...bringing musical mirth to the Toronto area since 1999...

 

The do-it-yourself ethic has never been more embodied than in the Toronto band The Friendless Youngsters. In their four years together they have not only written their own songs, managed and booked themselves, and run their own website and record label, but they have also built or modified many of their own instruments, effects pedals, amps, and even microphones. Likewise they have just finished recording, mixing, and producing their first full-length album Try To Play Nice. When so much of themselves and their own style are put into their work, no wonder they ended up with something so unique.

Surprisingly, despite this uniqueness their music is totally accessible; it's just more interesting than most and has more layers. An up-tempo pop song about throwing rocks through windows, a punky rock tune about excusing the narrator for hockey fighting, and a country ditty about a dirt bike-lovin', slowly dying child describe just the first three tracks of the album. They are all toe tapping, carefully crafted, and very catchy songs, but when you listen more closely, you begin to hear what they might really be saying beneath the pop veneer.

When it comes to doing-it-yourself, The Friendless Youngsters know when to draw the line. They took their final mixes to Rogue Studios (Lowest of the Low, Blue Rodeo, The Supers, Sarah Harmer, Joydrop, Hawksley Workman) to be mastered and listened to by another set of ears. The result was just what they wanted - a polished sound ready for radio, but beckoning your ears, heart, and mind to listen deeper and dig down for the gems under the surface.

Believe it or not, the band started when Tom Gibson and Geoff Wood met under the unlikely circumstances of playing in a disco cover band! Although it was a one-off gig for a friend's party, they began to write songs and perform them at open stages around Toronto. As the songs began to evolve, they begged for bass and drums, and so Sarah Ternoway and Graydon James were added to the lineup and they started playing the usual assortment of clubs around Toronto. They have also performed live and been interviewed on CKLN radio where their demo has received airplay.