Forever Means Never

Written by: Ric Taylor

It was last summer, during a break from her scholastic endeavours that Cara Kelterborn put pen to paper and effectively song to disc. It'd been 18 years since she first began her musical studies taking piano lessons at age four, but that summer was the birth for the entity known as Forever Means Never. This weekend, Forever Means Never's debut CD, Timing Is Everything. And I Lost My Watch, is officially released.


Forever Means Never does have a negative feeling to it, admits Kelterborn on the name choice. Something is more appealing to have a band name rather than my own name. Cara Kelterborn just doesn't appeal to me. And, I just think when people say 'forever' that it sometimes doesn't come through, so [naming the project] was a spark of the moment, and I thought it kind of sounded cool.


Fraught with the nervous energy that fuels an artist's struggle to communicate via their art and the simultaneous terror that comes from the resultant self- exposure, Forever Means Never showcases a burgeoning albeit shy talent. While the band name will maintain a certain distance, it's Kelterborn's songs that spotlight her most personal thoughts. Pretty much, [Forever Means Never] is a metaphor for how I feel in general in life, Kelterborn says. I know I have friends, but I also have a sense of being alone. And that individuality that I've made out of being alone has made me what I am. I think solitude is important and everyone needs that, because finding out who you are is the point of life. I think people can relate at some point in their life to different things that I've written about but this whole thing is not me saying, 'Look at me' it's very much, 'This is what I did if you want to listen to it, okay.'


Recorded at Mastermind Studios, Timing is Everything features Paul Roussel (ex Scratchkit) and Dave Wilson (Undecided For Now) on drums and bass respectively; they'll reprise their roles for the CD release, with James Forbes joining on viola and piano. The songs showcase competent performances and, more importantly, a different perspective.


Taking influence from The Lindsay Diaries or recent chart toppers Bright Eyes, Kelterborn and company offer a mix of acoustic singer/songwriter music straddling that line between folk, indie and emo rock. They grasp at metaphoric dandelion fluffs in the summer sky attempting to capture one of life's delicate moments of pure and ultimate emotion.


My relationships with people, my inadequacies, I think I'm overly sensitive I over analyze things, offers Kelterborn on her songwriting inspiration. I think I want to be a good person and I want to help a lot of people, and sometimes that's hard if you don't have self confidence or you don't think highly enough of yourself to make a difference. I think that's the stuff that comes out of my songs. Most of the songs are written about one feeling that I have and completely blown out of proportion and not very founded and I really exaggerate upon that and milk it. I write and record songs all the time. I do it that way because the moment hits me and I write it down. At some moment you feel that way like it's the worst thing ever, and that's when you're able to write it down. When you sit and think about it, half an hour later you know it's not that bad and you've got to get a hold of yourself, but that moment is lost. I want that moment.


The Forever Means Never CD release party happens this Friday, March 18 at AFB with According To Simon, Something Useless and Embracing Forever. The all ages event starts at 8 pm and the admission is $8 in advance, $10 at the door.

- View Magazine [March 17-23, Vol.11 No. 11]

Waterdown's Cara Kelterborn is one of the area's hottest new musical talents, and she's got the prizes to prove it. Kelterborn, who sings under the band name Forever Means Never, was the winner of the Y108 $10,000 Band Challenge at the end of May. The competition, sponsored by the Hamilton radio station, highlighted local musicians. As the grand prize winner, Kelterborn received a prize package she describes as "an artist's dream," including a new guitar and equipment for home recording. And, as part of the prize package, she is now preparing material to record her first full-length CD in September. The 23-year-old university student began her musical career at the age of four, with piano lessons, and has never looked back. Along with the piano, she plays guitar, drums and bass, and has been involved in a number of bands over the years. Last summer, however, she began playing original material in a solo acoustic act she named Forever Means Never. In January, she released a seven-track EP, "Timing is Everything ... And I Lost My Watch." Tracks from the recording can be heard on her website at www.forevermeansnever. com. Winning the Band Challenge has convinced Kelterborn to take the coming year off school and focus intensely on her music, in an attempt to see if she can make a professional career of it. "I'm not sure how realistic that is," she says. "But right now, the timing just seems so right, and this is what I really want to do." Along with recording the new material, Kelterborn plans to play as many shows as possible. She is scheduled to play at Hamilton's AFB on July 11, and then on the rooftop of the city's downtown Jackson Square on July 23. Kelterborn says she's also interested in developing local relationships, so she can make some musical appearances in the Waterdown and Flamborough area. "With a lot of hard work and determination, I'm going to see how far I can take (music)," she explains. "If nothing comes of it, that's totally fine too. "I always have school to go back to. So I don't feel like I'm risking everything by taking a chance."
- Flamborough Review

