The Reason for listening to music
In spite of my opinion on the music scene and how much I have come to hate it recently (see “Image killed the should-be rock star,” page 7), The Reason has really made me feel better about everything.
Adam White (vocals), James Nelan (guitar/vocals), Jeremy Widerman (guitar/vocals) Ronson Armstrong (bass) and Cam Bordignon (drums) seem to have felt the same way, as I do now, about the music scene and decided to change things up, which is exactly what these guys have accomplished with their latest album Things Couldn't be Better. Nelan even gives a great reason, how ironic, why they felt compelled to change up their music.
“We mainly just started writing whatever songs we felt when we started doing this record. There was no real conscious decision to make a record completely different from Ravenna. It just ended up that way when we began writing,” explained Nelon. “I think it was mainly because everyone in the band had begun to feel inundated with a large amount of similar sounding bands and songs within the genre we were a part of. Everyone was exhausted hearing the same kind of music, so we wanted to make something different from Ravenna.”
The Reason first came together in 2003 and released their first E.P. Problems Associated with Running, which earned them the “Best Punk Recording” award at the 2004 Hamilton Music Awards. That same year the band signed with Smallman Records and released their first full-length album Ravenna, a mix of punk and aggressive pop, which landed them on the same stage with bands such as Alexisonfire, Moneen and Comeback Kid.
Their brand new album Things Couldn't be Better was released on Tuesday, March 6 and will make a perfect addition to your music library. Fusing together influences from Hot Water Music, The Police, The Cure and Modest Mouse these guys have created something entirely of their own design.
“We recorded our new CD with Gavin Brown over several months between February and July of 2006 all over the Toronto area. It was an amazing experience, much more in depth and serious than any of our past efforts. We really tried to focus on simplifying our song structures, concentrating on melody much more than we had previously. The end result is something that we're all very proud of,” added Nelan.
And in case you didn't know, Gavin Brown is the Juno Award winning producer of other bands like Billy Talent and Three Days Grace. On Tuesday, The Reason put their entire album up on myspace.com/thereasonrock for anyone to listen too, check out “My Broken Legs”, “Is It Just Me?” and “This Is Just The Beginning.” The Reason also has a music video of the albums first single “This Is Just The Beginning,” which can be seen on their Myspace or on the MuchLoud video rotation.
Things Couldn't be Better is a great blend of catchy pop melodies coupled with great vocals and a synthesizer to top it all off. You can catch The Reason at the Salt Lounge on Friday, March 9, doors open at 7p.m. Tickets cost $15 but they are also sharing the stage with Mute Math to sweeten the deal that much more, however, the way things have been lately I would pay that much to see these guys play alone.
Adam White (vocals), James Nelan (guitar/vocals), Jeremy Widerman (guitar/vocals) Ronson Armstrong (bass) and Cam Bordignon (drums) seem to have felt the same way, as I do now, about the music scene and decided to change things up, which is exactly what these guys have accomplished with their latest album Things Couldn't be Better. Nelan even gives a great reason, how ironic, why they felt compelled to change up their music.
“We mainly just started writing whatever songs we felt when we started doing this record. There was no real conscious decision to make a record completely different from Ravenna. It just ended up that way when we began writing,” explained Nelon. “I think it was mainly because everyone in the band had begun to feel inundated with a large amount of similar sounding bands and songs within the genre we were a part of. Everyone was exhausted hearing the same kind of music, so we wanted to make something different from Ravenna.”
The Reason first came together in 2003 and released their first E.P. Problems Associated with Running, which earned them the “Best Punk Recording” award at the 2004 Hamilton Music Awards. That same year the band signed with Smallman Records and released their first full-length album Ravenna, a mix of punk and aggressive pop, which landed them on the same stage with bands such as Alexisonfire, Moneen and Comeback Kid.
Their brand new album Things Couldn't be Better was released on Tuesday, March 6 and will make a perfect addition to your music library. Fusing together influences from Hot Water Music, The Police, The Cure and Modest Mouse these guys have created something entirely of their own design.
“We recorded our new CD with Gavin Brown over several months between February and July of 2006 all over the Toronto area. It was an amazing experience, much more in depth and serious than any of our past efforts. We really tried to focus on simplifying our song structures, concentrating on melody much more than we had previously. The end result is something that we're all very proud of,” added Nelan.
And in case you didn't know, Gavin Brown is the Juno Award winning producer of other bands like Billy Talent and Three Days Grace. On Tuesday, The Reason put their entire album up on myspace.com/thereasonrock for anyone to listen too, check out “My Broken Legs”, “Is It Just Me?” and “This Is Just The Beginning.” The Reason also has a music video of the albums first single “This Is Just The Beginning,” which can be seen on their Myspace or on the MuchLoud video rotation.
Things Couldn't be Better is a great blend of catchy pop melodies coupled with great vocals and a synthesizer to top it all off. You can catch The Reason at the Salt Lounge on Friday, March 9, doors open at 7p.m. Tickets cost $15 but they are also sharing the stage with Mute Math to sweeten the deal that much more, however, the way things have been lately I would pay that much to see these guys play alone.
