A Band Built on Trust
Story by Michael Seguin
Photography by Travis Latam
Perhaps you remember the iconic scene. You know the one. Our intrepid hero—one Indiana Jones—wanders into a darkened cave. Spikes jut out of the wall like fangs. A golden idol rests atop an altar. He exchanges it with a sack of stones—hands whispering through the dark. But the temple seems to rage against such a slight. He flees—narrowly escaping a boulder.
It’s a famous scene. One that everyone can nearly recite from memory.
And it’s a scene that helped inspire the name of one of Windsor’s most interesting new bands: The Indiana Drones.
“The name is really silly!” Brandon Lefrancois laughs. “But most band names are silly, when you get right down to it. The Rolling Stones. The Beatles. Nirvana. Before they become synonymous with the music, they’re just words. It’s the music gives them weight.”
And when it comes to a spectacular sound, the Indiana Drones certainly provide that weight. While they tentatively describe their music as a combination of alternative, rock, pop and indie, their songs are much, much more than that.
Their chords reverberate across the crowd. The lyrics are at once mournful and poetic. An undeniable energy echoes through the stands, stirring dozens of hearts.
The band is composed of four members: Brandon Lefrancois on drums, Justin Zuccato on vocals, Grady Caplin on the bass and Brendan Friel on the guitar.
“The project began as a solo effort,” Justin recalls. “I made an album in 2017, under our band’s current name. I wanted a title that started with ‘the’ and ended with an S. Something to insinuate a collective. I didn’t really put my face out there. I wanted people to assume that there was a whole group of people behind it.”
And before long, Justin’s sounds attracted more and more ears.
“I just kept putting out music in the interim,” Justin states. “Singles and albums and the like. Then Brendon and I started talking about pooling our efforts and writing songs together. Initially, the plan was for the two of us to record. But we hit a wall. So we eventually decided to bring in new members, which led us to Brandon and Grady.”
“When we were thinking of our dream band, it was easy to choose those two,” Brendan explains. “Brandon is one of the busiest session drummers in the city. And Grady is the new young musician in town. He’s an incredible guitarist and bassist. He’s always touring his butt off.”
Together, the four musicians were able to fortify their sound to exciting new heights. Their first self-titled album was released last year, and another is currently in development.
And when asked to explain how they were able to click with each other so well, the band struggles to come up with an answer. However, the explanation for this output might actually be a simple one:
“We just enjoy each other’s company,” Grady states. “Aside from working well together, we’re all really, really close friends. We weren’t really sure what to expect when we first came together, but everything just flowed. There was so much synergy and so much creativity.”
As well, the Indiana Drones credit the implicit trust they have in one another with helping create such a unique, distinctive sound.
“There’s a lot of decisions that need to be made when making a new song,” Brendan explains. “But one thing I love about working with this band is that we have this system where everyone stays open to each other. When we reach a crossroads, we’ll ask if anyone feels particularly strongly about any decision we make. And if someone does, we follow them. We’re like one big entity. We always lean on each other’s instincts.”
And that trust extends beyond the stage as well. The Indiana Drones also credit their audiences for helping characterize their songs.
“I have a weekly residency at the Phog Lounge,” Justin states. “So we started bringing the band around once every three weeks to use as a rehearsal space. We wrote a lot of songs spontaneously—on-stage together. It was a very relaxed environment. There’d be people at the bar, people at their tables, and they’d all become part of the creative process. We would learn a song in real-time and someone at the bar might call out a suggestion. It gave our music a sense of urgency, a certain liveliness.”
As well, some of their inspiration might come from a more visual source.
“Whenever we’re writing music, we’re always watching movies,” Justin explains. “I find it helps keep us from being too focused on the music. I always come up with my favourite ideas when I’m giving like 60% to it. We’ll have Casino or Pulp Fiction or anything by Scorsese or Tarantino on in the background. Movies are this ‘inspiration juice’ that keep us going. Which explains the name!”
Despite being such a new band, The Indiana Drones has already performed on an international stage.
“We got to play The Rock Boat 2025 Music Festival,” Justin states. It was a music festival on a cruise ship with tons of different stages and awesome bands. We left from Miami and went to Belize and Honduras. “A few of the headliners were Walk the Moon, American Authors and one of our favourite Canadian bands, The Strumbellas. We were the little band on the festival. But that was our first trip out of Windsor, and it went really well!”
Their first album was released last year. Buoyed by this success, they’re already hard at work on their next album.
“We have this phenomenal flow together,” Justin stresses. “We don’t really labor over things when we’re all in the room much as we just let it happen. If something doesn’t work, we try again and it usually clicks. Our first album was all about that process—about learning each other. Our next album is a step up from that. It’s more us. We know our sound, we know each other, and that’s so powerful.”
The Indiana Drones will be performing at The Horseshoe in Toronto on April 13th, May 11th, June 22nd and July 20th. Their first album is currently available for purchase.
Published in the Your Place or Mine? 2025 Edition.
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