From their upbringings in the suburbs of Halifax, Carla and Lynette Gillis had big rock star dreams. From their first instruments to their first shows, music seemed like the only option for the two sisters. Along with high school friends Amanda Braden, Nina Martin and Carotrino Sturton, who replaced Martin in further years, they turned their passion into something worth sharing with the jangly, thought out guitar sections, steady drums and catchy lyrics that would come recognizable with the Plumtree name. Working between school and life, the band toured with fellow east coasters, living out their summer fantasies on the road before deciding to focus on other projects after a cool seven year run in 2000. Even those not terribly well versed in the band’s three album catalog can find themselves familiar with the words “I’ve liked you for a thousand years,” from the 1997 single “Scott Pilgrim”, the influence behind the graphic novel series of the same name. The inspiration drawn from the song by Bryan Lee O’Malley would go to put the band back on the map creating a resurgence that no member expected. While the added fame that came with the Scott Pilgrim movie and two of Plumtree’s tracks finding homes on the soundtrack, the band all see themselves in different areas of the country and their lives and have no plans of reuniting. Not even now, 17 years after the initial split and the recent vinyl reissue of the band’s three album catalog, out through Label Obscura. That being said, they all look back fondly on their time together, especially former front woman and guitarist Carla Gillis, who I got the chance to speak to about the reissue, being a high school rock star in Halifax, inspiring a best selling graphic novel series and proving yourself as musician.

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