Written by: Ric Taylor

It was only a year ago that we were introduced to budding singer/
songwriter Cara Kelterborn, and her Forever Means Never project.
Acting perhaps against her own feelings of inadequacy or
inability, Kelterborn created a band, an album and now a
following from her outpouring of emotions. With the release of
her Timing Is Everything... And I Lost My Watch EP last March,
Kelterborn enlisted new found fans to help her voice her emotion
whilst ripping the pages from some of her acoustic/emo/ folk
influences. Bolstered by talent contest wins, Hamilton Music
Awards success and a growing fan base, Kelterborn and the new
and improved Forever Means Never return with their debut full
length CD, A Stroke Before Midnight. And while some of the
lyrical content might suggest otherwise, things couldn’t be better
for Kelterborn and company.
“With everything that I’ve done, that I’ve won and have had
come my way over the past year, I kind of felt like I was this
Cinderella character and I was at the ball and having everything
that I could ever dream of,” ruminates Kelterborn on the title for
her latest CD. “It’s all happening in the moment before midnight
for Cinderella. At midnight everything switches back to normal
and I’m wondering if everything is going to stay like this. These
are things I think about at night. I’m wondering if it’ll change but
I’m also relishing the moment.
“I’m definitely not a rock star,” she laughs recalling the high
school questionnaire that helps to determine your future
occupation. “I’m just a simple girl doing what she wants to do. I
validate the once reluctant performer, and these days it’s easier
for Kelterborn to get up on stage.
“I’ve done so much exploring of myself this year,” explains
the singer. “I’m not totally different in that I’m a different person,
but I’m just so much more confident in myself. I think it’s
because I’m doing something that I feel I really want to do. Not
only does the response help push you along but when you feel
you have a part in the world it’s unbelievable what the mind does
to make you feel better about yourself.
“I have really bad anxiety about the world, and performing
was the scariest thing ever, but it’s something I have to do if I’m
doing music. 85 per cent of making music is performing. Doing it
over and over, knowing exactly what I have to do I’ve become
totally comfortable on stage and actually I prefer it a lot of times.
It’s totally weird because being in the spotlight is not me. Writing
and having other people listen to what you’re feeling tends to
relieve the anxiety.”
The pseudo Cinderella has developed and refined her affinity
for emo from The Lindsay Diaries and Bright Eyes, and with A
Stroke Before Midnight begins to showcase a maturity and depth
well beyond her years. With songs focusing on social fall–out,
break–ups, bang ups and the resultant devastation in “Un–
validated” and “Tighten My Noose,” this CD also shows Kelterborn
grabbing the reins and turning down these negative situations in
“No, Because or Pants On Fire.” Traversing the songwriter’s
eventual catalogue may be like watching home movies of your
best friend’s growth into adulthood.
“A lot of emo could seem to blow things out of proportion,
but the same kind of emotions that seem to be bigger in these
other people’s lives is something I can relate to. Perhaps they’re
more sensitive, perhaps I am,” reasons Kelterborn on the hyper
emotional nature of her lyrics. “People can relate to what I talk
think that it’s self–indulgence. I do it for myself because I like
doing it. It’s a release and an escape. I’m really trying to push on
with making music and having people that like it would be nice.”
Winning a Y108 website talent contest and the Hamilton
Music Award for Best Local Group by People’s Choice helped
about, but they know it’s not the be all and end all of things. I
usually write about feelings of inadequacies or feeling stupid but
“Shape Of A Girl” is about eating disorders and it’s a really
important song to me.”
With Andrew Davy on bass, Steve Tomalty on drums, and
Derek Wiens on guitar, Kelterborn’s guitar, voice and songs have
never been stronger. With her development over the last year it’s
exciting to ponder what she might achieve in the next five. For
now, this Cinderella story has no pumpkin.
“The guys in my band are awesome. It’s like having three
older brothers and they play a huge part in my confidence level
and my happiness with what I’m doing,” smiles Kelterborn. “But
this whole year has been such a learning experience and I think
I’m ready.
“We’ve been playing as much as we can and getting fans to
come out. Sure it might be relatively small but even if we have 30
people come out they bring their friends out the next time. We’re
slowly working on it and that means a lot to me.
“I love to play now. - View Magazine March 16 - 22, 2006