Wandering Off

By Melissa Piche Times Contributor

The band The Wandering Off features two former Strathmore students, Emily (Bolinger) Corner and Kyle Corner, who released their self-titled debut album on March 31. 

The couple has been together since 2005, but only writing and playing music together since 2021. During the pandemic, the two sat down and decided it was time to let the creative juices flow. 

Looking back on their time in Strathmore, the two both remember the music scene as being on fire. 

“It was the mid to late 90’s and it was the music of that era that inspired this album,” said Kyle. “The music scene in Strathmore during that time was just killer.” 

The Wandering Off sound is described as having influences from grungy artists of the 90’s like the Smashing Pumpkins, Gin Blossoms, Goo Goo Dolls and Nirvana. 

The high school had Battle of the Band shows and Kyle’s siblings were in a rock band.

“I couldn’t believe how cool the music scene was,” he said. 

Kyle recalls of when he was younger and having to hide behind the shuffleboard as bands would come to his house to jam. 

“That class of ‘97, ’98 and ’99 – there’s some cool musicians in that era,” he said. 

Trevor Corner, Kyle’s brother who passed away in 1997, was an inspiration to Kyle and his memorial plaque hangs in their home studio 

“I kinda think he has some part in this record.” Emily says of Trevor’s spirit. 

“I came from such musical talent and as a kid it just never clicked,” said Kyle. “It took many, many years for me to finally come back around to playing music.”

Emily recalls how she was known to sing in front of the school with no hesitation.

“I think we had a little band going in high school,” she said. “Music has always been a big part of my life.” 

Despite attending the same school, the pair met in college. They met randomly at the Gateway, of all places, in Calgary while they were both attending SAIT. 

“It was a random love at first sight type of moment,” said Emily of the chance encounter. 

Throughout their time in Strathmore, the pair were often at the same punk band event or some sort of musical affair, but never crossed paths. 

“That town just never leaves me,” said Kyle. “Of course, I meet a girl from Strathmore.” 

Emily’s family is from Gleichen where she grew up farming. She attended elementary school in Gleichen and junior high to high school in Strathmore – graduating in 2004. 

Emily has recorded two previous albums in her early 20’s. Emily was also featured on the MuchMusic TV show disBAND in 2010. 

Since that time, the pair got married, had kids, and as life often does – it takes you in different directions. 

However, in March of 2020, the pandemic hit and Kyle started playing guitar and other emotions came about. 

“I got my creative chops back,” said Kyle. 

Emily recalls that time period when the two decided to create their home studio.

“It was like all this weird magic happened,” said Emily. “These songs just started to happen. We just love music and this is fun and we aren’t really doing it for any other reason except for that.” 

Rocket Grid Studio in Strathmore is another Strathmore connection for the pair. They connected with Tyler Hille who created their music videos, their website and their merchandise. 

Emily explains that writing music in your 30’s is a lot different from when she would write in her 20’s. “I’ve just been through so much more now,” she said. “It’s a different perspective of everything now.” 

The pair both work full-time jobs and sometimes the inspiration for the songs comes from simple places like coworker’s lives. 

“There’s also some good old-fashioned love songs, songs about loss, songs about standing up for yourself,” she said. “I feel very grateful that I can write about these experiences. We have the first record out and we are just trying to get as many people to hear it as possible.” 

“We haven’t done any live events yet, but we do plan to tour,” said Kyle. 

Being a pandemic band, they haven’t had the opportunity to play live yet but it is something they look forward to. 

“Most bands or artists are younger and have a little bit of flexibility,” said Kyle. “But we have two kids at home and careers on the go, so we are just trying to navigate when the right time will be.”

As for what the future holds for the pair, definitely a new album, possibly children’s songs or writing for shows, or who knows. What they do know is that “music has just become a huge part of us now,” said Emily.

If you would like more information on The Wandering Off you can visit their web site (https://www.thewanderingoff.com) where you can purchase their album and also their locally produced merch courtesy of Rocket Grid Studio. Their new video Hey There is also available on YouTube.