here? We have access to an amazing room." He works at Sound City, which is, you know, iconic, insane room to get access to.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 10:29

Yeah,

BG 10:29

we,

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 10:30

Sound City, man.

BG 10:31

Yeah, it was really epic and so fun, and just, like, the community he's, associated with down there allowed, some access to some incredible players and stuff too. So we took the record that I had made at my studio and kinda went down and were just kind of, like, cutthroat about what could stay and what needed to be replaced and, like, brought in some amazing players, like people I've looked up to for years. And, were able to just, yeah, kind of like make the, the record, the plus version of it. And, that was kind of how that kind of all came to be, and, and it just made sense to put it all out since the, you know, it's, it was all happened, so.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 11:04

Yeah, you're, you're, the players you got on there, and probably through your connections, are amazing. Like Matt Chamberlain, Sam Gendel,

BG 11:10

Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 11:11

Gabe N 如. Like,

BG 11:12

Epic, yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 11:13

I... You know, you know what came to my mind right away? I'm like, like, you're the new Toto. Like, Toto was, was known as this

BG 11:19

Hilarious.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 11:20

band. Everybody knows Africa and Rosanna,

BG 11:21

Of course, yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 11:22

may not realize that those guys were studio guys first, and played

BG 11:26

100%.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 11:27

yeah, the best of the best albums. And,

BG 11:29

Yeah, yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 11:29

I felt it really showed through. So listening to

BG 11:32

Amazing

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 11:33

and, and right away, I mean, I, I, I was, I'm new to you, but, I've been listening to it for the last week or so here,

BG 11:39

Awesome

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 11:40

it, it, it, it's such a great melodic soundscape album. Like, I

BG 11:45

Appreciate it

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 11:45

it's funny, I saw another quote from another reviewer, said something, "You know, at the end, you just feel good." And I'm like, that's exactly it. Like,

BG 11:51

Awesome

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 11:52

just, the album just makes you feel great. it's just layered.

BG 11:55

Glad to hear

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 11:56

done. You can tell all the musicians are just amazing,

BG 12:00

Yeah, yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 12:01

perfectly. So, you

BG 12:02

Appreciate that so much

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 12:03

I think you go give it a listen for sure. So, so

BG 12:06

Thank you

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 12:06

you know, we're talking about Slid Island here. So I guess what was, you know, what was your first exposure? How did you hear about, learn about Slid Island?

BG 12:15

Yeah. I also was lucky to, again, like, right in, I guess I graduated, school in, like, 2008. But I, I had a friend, my drummer at, in my high school band, his, brother-in-law was, like, a really... He's established musician and playwright in town, Chris Demener.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 12:31

Mm-hmm.

BG 12:32

and, so we got told about this, like, this festival, Sled Island, like, the first, the first year it happened in 2007 before, you know, even being of age to go to shows and I was like, "Oh, this sounds great. This is something I'm into." So I was, I had my first Sled Island experience the first year it happened in 2007, and, ended up getting to see some shows that still are very, like, stand out in my mind. I saw, Chad VanGaalen and Dan Bejar from Destroyer, at the church, St. Grace Presbyterian Church. and that blew my mind just seeing two solo acts kind of, like, control a room with, like, the power of just, like, their songs, was very amazing. And then I think later that night or maybe the next day, we went to Mac Hall Ballroom and saw Spoon, which was incredible and, like, you know, that was the-- They were just, like, on their first kind of, like, wave of breaking through in, North America. So it was like, that was incredible and amazing local act, Hot Little Rocket opened up for them, and that just kinda, like, blew my mind. I was like, "Wow, this is a local band, you know, playing to a sold-out Mac Hall Ballroom." seeing, like, peers and people that I, you know, recognized from the record shops in town and stuff, like, on stage in front of those rooms, I was like, "Wow, okay. This is a thing that, like, we can do," you know? yeah, that first year of Sled Island was insane. They, like, did, like, a main stage. It was, like, Cat Power and, like, oh, man, I don't even re- ugh, Broken Social Scene, Tegan and Sara. Like, the lineup was out of control for, like, a first year of a festival. So it was like it made a mark right out of the gate for me.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 14:08

Yeah, it is amazing. And I mean, quickly to those that maybe are listening and don't know it, really it's at a lot of smaller venues, but you know, there are, there, there's Palace, you know,

BG 14:17

Mm-hmm.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 14:17

then they were using Mac Hall Ballroom.

BG 14:19

Totally

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 14:19

there's some other... But like, it really is intimate, smaller places, and you're really seeing these acts that are up and coming and, many, many have become massive artists after.

