I Heart the Music: Your Online Source for Live Music Reviews and Interviews in Toronto!

Black Hat Brigade is an eclectic fivesome homegrown right here in the GTA. And homegrown they truly are, with audible influences of Canadian greats Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene and an unnamed touch of East Coast sound that ties it all together. The band is made up of Rob Haughey (Keys/Guitar/Bass/Vocals), Justin Myler (Bass/Keys/Guitar/Vocals), Adam Peterson (Lead Guitar/Bass/Keys/Glockenspiel/Vocals), Dan Hurst (Drums) and Bryan Ward (Guitar/Percussion/Glockenspiel/Bass) – listing out the band members and the instruments they play appears a little confusing, but it all makes sense once you see them play live. To watch a BHB show is to witness a complicated yet fluid dance of instrument swapping, mixed vocals and old school rock ‘n’ roll. It’s the type of music both hipster kids and grizzled sea captains alike would enjoy stomping their feet and clinking their pint glasses to. iheartthemusic was able to talk with Justin and Bryan before BHB tookthe stage at the El Mocambo on the night of the release party for their sophomore EP, Fathers.

iheartthemusic: Where are you guys from, are you local Toronto boys?

Justin: Well, originally, I’m from Brampton, and so are Rob and Adam, who aren’t here right now.

Bryan: I’m from Pickering, that’s where I grew up. And Dan is from Burlington so we’re all kind of suburb kids.

iheartthemusic: You guys are from all over the place, how did you come together to form the band?

Justin: Myself, Rob and Adam played together in university. We all went to high school together, and I’ve known Adam since I was about five. Bryan and Adam were working at the CBC, and met over there. Bryan came out to one of our shows. We knew that he played a bunch of instruments so we invited him up on stage to play tambourine in one of our songs. We were all pretty inebriated and just asked him to join.

Bryan: …and I met Dan in College, a friend of a friend.

Justin: About a year after Bryan joined we had an amicable split with our old drummer. The next day Bryan bumped into Dan, and asked if he was still drumming. Dan said, “Ya, why…are you looking for a drummer?” He came to a practice and we hit it off.

iheartthemusic: So it seems like it was fate that brought you guys together.

Justin: That’s what we like to call it.

Bryan: It was written in the stars.

iheartthemusic: I like that a lot. So one thing that I thought was really interesting in reading your bio was this section here: “It could be said that the drug-induced children’s programming of the early 1980’s, overexposure to video game soundtracks, and the years spent partying in the bowels of dead end suburban cul-de-sacs might have had an influence on their song writing.” First of all, who wrote that?

Bryan: That’s the English Major, Rob.

Justin: Yeah, he threw together the bio, but we all sort of grew up in the ’80s playing video games, and you can see it in our music. We all have a little bit of ADD, which probably has to do with the video games. It’s why we have to switch up our instruments all the time. We get bored.

iheartthemusic: Any particular video games?

Justin: I was a Nintendo guy, Bryan’s a Nintendo guy.

Bryan: I still have a Nintendo hooked up to my TV. Normally after shows we all end up at my place and play Mario 3 at three o’clock in the morning. We’ll throw on other games, but it always goes back to Mario 3, that’s a staple.

Justin: We do have a song called “Castlevania”, which was not named after the video game, because I tried it, and I suck at it [laughs all around].

iheartthemusic: “Castlevania” is on your second record, the new one that’s out today.

Justin: Yeah, Fathers.

iheartthemusic: When was your first record released ?

Justin: It was almost exactly a year ago today. It was recorded at Sleepytown Sound in December, and it took six months to release. We were doing it all ourselves: artwork,  printing, mastering, and collecting money to be able to afford to do it.

iheartthemusic: Today is the CD release party for the new record, Fathers. How does this record feel different from the first?

Bryan: The new one is longer ['cause] it’s got more songs on it. A couple of songs on this album have been around since we wrote the last one. We felt that these songs all fit well together, and they all had a certain tone and feel to them, which is why we put them on this other EP. Also, I think the songs sound a lot fuller, and more thought out. When we recorded the last one, it was the first thing we’d ever recorded, and the first time we’d ever stepped into a studio. We just did it for ourselves. We thought, cool, now we’ll have something to listen to. With this record we know people other than ourselves and our parents are going to hear it. I think it’s also pretty true to our live sound.

iheartthemusic: Another cool aspect about the show tonight is that it’s part of the Pitter Patter Festival. How did BHB come to take part in it?

Justin: Keith Hamilton, who’s running Pitter Patter, we played show for him about a year ago, at the Boat [in Kensington], and kept in touch with him. We weren’t even supposed to be on Pitter Patter, because we were looking for a night to do our release. So Keith said if we wanted to put on our show as a part of the festival, then that would be great.

iheartthemusic: Let’s talk instruments, your bio lists the glockenspiel one of the instruments you play…

Bryan: Well a Glockenspiel is basically a metal xylophone. It’s got metal pieces instead of the wooden blocks. It’s a mallet instrument… Adam had a dream that he was Moon Walking across a glockenspiel and it played the craziest song he’d ever heard. The next day he came to practice with a glock. None of us had ever played it before.

iheartthemusic: So after this Pitter Patter tour you’re going to be playing NXNE.

