Name: ON
Members: Lucy Di Santo (vocals, bass), Dan Cornelius (drums), Steve Fall (guitars)
Interviewee: Lucy Di Santo
Nationality: Canadian
Current release: ON's full-length album Gator, produced by Martin Bisi, is slated for release in Winter of 2023 via Indiestructable.
Recommendations: The Purpose Driven Life (Rick Warren) and Man’s Search for Meaning (Viktor Frankl).

[Read our Martin Bisi interview]

If you enjoyed this On interview and would like to stay up to date with the band, their music and tour dates, visit their official homepage. They are also on Instagram, Facebook, and twitter.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

That is a really thought provoking question … I guess for the most part my eyes are open when I listen to music.

If it is music that appeals to me in some way - I feel certain changes happening in my body. That, I know, is the prompt for adrenaline or dopamine - or even oxytocin which is known as ‘the love hormone’, as it feels like that nice warm and fuzzy feeling that one gets with pets, loved ones, comfort food; it’s that ‘feel good’ feeling.

What were your very first steps in music like - and how do you rate gains made through experience versus the naiveté of those first steps?

I guess my first ‘steps’ started as a child - and as a listener. I was a voracious listener of AM radio, FM radio, my parent’s vinyl collection, my boom box while getting ready in the bathroom … Music created a mood - and I gravitated to it.

I remember as a child that I would always hear the bass guitar in songs - that low and pulsating groove. I knew I heard music and wanted to get it out - so I realised I needed to play an instrument - and it was bass all the way for me.

I rented my first bass and decided if I could figure out the bassline for Bauhaus “Bela Lugosi’s dead” - I was good to go! I am grateful for all these steps as it has made me who I am today.



According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music mean to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

Music was the soundtrack of my life at that age - it was my friend. I remember listening to the Doors - as I was obsessed with Jim Morrison - and the song “When the music’s over”, and the lyric, “Music is your only friend - until the end”. That is how I felt - teenage angst and all.



I was a Beatles fan, a 60’s psychedelic music fan, hard rock fan, disco fan - almost all the trends.

My real identity came from listening to punk rock and then post-punk: the Sex Pistols, Elvis Costello, Blondie, the Pretenders, the Violent Femmes for the first time.



Music has not changed that much for me - I like new alternative artists, and am always excited when I hear something that resonates with me - moves me in some way.

Over the course of your development, what have been your most important instruments and tools and how have they shaped your perspective on music?

I started taking bass guitar lessons with a great teacher at Beaches Guitar Studio in Toronto. I could not wait to get there every Friday night for my lesson!

[Read our feature on the bass]

A couple of things that were key to my tools that have really molded my playing include: to always practice with a metronome / drum machine. That one habit has allowed me to always place ‘groove’ first as the utmost important part of a bass line. That is what hooks people in on a subconscious level.

Another one was my teacher’s insistence on ‘real bass players play with their fingers and not a pick”. I’m not opposed to playing with a pick, and yet I feel completely at one with my instrument when I’m playing with fingers.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and what motivates you to create?

An internal longing to get a message, an emotion, an identity, or a cry for help out - both lyrically and musically - is a key.

What motivates me to create in internal state, reflections on subject matter that is around us; observations.

Paul Simon said “the way that I listen to my own records is not for the chords or the lyrics - my first impression is of the overall sound.” What's your own take on that and how would you define your personal sound?

Personal Sound - melodic, soulful, heavy, with punk and funk underpinnings.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

A train passing, a plane passing, crickets creaking, the face of an elder person in palliative care, the expression on a child’s face when surprised with a sign of love from their parent.

From very deep/high/loud/quiet sounds to very long/short/simple/complex compositions - are there extremes in music you feel drawn to and what response do they elicit?

I love a distorted guitar - and that represents passion, sometimes anger, sometimes venting for me.

I also love the power of quiet and a powerful lyric and melody. The response is a dopamine rush.

From symphonies and traditional verse/chorus-songs to linear techno tracks and free jazz, there are myriads ways to structure a piece of music. Which approaches work best for you – and why?

It always starts with a hook - whether it's a bassline groove, a guitar line chord progression, or vocal melody or even a lyric. One of those is the foundation for the many musical houses we build as songs.

Then it builds from there with the band - to hopefully capture what the overall expression is.

Sometimes, science and art converge in unexpected ways. Do you conduct “experiments” or make use of scientific insights when you're making music?

Many of the subject matter in our songs is based on the human condition - so I guess you could say we make use of a lot of philosophical insights.

I do personally invoke many mental health images as well - as per my own experiences - so I guess psychology is used.

And, we definitely use maths - to perhaps experiment with different time signatures to see what can suit the song best.

How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?

For me, music is the most authentic way I communicate - on some very personal and vulnerable subjects at times.

As life goes on, I have learned that when things are most serene and at equilibrium is when I live true to myself, my values and honour my needs - and show that same privilege to others.

So yes - I can learn a lesson from how I approach music!

Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

I express what is really going on - not always pleasant and not always pretty - but always real!

Every time I listen to "Albedo 0.39" by Vangelis, I choke up. But the lyrics are made up of nothing but numbers and values. Do you, too, have a song or piece of music that affects you in a way that you can't explain?

Music invokes a subconscious dimension in us - it has the capability to create a mood, emotion, memories, thoughts, bring awareness and even alter states.

I know this sounds cliche - but I feel every authentic musical endeavour does that in some way.

If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

I think you touched on it earlier, I would like to see the mixing of different venues like science with music, philosophy, physiology, industry, medicine, religion and of course science.