Hannah Judge, lead of the indie band fanclubwallet. (Image / Hannah Judge)

After discovering a piece of the small indie scene from Montreal through the beloved band Frown Line, I stumbled upon the spirited tunes of fanclubwallet. The catchy riffs instantly had my head nodding, and before long, their songs were stuck in my head throughout the day. The synths felt like they were lifting me into another world, teleporting me to a new plane of existence. Hooked, I found myself spiraling deeper into Hannah Judge’s wonderfully creative mind. Hannah is a multimedia artist, using her talents for more than just music. She has created the cover art for a few albums, and collaborated with other like-minded friends such as Etta Gerrits and Craig Renaud to bring the fanclubwallet.com website to life. With the release of their new single, “Cotton Mouth,” this past June, fanclubwallet is currently working on a new album that is to be released by the end of the year. If you want to feel a combination of merry, buoyant, and introspective all at once, read this interview, and then check out the band! (Pro tip: do both at the same time)

Anastasia’s song recommendation: “What’s Up” from the EP, Hurt Is Boring (2021)

Anastasia: Since you started the band during quarantine, what’s been the most transformative moment you’ve had during your career this far?

Hannah: Yeah, we started the band during quarantine, so I kind of skipped over doing house shows and local shows and went right to doing major tours, which was sort of horrifying. I got to play a secret house show two summers ago, and I was like, “Oh, actually, this is amazing…this is what it’s all about.” That made me feel like I was actually doing it. Or, even just getting played on the local radio station here, I was like, “Oh, my god!”

Anastasia: Would you mind introducing or just talking about the other band members and what they do?

Hannah: We have Mickey (Michael), who plays the drums and also produces all the songs, Nat plays the bass and Eric plays the guitar. For the record that we just did, we all now write together.

Anastasia: Did you all kind of know each other beforehand?

Hannah: Yeah, I actually was in the third grade with Michael and Nat, and then didn’t talk to them for a really long time because we went to different schools, but they were all in a band together called Amnita, and I was their tour photographer in, like, 2019. Then when I needed a band, I was like, “Well, I like your band.”

Anastasia: Did they tour just in Canada?

Hannah: They actually went to the States. We did this, like, insane, kind of crappy tour. We went all the way to Oklahoma. 

Anastasia: Alright, alright. I’ve seen you’ve drawn some of the album covers, so I was curious on how your love for visual art has meshed with your love for music?

Hannah: For the album covers, I’ve done the art for some of them, and then for the other ones, I went to an arts high school, so I feel like I was really lucky to meet a bunch of really great artists there, and I’ve gotten them all to get in on the projects. So, I think that my love for visual arts, when I’m thinking about putting out the music, I’m either like, “Oh, could I draw this?” Or like, “do I know someone that I think has the perfect vision for this?” And I think that the art really should reflect what the music looks like. It’s always the second most important thing for me.

Anastasia: That actually leads into my next question, which is, does your visual art kind of inspire your songs in a way, or vice versa?

Hannah: Yeah, I think so. Sometimes, I’ll try to make a comic or a drawing out of something, and it won’t quite come across, and I’ll be like, “Okay, actually, I should make a song instead.” Sometimes, it’s the other way around.

Anastasia: Do any of the other band members draw, too? Or is it mostly just you?

Hannah: It’s just me.

Anastasia: You’re currently working on a new album, how’s that process going?

Hannah: It’s been really fun. We went and stayed at this place called Port William Sound, which is a studio in Frontenac County. We were there for a week, which is the longest time we’ve ever gone away to record something, so we really got to get super into it. It was nice to not just be really stressed for time we got to actually relax, go on some walks, and hang out on the property. So, yeah, it was very chill. 

Anastasia: That’s cool! That’s great. Well, I’m excited to hear it when it comes out. When is that going to be, do you know?

Hannah: Tentative, October.

Anastasia: Your last album touched on themes like identity and certainty and finding your voice in early adulthood. I was curious if there are new perspectives or emotional spaces you’re gonna get into in this new album?

Hannah: Yeah, I think so for sure. This album definitely deals a lot with feeling isolated. And I think one of the big themes is, “does everybody hate me?” And just feeling kind of lost, which is sort of similar to the first album, but at the same time, there’s a lot of personal, like rebirth on this album, kind of like, “oh my god, everyone hates me and I’m gonna die,” and then you’re like, “but actually, maybe life is beautiful.” 

Anastasia: What are you excited for the band to accomplish in the next few years?

Hannah: I really want to tour in Europe. We’ve never done that before, so that would be cool. It’d be kind of cool to go to Japan. Those are, like, my big goals. But I think I’m just excited to… I don’t know, I’m not a big thinker, I’m just excited for tomorrow.

Anastasia: You talk about your struggle with chronic illness in toast, correct?

Hannah: Yeah!

Anastasia: I have a chronic illness too, so I was curious, has there been a particular realization or perspective that’s helped you along the way?

Hannah: I think realizing that it’s okay to ask for help, and it’s not, like, something to be embarrassed about. I think it’s easy to feel like when you have a chronic illness that, you know, like, the world is out to get you, and you’re not going to be able to, like, accomplish your dreams. But, I think that your dreams are your own, and you can change them to fit your life however you want. No one can take those dreams away from you. So, I think just remember, you’re your own biggest champion, and that’s all that matters. 

Anastasia: Great, thank you! That is really good advice. This is my last fun question, but since I’m a film major, do you have a favorite movie or TV show?

Hannah: Oh, yeah, okay. Favorite movie? I’m like… looking. I have a collection of movies right behind me. I’m like, “which one of these is my favorite?” I just watched in the last year, this movie called American Splendor, which is a documentary about a comic book artist. It was a really cool documentary they did. And then my favorite T.V. show is Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Anastasia: Okay, I’ve heard of it. I haven’t watched it yet, but I’ve heard it’s good.

Hannah: You like the Walking Dead?

Anastasia: Yes!

Hannah: Okay, you’ll like Buffy the Vampire Slayer.