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

Reality TV programming is a phenomenon that appears to have taken over our TV screens with persistent aggressiveness. It is not only where people’s lives are being displayed for all to see, but also where they are changed for the better (and the worse). “Change for the better” was definitely the case for Edmonton pop-rock group STEREOS. These guys achieved stardom from MuchMusic’s reality show Disband  that saw STEREOS go from being a band known only amongst their few followers in their hometown of Edmonton, to being the first group to get signed to a major label (while simultaneously being broadcasted for all to see)! Now with a number one single on iTunes and a video for “Summer Girl” on constant rotation on MuchMusic, it appears as though there is no stopping this group! These guys play probably the catchiest tunes we have heard in a while and each member appears to (along with their sleeve of tattoos and plethora of piercings) not fit the typical mold of “pop star”. We sat with all of them to find out exactly how they see themselves now that fame has literally come knocking at their door!

iheartthemusic: This is a very exciting time for you guys!

Daniel: Yeah, it has been crazy!

iheartthemusic: How did the whole reality show appearance come into play for you?

Daniel: We actually didn’t send a video or anything like that! Greg Nori found us on MySpace and so we ended up sending him demos forever. It was kind of up in the air if we were going to work with him or not because we would send the demos and were always waiting for him to reply. Then, out of nowhere, he called and said that there was this new show that he wanted to get us on and that it would be perfect for us.

iheartthemusic: That’s awesome! It just kind of took of from there?

All: Yeah!

iheartthemusic: Reality shows often get judged for being contrived or “staged”. Was that at all true with your experience on “Disband”?

Rob: We didn’t know anything ahead of time.

Pat: Looking at the show, it looks like we are so happy and we definitely didn’t know about the Universal deal ahead of time.

iheartthemusic: So how long have you guys been a band?

Rob: In June it was two years.

iheartthemusic: Only two years! That’s incredible.  Is your fan base in Edmonton already huge?

Daniel: Since we started, it literally has just grown.

iheartthemusic:  The video for your single “Summer Girl” has achieved number one status on MuchMusic, so I am sure many girls would like to know what the criteria is to be a summer girl?

Pat: In the context of the song it is about a summer fling and the best time of year.

Rob: We like summer and we like girls so it just makes sense.

iheartthemusic: You are also working on your debut album at the moment; how is that going?

Daniel: Yeah, we are working with Gavin Brown on the album.

iheartthemusic: That’s awesome! Looking forward to the final product. With regards to signing to Universal, have you always seen yourself going the major route?

Rob: Honestly we’ve said since day one that we wanted to go straight to a major label and it turned out exactly the way we planned it to.

iheartthemusic: With a lot of bands there seems to be that fear that once you go major you end up giving up a lot of creative control. In your experience so far have you found that at all?

Rob: No, that’s just a myth that people who don’t get signed make up.

iheartthemusic: In a short period of time it seems like you guys have accomplished so much: signing to Universal, having the number one single and video in the country. So I want to know what is left for you guys to accomplish?

Rob: Honestly the sky is the limit! Up and up and up and never maxing out- always heading up.

Aaron: Number one!

All: Yeah, number one!

iheartthemusic: And then take over the US maybe?

Aaron: Take over the world!

Rob: That is definitely the plan.

The first ever Peace Dot Love music festival took place during NXNE at the Koolhaus. It was a musical tribute to Dylan Ellis and Oliver Martin who were gunned down in a parked car in June 2008, a horrible crime that has yet to be solved. The fest was put on by 102.1 the Edge, D.O. It! (an organization formed to raise funds for youth violence prevention groups), LOVE and Peacebuilders International in partnership with NXNE (as well as some other sponsors, including iheartthemusic).

It began with DJ duo TMDP. Despite their early start time they had the crowd that was there grooving to their tunes. It wasn’t a large crowd, but that didn’t seem to affect the tunes coming off the turntables as these consummate professionals performed with the same energy as when iheartthemusic witnessed them spin to an at-capacity Circa crew. (If you missed them you can see them at the TIME Festival at Sound Academy on July 25.)

Stereos were met with a plethora of pre-pubescent screams from the throngs of teenyboppers who rushed the stage. Personally I thought it sounded like watered down radio dribble with too much auto-tune. However, I also think the latest album from Black Eyed Peas had too much auto-tune and Stereo’s song “Summer Girl” was number one on iTunes so they mustn’t be doing much wrong (but I’d be hard pressed to pick out what they were doing exceptionally right). In any case, the PG-13 prepubescent portion of the Koolhaus seemed to dig it as they screamed and sang along to every song, including “She Only Likes Me When I’m Drunk” (love the title). Perhaps it’s just a matter of taste… or lack thereof.

Feeling Stereo-ed out, I popped through the rabbit hole into the side room where I discovered a polar bear playing bass, an Elton John-looking lead singer and a percussion apparatus that resembled a mix between Dick Van Dyke’s instrumental outfit in Mary Poppins and a medieval torture contraption. The band sounded like a lot of fun… unfortunately no one was able to tell me who they were (if you’re reading this and you know the answer, let us know).

True to form Down With Webster gave a high-octane performance. This large ensemble band is an amalgamation of high energy electro with large doses of rap and rock. One of the highlights was the when the drummer had a fun video game soundtrack solo (the low light was when one of the silly members threw beer on our photographer, not cool dude!). Even when they experienced some technical difficulties they kept the crowd entertained by busting out a freestyle. And they were entertaining, I even spotted some parents grooving to their tunes.

Simultaneously We Are the Take had a work out on the stage next door. These boys played so hard they were quite literally dripping with sweat. The passion in playing engaged the crowd who seemed fully immersed (or should I say “taken in”) by the band. These guys always put on a good show and are clearly garnering a devout fan following.

Dragonette was nothing less than awesome. iheartthemusic had the pleasure of speaking to the husband and wife team before the show and learned that they were truly there to support the cause, which they spoke very well of [stay tuned for that interview, we talked music, fashion and spilling sauce on sneakers in Japan... apparently a no-no as it takes a while for the smell to go away]. Their performance was dynamic and a highlight for many of the festival goers. One word: awesome!

Closing out the night was USS (Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker). Phew, if you weren’t tired already you would have been by just watching these two guys fly around stage, doing handstands and bouncing with the crowd. Lots of energy and a wonderful way to end a wonderful festival. With so many great performances I look forward to see how they top this next year.

Written by Emer Schlosser

Photography by Carl Heindl