Justin: We played it last year, but it was more lowkey. We didn’t have a lot of push behind our name at that point. We’re doing a show at The Drake with The Balconies, The Urban Aesthetics and a couple of others.

Bryan: That’s on June 18th. The next night we’re playing a free show at Yonge and Dundas Square, Mill Street Brewery is the sponsor. There’s going to be two stages, the Mill Street Stage and the main stage. Wintersleep, The Cliks and In-Flight Safety are on the main stage.

iheartthemusic: Do you have a current favourite Canadian band you want to tell our readers about?

Justin: Lots. I find what I’ve been listening to a lot lately is a lot of Canadian stuff, especially out of Toronto. Timber Tambre is someone that we’ve recently started listening to. Bryan actually turned me onto them.

Bryan: It was after one of our shows I think. I was like, “Justin, you need to hear this song.”  It was “Lay Down in the Tall Grass”.

Justin: Chad Vangaalen, Constantines, Broken Social Scene, Wolf Parade, Arcade Fire, Think About Life, Holy Fuck, The Besnard Lakes, Born Ruffians, Islands, Frog Eyes, Slim Twig, Women, Bruce Peninsula…Yeah, there’s lots of great bands out there right now.

iheartthemusic: Do you find that there’s a lot of support within the Canadian music industry? I’ve heard of it described as one big happy family, has that been your experience?

Bryan: We’re always helping each other out. Like if someone gets a gig, or a good slot at a show, we always try to get one of our friends’ bands on there. We’ll try to get younger bands (that aren’t as well known) really good opening slots. That’s kind of what’s pushing the scene right now; everyone’s helping each other out.

iheartthemusic:Do you have a favourite venue in the city, that you’ve played which holds a place in your heart?

Justin: I’d say for most of us, and for me anyway, Rancho Relaxo. We love playing there.

Bryan: We had our first sell out show at Rancho, which was the best thing ever.

iheartthemusic: And, as a final question, care to explain the Soylent Green comment from your bio? That your music is the “aural and visual equivalent to that final scene from the dystopian classic Soylent Green, when Charlton Heston’s character finally realizes that they’ve been eating each other all along”?

Bryan: Our music eats people.

Justin: At the end of one of our shows you realize your brain’s been eating itself the whole time.

Black Hat Brigade will be playing NXNE June 18th at the Drake hotel, and a free show at Yonge and Dundas Square on June 19th.

Interview by Nadia Elkharadly

Pictures by Omar Elkharadly

A few weeks ago iheartthemusic spoke with a VERY young band from Barrie, Ontario, and when we say young, we are referring to the fact that half the band is still in high school! Despite the age of these young gentlemen, Final Thought put on a show that left us feeling like they were industry veterans. Playing for a mixed crowd at a benefit concert, Punk 4 Parkinson’s, Dustin (vocals), Emmett (guitar), Brandon (bass) and Tom (drums) rocked the house and won us over with their honesty, innocence and sense of onstage presence. With the recent release of their EP, Take This Home, and a bunch of upcoming tour dates in Quebec, it appears that school may have to take the back seat for a while (sorry mom and dad).

iheartthemusic: Your band seems to be made up of a bunch of guys of different ages, so how did you all meet?

Dustin: We met just being friends really. Brandon and myself are the two original members and we are the youngest. We met pretty much from hanging out and going to shows together and then we ended up going to school together. We started being friends about a year and a half ago and then we found Tom, he’s the newest member, we recruited him in September from shows.

Tom: It was December, actually.

Dustin: November. Anyway, around then we were recruiting our new drummer.

Tom: Let’s just say late Fall!

iheartthemusic: Being so young, I was surprised to read that you’ve already shared the stage with Silverstein! How did that come about?

Dustin: Yeah, we did that a long time ago. We won a show and it was at The Playdium in Toronto; there was a bunch of bands there and we ended up getting to pretty much play with Silverstein. It was fun.

iheartthemusic: That’s awesome, and a huge claim to fame! Speaking of fame, how did Gene Simmons hear about you guys?

Tom: He called me up! [laughs]

Dustin: What happened was, basically, one of our friends has a friend who is Belinda Stronach’s son and they [Gene and Belinda] know each other. Belinda was working with Gene Simmons and the demo, in one way or another, got into his hands; he listened to it and liked it. He ended up staying an extra day in Canada because he wanted to see us play so we got this call that we had to play for Gene Simmons in Toronto. We were like, “OK.” That’s not a phone call you get everyday! He’s a good guy and talked to us for about 15 minutes after we played. It was neat and fun to do.

iheartthemusic: Well, he is trying to start a label here in Canada so maybe he will scoop you guys up!

Emmett: That’s what that show was for. He’s making like a reality TV show.

Dustin: I know he’s tried to restart that label more than once, so I don’t know where he is with it, we haven’t really heard back. We just take it as it comes and if we end up hearing from him one day then sweet!

iheartthemusic: Is getting signed the next step for you?