BG 14:29

Totally, totally

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 14:30

your first time playing in Sled, like,

BG 14:33

No, I've,

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 14:34

or

BG 14:34

I played it, I played it the last couple years actually. I've been lucky to get it. kind of when I started like, you know, promoting my solo, artist career here, I kinda tried to poke the, all the right people and get, get in on the action to kinda build some awareness for, for my music. And so I got to do like the kickoff party a couple years ago. I guess I didn't play it last year, but I've played it with, as a, as a session guy and collaborated with a lot of people. I think I have played it almost every year that the festival has existed actually, in some capacity or another.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 15:06

Yeah

BG 15:07

so yeah, that's, yeah, very familiar, but,

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 15:09

Well,

BG 15:09

new every time

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 15:10

you wanna play it so you get the band at least, and then you can go, you can go see The

BG 15:13

It's a pretty nice little perk. You know, you get to bounce around and, see everyone. It's honestly the festival for me, it's like I love playing it obviously, but it's like, it's such a, again, like community, event and it's like amazing to see the city light up and like, it's like holy shit. Like people do care about going to shows, you know? That's like a, that's a week that peop- it really shows that there's like a reason for these, s- events and, people involved. Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 15:36

Yeah, and I mean, those outside Alberta may look at us and be like, "Oh, it's the Calgary Stampede, and it's

BG 15:42

Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 15:43

western here, and they got crazy politics and..."

BG 15:46

Yeah, yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 15:46

I think those of us that live here know, I mean, there's been an, a, a music scene here for many, many years, a- and that's, that's growing that is non, not, not necessarily country. But I mean, I guess, how do you feel, like, s- events like this and the local, I guess, community across Alberta really supports, you know, more independent music and not just that, you know, country?

BG 16:10

time. Big time. Yeah. It's, I mean, it's huge. It's like, I think it's like a staple, and people know Sled Island around the world at this point, you know? It's like,

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 16:19

Mm-hmm

BG 16:19

I have friends that, like, my buddy Mineo Kawasaki comes, he's been coming from Japan to play the festival for a handful of years, and it's like that's grown in the awareness. You know, they bring in international acts, and it's like so much stuff that even someone who's interested in like the underground independent world of music, like I'm exposed to new stuff every, every year too. So it's like, it's a amazing discovery and exposure festival, but it's also like... Yeah, it's like, it's a, it's the real deal. They're putting on great shows, and it's like an opportunity for local bands to, you know, s- open for a more established act here and there and like, you know, reach some audience in your local town that you maybe wouldn't find otherwise. So it's, it's a really good thing for the arts community here.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 17:07

Yeah, I think so too. And it obviously it pulls from the area, which is great. We've always been geographically kinda sheltered here on this side of Canada. It's not so easy to just, you know, t- if you're playing in Toronto, it's not just a quick hop, skip, and a drive to get to, Calgary or

BG 17:22

True that.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 17:22

it's

BG 17:23

Yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 17:23

So you, you, they pulls acts from, of course, BC, Vancouver, but Seattle, you'll get Oregon, Northern California, you get all these collects, but a lot of international acts too,

BG 17:32

Big time. Yeah, yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 17:34

of people don't realize. And again, so intimate, and I always find Sled so much about discovery instead of, you know, yes, South by Southwest and all those big festivals, but they've just become big concert tickets now. Y-

BG 17:45

Pretty much

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 17:45

local there, but it's so busy, so crazy, that, you know, here's the opportunity to do that. what's the difference between playing a Sled audience versus just one of your regular show audiences?

BG 17:58

For some reason, people, the excitement is just up. You know, it's like I think people, it's established enough now and people kind of know what to expect for like an action-packed five days that it's like, it's like people are on and ready to go to shows. So that's like kind of the coolest part is just like there's an excitement in the air. You know, you're on the street, you're running into buddies on bikes who are like, "I'm heading to this venue. I'll see you at this show. I'll see..." You know, it's like, it's just like kind of fun. There's like an elevated sense of, of like wanting to be involved and like, you know, not wanting to have the FOMO. You wanna see like that buzz act or you, you know, you heard they had a great set on the Tuesday, getting down to the show on the Friday night, whatever. Like, I think it's just like really cool in that way that it just like injects this like, Yeah, it's just energized. Like there's a, the appreciation for what a festival and what a live show is, I think, is super magnified that, for this week and it's, I think you just feel that playing, you know? It's like it's feels good to be a part of that wave of like getting, doing something positive for the city and like culturally, it's just like, the shows are, you know, isolated shows, but it's like you're a part of, this greater movement that just feels very positive for a, a place like Calgary.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 19:10

Yeah, agreed. And you touch on a, a cool point about the show too. Many people will bike, and they put bike racks in front

BG 19:16

Oh yeah

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 19:16

lot of these clubs and, and bars and, places you're playing, even like The Legion, are all fairly close in the

BG 19:22

Totally

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 19:23

and you can bike or scooter to them, and a lot of people do. Like now be careful with your drinking and driving there,

