Teenage Kicks will be releasing their EP Rational Anthems on April 26. Check out the video for “Brooklyn Bridge,” one of the album’s tracks, below.
You can catch Teenage Kicks’ EP release show at the Horseshoe Tavern on April 29 with Monster Truck, The North, and Goddamn Robots. Doors at 9/$6.
Patrick Marchent and Peter van Helvoort - Photo by Amanda Macchia
After having just played their most recent set at The Horseshoe Tavern this past Wednesday night and releasing their first 7” back in August, Teenage Kicks remain realist in their view that the path to their successes has been, and probably will remain to be, a tough one, but it’s a challenge the Toronto foursome are willing to tackle.
Currently unsigned, the band has been operating with the help of local artist-developers Audio Blood for some time since their effortful move to the city from various Ontario towns.
“We moved to the outskirts of Toronto. We had no running water. Our backyard had six inches of sand and garbage piled in it,” said lead vocalist and guitarist Peter van Helvoort. “So we cleaned it and made the basement into jam space.”
And with the contributions of his brother Jeff van Helvoort (bass, vox), Patrick Marchent (guitar), and Cameron Brunt (drums), Teenage kicks eventually sifted through what was a back catalogue of about 40 songs to conclude that “Shook Our Bones” and “I Get What You Give” would be the two sides for the band’s first 7” record.
“Those were the only songs we wanted to put out at the time,” Marchent said.
Although it’s Teenage Kicks’ only release to date, the band isn’t in any hurry to put out a full-length record.
“We have enough songs but we kind of avoid it,” said Peter van Helvoort. “I don’t want to take out an extensive amount of debt when we’re a young band. We spend the money we make on recording.”
But with the task of selecting only two tracks that would temporarily be the entire catalogue of Teeange Kicks came the pressure of knowing that those seven minutes of material would define the sound of the band for some time.
“We silently had to agree that that is what we were going to sound like,” said van Helvoort.
And that sound is one that van Helvoort is not hesitant to define.
“I think we sound like a rock band – modern classic rock. I love classic rock. I love timeless songs that get stuck in your head,” he said.
But drawing on certain influences from the past is not always agreeable with the masses.
“People are turned off by bands that aren’t from the ‘70s when they sound like they’re from the ‘70s,” he said.
But the collective goal of the band, in addition to eventually touring the U.S., is to continue recording, building a solid catalogue along the way.
“Our goal is to release songs that don’t sound like “Shook Our Bones,” but people will still know its our band,” van Helvoort said.
In the meantime, each member of Teenage Kicks holds a job on the side, meaning in addition to all the pressure that inevitably comes with the development of their band, comes the challenge of finding a happy medium between paying bills and playing music.
“The hardest thing is being an adult,” said van Helvoort. “You take it for granted when you’re practicing in your parents’ basement. Now I’m an adult and I work harder, but I’m not a kid anymore. It sounds depressing, but I approach everything with our band as if its out last gasp.”
Furthermore, brothers Peter and Jeff van Helvoort deal with the respsonbility of managing a warehouse as their current professions aside from their band.
“It’s weird having these jobs,” Peter van Helvoort said. “It pays the bills but it’s hard to work with. Most of our peers in bands sort of just have regular jobs; they just get by. That’s how I’ve always been. But now I have responsibility and employees.”
But there is a bright side.
“At least now I know I don’t want to work in a warehouse,” he said.
The Balconies @ Rivoli - Photo by Amanda Macchia
It wasn’t quite Christmas yet, but the good folks at Audioblood treated the city to a two-night show at the Rivoli earlier in the month, featuring six Audioblood bands and two surprise guests.
Charlotte Cornfield kicked things off on the first night, December 10, with her folk-infiltrated pop music.
Immediately after, Burlington’s Sandman Viper Command hit things off with “Oh Yeah, It’s Fusion” – a perfect example of their clean, 60s-inspired indie pop – starting off with that memorable guitar riff that swells into an intense jam session (think Sam Roberts Band’s “The Gate”). Other tracks like “The Best of Plans” and “The Metal I’ve Spent” kept the crowd attentive, especially to lead guitarist Daniel Reardon’s crisp blues solos.