Dustin: Yeah! We are looking to tour this summer and trying to put that together and also work to getting a non-profit organization on board. We are just trying to do everything we can; playing town shows as much as possible. We’ve got our hometown covered.

Emmett: We don’t want to be a local band that just opens shows all the time. We want to take it as seriously as we can while still having fun and let as many people hear our music as we possibly can.

iheartthemusic: You mentioned that you would like to get a charity on board and tonight you guys are here supporting Punk 4 Parkinson’s, why did you want to play this show?

Dustin: I don’t think Parkinson’s has really affected us as a band, but any charity show we try and play as much as possible.

Dustin: You try and link yourself with good publicity as much as possible.

Tom: We do it because we are in a position where we have the power to help something so then we want to do.

Emmett: That’s a quote from Spider-Man, ”with great power comes great responsibility.” [laughs]

iheartthemusic: In terms of your stage performance, what do you hope the audience will get from it?

Dustin: Ideally, I want people to be really stoked about the songs and want to listen to them all the time. Obviously I would love for us to be everyone’s favourite band, but that’s not the case… I think our live show is where it’s at. We do love jamming in the studio, but live is where the most fun happens.

Emmett: I think, especially with a show like tonight where we aren’t necessarily playing to our crowd, if someone comes to the show and gives respect to us – that’s one of our main goals. Also, if you leave the club and have one of our songs stuck in your head I think we’ve done our job.

iheartthemusic: Who is your crowd?

Emmett: Twelve to 21-year-olds are our target market.

iheartthemusic: I don’t make it then, sorry guys! [laughs]

Dustin: [laughs] It tends to be a little bit of a younger crowd, even if it is gentlemen coming out to the show. I think that’s [what's happening] with all pop rock music.

iheartthemusic: Who are some musical influences for you?

Dustin: New Found Glory.

Emmett: Dustin and I are into U2 and The Police and stuff too. I listen to a bunch of different music. As a band, mainly pop rockish bands and even some older bands. We try and pull things from all different genres that influence us.

iheartthemusic: If you could share the stage with any Canadian band right now, who would it be?

Dustin: Ten Second Epic again, maybe. They are good guys.

Emmett: I would be stoked to play with either Living with Lions or if Daggermouth got back together and toured again. Actually, I would love to play with Sum 41 just because they were the reason that I started playing guitar and that was the first show that I ever went to. Not the lineup that it is now though, they would only play songs from their first four albums.

iheartthemusic: Now we are getting specific! [laughs] So you have an EP out now, when was that released?

Dustin: January 27^th of this year. We are now working on shooting a music video for “Take You Home” in June.

iheartthemusic: What’s the concept behind the video?

Dustin: Just a performance video. Us having fun with all our friends and it will be shot in Barrie.

iheartthemusic: That’s exciting! So what do we not know about you?

Brandon: We love McDonalds! Every interview we do we always talk about McDonalds!

iheartthemusic: What’s the typical order?

Emmett: Usually all of us get double cheeseburgers. Can we also talk about how they got rid of orange pop! What’s up with that? See he [Brandon] works at McDonalds and he has a 50% off card so he gave his old card to Tom to use, so we are now working on making fakes for everyone in the band so that when we go on tour we all get almost free food! The only thing that is kind of bullshit is you need a new sticker every month.

iheartthemusic: That’s how they get you!

Emmett: [laughs] We do love McDonalds!

Not only are they super nice guys, but they also lend a hand to charities whenever they can – you can’t beat that! You can check them out next week here in Toronto when they play The Edge Steam Whistle Indie Club on Saturday, May 23rd at 229 Yonge at 9pm!

photography provided by Carl Heindl

I’m very glad to know that my first review on here is going to be  The Organ Thieves show at the Bovine Sex Club.  These boys are good band buds of mine and the last time I saw them play was probably back in late 2008. Though the band is fairly new, these guys are no strangers in the music scene. Chuut Coles, the leader of the band, along with Mike Smith on bass and Dave Baksh making the guitar scream, started in Durham Region’s punk rock Scene from back in the ’90s. 

On Thursday, April 23 everyone in the Bovine had a smile on their face and a glass in their hand. The Thieves started off with their song “Shot Down”, which has a classic rock meets soul sound to it. Everyone felt the energy coming from the band and were quite quick to nod their heads in approval of what was coming at them.  The thing about this band is I find that everyone delivers their own entity, whether it be a mad bass line, a stellar noise from the pedals or lyrics that are so honest that it becomes clear that Organ Thieves have a style all their own. 

Later in thier set they busted a CAUTION INC cover where Ben Davies, who usually plays the mandolin, took the mic and got the whole room smiling. They closed the night with an encore, which was totally different compared to their set, but so old school punk it was ridiculous. After the show, I went for a smoke at which point Chuut came out and I was able to ask him about the last song. He said it’s called “Smell Nice” and was written on the spot at a show in the ‘Shwa about a guy who smelled nice in there… Makes sense to me. 

Overall, this band is young but their hearts are filled with truth and wisdom. They have a message and want people to hear it, and I think people should wake up and listen.

Written by Cala (Bury The Bully)

Photography by Meredith Clayton

« Older Entries

Newer Entries »