BG 19:28

Definitely. Yeah, yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 19:29

but yeah, it, it's a really unique experience. So you

BG 19:32

Yeah, the bike is the way. I,

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 19:33

Yeah,

BG 19:34

a proponent for the bike. Bike Sled Island, 'cause you can, you can over... You can get, you know, you can catch a sh- show at 8:00 and be at the next one by 9:15, and you're cruising, and it's, it's a blast.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 19:45

Oh, yeah, yeah. It's so good. It's so good. And, and I j- just wanna point out too, you know, we're talking about your style of music, but I had an interview with K. Riz yesterday, hip hop, and then, you know, there's other elements, comedy and things like that too, so it's just so much more, so much

BG 19:58

Yeah, totally. I think that first year, like Fred Armisen was here, you know? It's like they were like pulling like huge names. It's like, it's, it's crazy to see the diversity of the billing, yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 20:07

Yeah, I guess would you say SLED, the festival itself, has influenced your own musil- musical direction?

BG 20:13

I think just naturally in being, like getting exposed to some of the artists that have come through the city via the festival, like, you know, even subconsciously I would, yeah, have to admit that probably it has like, you know, infiltrated the, the psyche to some degree. I've seen, some of my favorite shows in Calgary have, been Sled Island programmed events. It's, it's definitely amazing. You know, bands that like probably wouldn't be making the trip here, you know, in other situations, like are coming to town to like be a part of this thing. So yeah, I, I would definitely say like, you know, getting to see some of the acts that through for the festival are, have made their mark

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 20:53

Yeah, and you made an interesting point, and I guess the question to you, and it would probably be true for other acts, know, coming here you get to connect with so many other artists coming, like you said, internationally, locally. Like,

BG 21:05

Perfect Yeah, definitely. couple years, oh geez, like the year of the flood actually, we got to do shows with a band I really love, Unknown Mortal Orchestra. that turned into getting to do a couple more shows with them after opening up and like, you know, basically just like gear off of them and stuff. It's just like, it's easy. People are just normal humans, you know? You're like, you play a show and you, you vibe with people, and next thing you know, you get to do another opening slot. same thing happened with the band, up in Montreal. We, we got to like, I, I met Kevin during one of their earlier Slit Island performances, and then we needed a support act, years later in Calgary, and that worked out. So it's, it is just a, you know, it's a, it's a world of who you know and, who, who you're vibing with. So, it's, it's cool in that way how it kind of just can surprisingly open a door here and there.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 21:59

Yeah, amazing. So, so let's, you know, turn back to you. So what are you working on right now?

BG 22:04

I'm working on a new collection of music, so kind of into the next wave of another record. been kind of demos and getting things ready for LP two of my own music. I've had a couple, like, big-- I do a lot of work, scoring and doing sound design for animated films. So I've, kind of been getting through a couple projects in that world that I'm really excited about that'll have a, that'll have a festival run kind of later in 2026, which will be cool. working on records with a couple awesome Calgary artist, record by singer-songwriter Jolene Marie just came out a couple days ago. We did that up at studio over the last few months. some songs with Kate Stevens, another, amazing singer-songwriter vocalist in town here Lots of things. It's, it's a, it's a juggle of kind of what's getting, getting happening at any, any time

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 23:00

Yeah, you're keeping busy. You c- so I guess, t- what... But we have Sled coming up here, I guess. So I guess when do you play Sled, and what o- what other, shows do you have upcoming?

BG 23:09

We're doing, we got to, we're doing two shows that slid out this year. So we do the Wednesday night at Dickens with the Pale Hound. It'll be really fun. And then we play Saturday afternoon in the Dandy parking lot. They're kind of like a, a patio party. They do like a barbecue and, it's always a good time. It's like, you know, big, they open up the parking lot and, it'll be really cool. Another friend, from Japan is on that also. It'll be fun to connect with him, so.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 23:42

Yeah, Dandy, great location. I know Ben

BG 23:44

Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 23:45

I,

BG 23:45

Yeah. Great. Totally.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 23:46

a small distillery, and

BG 23:48

Oh, sweet.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 23:49

time as well, so

BG 23:49

Yeah. They're a great gang

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 23:51

yeah, the great supporters of local music, another great establishment. So I guess quickly there, like, what are the local establishments, and let's give them a shout, that

BG 24:00

Yeah.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 24:00

to see bands at?

