As the hot summer days come to an end, autumn’s mystery and nostalgia gently envelop us, inspiring reflections on relationships past and present. The leaves might be falling, but MTL pop group GG Love’s new video for “It Could Still Be A Win” from their upcoming album, How Do You Define Love?, channels a golden-hued optimism that may best be attained by dancing with disco balls in an enchanted forest…

Their old-time friend, Regularfantasy (who we also interviewed in January), caught up with Georgia Graham (GG) and James Player (JP) on everything from how the band got together to what their signature Pump Pump moves are (keep reading for context!).

Regularfantasy: Who are GG Love?

Georgia Graham: The project started with just me. I played one solo show in my living room in Vancouver before moving to Montreal. James and I started making music together and it grew into a band, for many years with KÌzis Cota on bass. Now the band includes James, Jane L. Kasowicz Chris Hernandez, and myself.

RF: What does the name mean? I know this was your nickname a while back (back when we used to work together at a hair salon) - how did it come about?

GG: GG are my first and last initials - and Love is my middle name. I typed it into SoundCloud when I made my very first demos without really thinking, and then it just stuck.

When did it all begin for you, musically? What inspired you to start a band?

GG: I wrote the first GG Love song, Leave Your Car, on a keyboard I found at my mom’s house back in Victoria in 2012. Before that I was writing and performing kinda folk songs and sometimes playing in other people’s rock bands. It felt good to get the drum machines going.

JP: Georgia and I met while we were in a production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Georgia played Anas, the priest, and I was the guitarist in the band. We started making music together soon after that.

What are you influenced by in your music?

JP: All of us in the band have a lot of diverse musical interests that influence how we make music together. I’m really interested in improvisation, and that’s sort of my approach to guitar playing, both in recording and performing - improvising inside a pop song structure. Lately I like Mary Halvorson a lot.

I also really like 50s pop music and doo-wop.

GG: I love collaborating and am interested in pushing the performance aspect of a live show. Earlier this year I performed as Tall GG on the shoulders of Laura Jeffery (one of the dancers from the music video) wearing a long coat. I can’t really experiment with performance in that way these days, so I’m turning to video to channel some of that energy.

What is “It Could Still Be A Win” about?

GG: It’s not about a specific person, but more of a reflection on relationships from my early 20’s. I wrote these lyrics about 5 years ago, so the line about being called out felt a lot more light-hearted. It’s about being skeptical or disappointed by someone, but also seeing their potential.

Have you acquired any new COVID hobbies?

JP: I started a work out group called Pump Pump. At first it was my friend David and me. Now there are 32 people in the Instagram DM thread - which is the maximum number you can have. You can find us every other day in Jarry Park at either 10am or 6pm by the hill.

GG: I started sewing and modifying my clothes which feels pretty classic COVID.

What’s your signature Pump Pump move - GG how’s your knee?

JP: Frog leaps.

GG: Romanian deadlift. I’m trying to remember to do my physio exercises for my knee, thanks for asking.

What about the vid - where was it filmed? Why frog? Why Clown?

JP: It was filmed on Mont Royal near the cemetery last fall.

I’m pretty obsessed with Fall. I’m also sort of obsessed with frogs. I had a frog costume in the closet, so this seemed like a good chance to combine the two interests. I also really wanted to film at night and have a fire looking something like the midnight society from AYAOTD (Are You Afraid of the Dark - the 90’s horror series).

GG: A lot of it was improvised so I can’t really explain the clown - it was just the vibe of the moment.

You tend to keep yourself busy - what other projects have you been working on?

GG: I co-curate an annual photography slideshow called Magic Lantern that’s coming up soon. We also just filmed another music video (that features Pump Pump!), so I’m working on editing that.

JP: I’m going back to school. Electroacoustics. Today’s my first day.

Check out the video for “It Could Still Be A Win” below: