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

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

Having previously seen (and been blown away) by the Whitby-born band Bury the Bully, iheartthemusic decided it was about time we featured them. If their name sounds at all familiar it might be because they played the opening night party during CMW, or perhaps you were lucky enough to stumble upon their MySpace and were equally impressed by the sound that emanated from your computer speakers. Either way, there is no denying their talent and when we sat down with lead vocalist Rich McPherson and drummer Cala, we discovered that not only are they making great music, but these guys have hearts of gold as well.

iheartthemusic: So, from what I have read, you guys met in high school about 10 years ago?

Rich: We met in high school and that was 12 or 13 years ago and we’ve had the same lineup of guys since. It’s been a very interesting stint with four guys being in a band as friends and as professionals, so it makes for a lot of good music in the end.

iheartthemusic: Definitely! I mean, being together for so long it must have been easier to grow as a band?

Rich: It’s really tough to say. In the last year we released our full-length, which is really our first full-length since all we’ve ever done is just play and demo, and as soon as we put it out that’s when we really started to become a band and really came into our own. In those 12 years prior to that we did learn a lot as musicians and people, but I think it’s just been the last year and a half that it has really come together.

iheartthemusic: So going back to grade nine, were you guys the typical band class guys or did you just decide on your own that you wanted to form a band?

Cala: It wasn’t about getting the girls or anything, it was just something to do. At that time there was no extracurricular stuff so we decided to start a band. We actually did it before high school.

iheartthemusic: How did you decide on your name?

Cala: During high school we went by a different name and then when we put out this album, that’s when we knew that we had to step it up and wanted to start it fresh and we just based the name around the songs that we were writing.

Rich: We literally had a list of stuff that we were trying because we had been one name for 10 years, so it was a huge step to change names and identities. While we were doing the album we were trying to come up with a new name and that one just resonated with all of us because it spoke to so much socially. We consider ourselves positive individuals so it was definitely the right name for us.

iheartthemusic: Speaking of being positive individuals, you guys deal with charities quite a bit, including donating all your sales once a month to a charity of your choice.

Rich: We try and donate what we can. I mean, it’s not much as an indie band, but every season we made it so that we would donate to different charities whatever money that we made at that time. We try and link our websites to a lot of positive organizations.

iheartthemusic: What has the response been like with your album in a time when the economy is so bad?

Cala: Well, it’s tough because of the times that we are in right now but really the Internet helps so much. Also, the more we play, the better it is for us.

Rich: As an indie band, and having no real support financially to do things, we try and get ourselves in every social network we can and just make friends. The response from people worldwide through connecting through places like MySpace has been great. So in that sense having no one really supporting us, we’ve done really well for ourselves in the last year and half just doing everything.

iheartthemusic: It must be nice to be able to oversee everything.

Cala: It’s more intimate that way, especially interacting with fans and people who enjoy the music through places like Facebook.

Rich: I think every little achievement that comes along is more special just because we are doing it ourselves. You feel a sense of ownership that way.

iheartthemusic: Some bands consider themselves a live band only. How do you see your band?

Cala: I would say a bit of both. Lately, with the recording process with the new album, we are learning a lot.

Rich: We record a lot. We learn something everyday as musicians, as a live band or a recording band, they are two separate things but I love being in the studio, I love writing, I love recording.

Cala: And I love gigging.

Rich: Yah, we have both sides of the spectrum.

iheartthemusic: Who does most of the writing?

Rich: We are at a point now where we all collaborate with each other. It has taken us a long time to get to that stage but that’s where we are now and, especially going into a second album, you start to approach things differently and this time around everyone is putting their piece of the pie in.

Cala: And being together for so long really helps as well.

Rich: Everyone is inspired by everybody.

iheartthemusic: So you are writing a new album, when can we expect that out?

Rich: Our aim would be for mid summer to have a record out, but everything in music is always a couple of months behind. We are working hard at it right now and hoping to get into the studio and start laying it down at the beginning of the summer.

iheartthemusic: From the first album to this new one, do you notice any differences between your sound or writing style?

Rich: Totally. Every song that comes out is always something different and I think the exciting thing about writing a new album is the fact that when we go to record we are going to have a ton of songs to pull on and bring together. With that, it gives us the freedom to really write anything and not worry about it being the “right” thing.

iheartthemusic: You got the opportunity to play the opening night party for CMW, was that your first time playing CMW?

Rich: We played that eight years ago and I think that was the last time we played it.

Cala: It was an honour to be asked to play. The booker at Tattoo asked us to play and it was a great turnout. We met a lot of great people, like you!

Rich: It was one of those things where we didn’t think we were playing at all and then we got the call a couple of weeks prior to and it turned out to be the opening night.

iheartthemusic: You have also been able to share the stage with some heavy hitters such as Simple Plan and Gob!

Rich: We played with them right when “I Hear You Calling” came out. We hooked up with Simple Plan during Warped Tour. We played a date about eight years ago with them before they blew up, so we got to form a good bond with them.

photography provided by Carl Heindl

A few technical difficulties can hinder a band during a live performance, however, iheartthemusic discovered that if the talent is as good as what we saw at Tattoo on April 9^th, then having to cut your set short only makes us more hungry. On the bill was the East coast’s Alert the Medic, These Three Cities and Bury the Bully. Alert the Medic were up first and they proved to be a welcome addition to the Toronto music scene. These guys were extremely talented with amazing guitar riffs and catchy lyrics such as “Hey kid, to the back of the line…” With such a big sound emanating from the stage, it was a bit disappointing when they had to cut their set short due to technical problems. If anything, that interruption had us wanting more and we are told that they are in Toronto recording, so that’s good news for us!

Next up were Toronto rockers These Three Cities. These guys were also another welcome addition to the iheartthemusic family. When they got into their set, we were reminded of  a little Passenger Action with their punk-style vocals and heavy guitar riffs. They added in keys and a banjo which complimented their sound. These guys already have a self-titled EP out and we are expecting more great things from them.

Finally, Bury the Bully hit the stage and blew us away (yet again). The crowd started to gather closer to the stage during their set and it was nice to see people singing along to some of their tunes. These guys are extremely talented and if you haven’t already seen them live, you are missing out. They only play a select few Toronto shows so get in on it when they are here!

photography provided by Carl Heindl

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