Up next was Toronto’s own Make Your Exit and their almost indefinable sound (let’s go with experimental folk rock for now), also to the crowd’s satisfaction. The bright jangling chords and drummer Steve Dagg’s intricate earthy rhythms featured on tracks like “Kids” complimented frontman Jeff Buckley’s subtle vocal tones. Most memorable though was the chanting of “but I didn’t drink it” of “Leave This Town” – full of piano fills, hollow guitar solos, and spot-on harmonies that would all make The Band proud.
Wrapping the first night up was special guest number one, Ruby Coast. As usual, the band won everyone over with their fast-paced indie rock, fully-equipped with simple melodies via Justice McLellan (lead vox, guitar), but mixed with the texture of the band’s use of recurring guitar and synth riffs. Their set was consistently high-energy and was a satisfactory conclusion of the night.
Twenty-four hours later Toronto’s Teenage Kicks imploded the undetermined atmosphere of night two with their mix of downbeats and distortion, ripping up tracks like “Shook Our Bones” and “I Get What You Give” and demonstrating to their hometown that they’ve been improving right in front of our eyes since their 7” release show this past summer. Their material is a complimentary mix of classic rock elements and their own contemporary preferences, resulting in a new and interesting sound.
Next was the bittersweet performance of Clothes Make The Man. After eight years of CMTM, the band announced that December 11’s show at the Rivoli would be their last. Nonetheless, the band delivered what was probably their most passionate and heart-felt performance to end their story. Tracks like “Chile,” with its simple lyrics and noisy chord progressions, not only demonstrate why Ryan McLennan’s voice is perfectly suited for their type of rock, but also why audiences have relied on CMTM for fun-guaranteed shows throughout the years.
Third up was Ottawa’s The Balconies. Jacquie Neville never fails to lead in the delivery of her band’s ridiculously catchy indie pop. Tracks like “Battle Royale” show just how addictive a melody can be, and paired with the song’s underlying blues lines and Liam Jaeger’s solid drumming, makes for an outstanding performance. Also included in the set was the mystifying “The Slo,” taking “underlying blues lines” to another level and highlighting Jacquie’s falsetto. They closed their set with the always-entertaining “Serious Bedtime” its now-well-known line “if you do it in the dark.”
The show, and the entire event, wrapped with the second special guest Great Bloomers. Their strong work ethic showed onstage, pounding out song after song of their alternative indie rock seven bands later in order to cap off what was a solid two nights of local talent on Queen West. Hopefully, we’ll do it again next year.
Check out more photos of The Balconies by clicking HERE.
Teenage Kicks
Before Teenage Kicks officially released their latest 7” with a set at Sneaky Dee’s this past Friday night, Sandman Viper Command took to the stage to spill out their growingly catchy garage pop to the crowd. The Burlington band, who performed as part of The Beatles vs. The Stones night at the same venue the previous Friday, ripped through their set of kind of dainty and yet kind of callous tracks, all of which were absorbed by the dense crowd.
Tracks like “Oh Yeah, It’s Fusion” demonstrate the band’s ability to compose a simple, but intricate pop song with fragmented transitions, clean riffs, and pleasingly messy chord progressions that translate perfectly from record to stage. Frontman Rob Janson delivered each understated melody in an effortless and honest manner, all the while being backed by the unit of steady musicians that make up the rest of the band.
Teenage Kicks then proceeded to take the stage, performing songs including their 7” release “Shook Our Bones,” which can be downloaded with “I Get What You Give” for free at juicebox.com. Lead singer Peter van Helvoort’s gritty voice accompanied by the band’s signature raunchy powerchords juxtaposed nicely with the melodic guitar fills and straightforward lyrics featured in tracks such as the newly released single, sounding even more scintillating live on stage. Teenage Kicks consistently delivered classic working-class-esque rock for their entire set, pleasing the crowd with many of their own compositions and even an excellent re-working of Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools,” adding their own humble rock spin on the classic song.
If this Friday night was an indication of anything, Sandman Viper Command and Teenage Kicks are two examples of humble local talent, with the ability to leave their listeners and audience with the feeling that they’ve just witnessed an authentic rock show.
For More,
MySpace (Teenage Kicks): http://www.myspace.com/teenagekicksteenagekicks
MySpace (Sandman Viper Command): http://www.myspace.com/sandmanvipercommand
Missed out? Then catch Teenage Kicks at the El Mocambo on September 17th and Sandman Viper Command at the Silver Dollar on October 1!
