Waking up early, I made my way to their Airbnb in Kitsilano Sunday morning, stopping to grab a bouquet of roses for them — because that’s just what you do, right? Walking up the small carpeted stairs to their door I had their song “Let’s Do Drugs” stuck in my head and did my best to shake it off before knocking. Karo (Carbonneau) opened the door with a big smile and Kathyrn (McCaughey) waved from her makeshift makeup chair in the kitchen. 

“I got you flowers!” I shout, immediately breaking my cool and exposing myself for the fangirl that I am.

I gazed around the apartment, taking note of all of the amazing jewelry and garments they had pulled for their orange carpet outfits. “All female and POC owned brands!” their manager and stylist Logan tells me with a big smile on her face. I already knew I fucked with this band, but now it was official: I was obsessed with them AND their whole team! As I kept looking around it was impossible to miss the large amount of birth control, condoms, and tampons littered around the place… but more on that later. 

I was probably only in the apartment for a couple minutes before we started openly sharing stories and talking about what it’s like to be a woman in the music industry, especially in Canada with the rising costs of touring visas and our dollar tanking. “I’m just thankful my boss at the bar let me have the weekend off,” Kathryn said with a laugh, echoing her acceptance speech from the night before. We bonded over having to keep a steady job in order to do art and make ends meet and how that’s normal for musicians nowadays, even bigger artists. “Do you think this win will change that?” I asked the room. There was a pause and we all laughed, knowing the answer was no — but maybe one day.

“OK, what’s all this shit for?” I had to ask, pointing to the aforementioned pile of contraceptives. “Oh, I’m gonna tape those to Kathryn’s legs and put her fishnets over them!” Logan said with excitement. I saw the vision immediately. These are life saving products that we are lucky to have access to in Canada, but not everyone around the world does. You can’t write an album called Set Your Pussy Free and not be educated on gender politics, or on the importance of using your voice to advocate for the communities who are actively being silenced and told they don’t matter – or even exist. We all shared our love for the LGBTQIA+ community as I helped Logan tape birth control to Kathryn’s legs. 

“Wow!” Karo exclaimed, gazing into the mirror after her hair and makeup transformation. “This is definitely not my usual style.” She chuckled as she playfully fiddled with her hair. We all took turns complimenting her, and once the outfits and jewelry were put together there was no denying that these looks were going to turn heads and make a statement on the orange carpet.

With only one of Kathryn’s legs complete, and the Uber on its way to pick us up, I informed the room “We’re out of tape!” A quick trip to the store, and we were back in action. We had to cram most of the products into Kathryn’s tights in the backseat of the Uber, but hey, that’s showbiz, baby! 

As the Uber dropped NOBRO off at Rogers Arena for their orange carpet appearance, we gave each other a hug, and just like that, it was over. My whirlwind morning with JUNO Award winners NOBRO is one I’ll cherish forever.

=