BG 24:01

Yeah, I mean, I'm a, I'm a big diehard for the Palomino.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 24:05

Yeah. Oh, yeah

BG 24:06

like, you know, endless shows there, and even worked there for a few years in like 2013. Was, the guy passing PBRs from the other side of the bar. So I'm always a fan of the Pal. The Ship Anchor is great. I'm, hoping that sticks around 'cause they're up against some, challenges with some development and stuff right now. But,

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 24:26

That's scary

BG 24:27

yeah, terrible. But, that venue is amazing. I love the shows there. Loophole Coffee Bar is a recent favorite for me. It's like they have a-- It's super intimate, but they have like a blank space, kind of like gallery, room in the back that is amazing for putting on diverse shows. Like, they'll do noise shows and free jazz, and just anything goes there, so that's really awesome. There's-- You know what? It's like, there's, there should always be more, but there's like a good wave of spaces putting on cool events in the city right now. The Blocks Art there has been really cool lately, on 11th Ave. Really cool for like all ages events and stuff, and they're always doing like great fundraisers for valuable fees and stuff in, in town. So lots of places to see cool independent shows in town right now.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 25:18

Yeah, very cool. I, I guess for Sled, is there any artists or bands you wanna see this year at the show,

BG 25:23

Cool. Yeah. I'm really stoked to see, Laraji. that'll be super cool. ambient, like design, kind of spacey music that, will be very cool to see in town. I'm pretty excited about one of the bills we get to play on with one of my, bands I play in, Eye of Newt. We're, opening for that Black Country, New Road at The Palace, which will be fun. my buddies from Japan, Tangen Guggen, are coming to that Dandy show, so that'll be really cool. We got to play with them in, in Japan a couple years ago, so it'll be really fun to have them here.

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 25:58

So, where can people find, your music? Where do you wanna

BG 26:01

I'm all over the internet. brockaiger.com is a great place to find all of it. Bandcamp is a great place to find the music and, purchase digital or physical copies. we did a limited edition run of super cool LPs, for the record, so always, encouraging people to check out the physical formats. yeah, you know, Instagram, Brock Geiger is a great place to connect and see, all the things going on. But all the typical places, it's all up on the streamers and stuff, but

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 26:32

Awesome. I, I guess, to kind of finish up here, what, here you're a local Calgary guy, named Top 40 Under 40 a couple years back. I guess, what advice would you have for up-and-coming musicians in, Calgary

BG 26:45

yeah, you know, I don't know, advice, I think it's kind of about just finding your path and, like, doing your thing, finding your voice, and then finding the people that resonates with, and they do exist, you know? So staying true to that is kind of like what keeps it, feeling real and uncompromised, you know? 'Cause there's no rules for this. It's, choose your own adventure and find the people that, kinda ride those waves with you, I think is what keeps it enjoyable and keeps you doing things that are authentic to yourself. 'cause I think, you know, anyone that I see that is doing this long term is, like, is doing it that way, and still enjoying it and finding, you know, value and providing value. So, put yourself out there. There's no wrong answers. It's, meet people, play the songs, and, have the chats and the connections 'cause it, rewards are

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 27:38

Yeah, yeah. Gotcha. Well, and great place to make connections, that island. But,

BG 27:41

Will

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 27:42

anything else

BG 27:43

do

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 27:44

tell your

BG 27:44

Yeah, this is great. Yeah, no, I appreciate it. Thanks for, opening things up and, put a spotlight on for the festival and, maybe stirs up a little bit more interest

Darren Scott - The Sonic Collective 27:54

Yeah, yeah, hopefully. Brock, super great to, talk to you today and, thanks for this and, yeah, I'm,

BG 27:59

Really appreciate it

28:26

That was Calgary musician, songwriter, producer, and sonic explorer, Brock Geiger. a huge thank you to Brock for joining us and sharing his thoughts on songwriting, creativity, collaboration, and the role Sled Island continues to play in fostering a vibrant and supportive music community here in Calgary. If you haven't already, be sure to check out Brock's debut album, Some Nights, and explore the many projects he's contributed to over the years. Whether performing on stage, producing in the studio, or collaborating behind the scenes, Brock continues to be one of the most influential and versatile musicians working in Western Canada today. This interview is part of our ongoing Sled Island series. Be sure to listen to our feature episode, the Sonic Collective presents Sled Island: The Festival That Changed Calgary Music, as well as our conversations with other artists performing at this year's festival. We'll also be releasing a special post-festival recap episode where we'll share highlights from Sled Island 2026, reactions from artists and fans, and our reflections on why this festival continues to be one of Calgary's greatest cultural success stories. Until next time, keep discovering great music, support independent artists, and never stop exploring. I'm Darren Scott, and this has been the Sonic Collective. Thanks for listening Thanks for listening to The Sonic Collective. If you enjoyed this episode, help us keep great music alive by subscribing, leaving a review, and sharing the show with a fellow music fan. Be sure to explore our growing catalog of album reviews, artist interviews, festival coverage, and music discoveries from across Canada and beyond. The theme music for The Sonic Collective is Dust by Léger Gongtic from Calgary. Our thanks to the band for letting us use and feature their music. Be sure to check them out. Until next time, keep listening, keep discovering, and keep the conversation going. This is The Sonic Collective signing off