IllScarlett
Encyclopedia
IllScarlett is a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
.
Their sound can be defined as pop infused rock reggae. They have made a name for themselves in the Canadian music scene and are making their name known throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and around the world. Their most prominent influence is California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
-based band Sublime
Sublime (band)
Sublime was an American ska punk band from Long Beach, California, formed in 1988. The band's line-up, unchanged until their breakup, consisted of Bradley Nowell , Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh . Michael "Miguel" Happoldt also contributed on a few Sublime songs, such as "New Thrash." Lou Dog, Nowell's...
.
The band found their break when they decided to play outside the 2004 Vans Warped Tour
Warped Tour
The Warped Tour is a touring music and extreme sports festival. The tour is held in venues such as parking lots or fields upon which the stages and other structures are erected. The BMX/skateboarding shoe manufacturer Vans, among others, has sponsored the tour every year since 1995, and it is...
venue in front of fans waiting in line to get in. Kevin Lyman
Kevin Lyman
Kevin Lyman is creator of a touring music and extreme sports festival called the Warped Tour, the Taste of Chaos, and the Mayhem tours. He also is a partner at SideOneDummy Records. He owns 4FINI which annually produces the above-mentioned tours as well as produced past tours such as the Down From...
, the Warped Tour organizer and co-owner of Warcon Enterprises, noticed them and invited them to play at his personal barbecue. Subsequently, they were offered spots on the tour for the following two years.
IllScarlett has four major studio albums: ILLP
ILLP
ILLP is the first album released by IllScarlett. The album was released by the band independently. Some songs on ILLP are also featured in albums that were later released by IllScarlett, such as; a live version of "Babylon Song", "Not a Prophecy", and "Mary Jane" that were included on the bands...
, Clearly in Another Fine Mess
Clearly in Another Fine Mess
Clearly in Another Fine Mess is the second album by illScarlett, it was released at their CD Release concert on February 4, 2006 at the sold out Opera House in Toronto. This album was released independently following the independent success of 2004 iLLP...
, All Day With It
All Day with It
Ultimate Collector's Edition Bonus Disc-Album:-Singles:-Art/Photography:*Adrian Forrow - Illustrations*John Wellman - Graphic Design*Richard Sibbald - Photography-Instruments:*Alex Norman - Guitar*Johnny Doherty - Bass*Swavek Piorkowski - Drums...
, and most recently 1UP!
1UP!
-Art/photography:*Swavek Piorkowski — art direction, photography*John Wellman — design, layout*Margaret Malandruccolo — photography-Instruments:*Alex Norman — guitar*Swavek Piorkowski — drums*Will Marr — guitar...
, that they have finished in the studio with Robert Carranza in Hollywood, a three-time Grammy-winning producer and engineer based in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Carranza has worked with notable acts such as Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson (musician)
Jack Johnson was born May 18, 1975 is an American folk rock singer-songwriter, surfer and musician known for his work in the soft rock and acoustic genres. In 2001, he achieved commercial success after the release of his debut album, Brushfire Fairytales. He has since released four more albums, a...
, Mars Volta, Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
, Ozomatli
Ozomatli
Ozomatli is a seven to ten piece band playing primarily Latin, hip hop, and rock music, formed in 1995 in Los Angeles. They are known both for their vocal activist viewpoints and their wide array of musical styles - including salsa, jazz, funk, reggae, rap, and others.In a 2007 NPR interview, band...
, Mindless Self Indulgence
Mindless Self Indulgence
Mindless Self Indulgence is an American musical group formed in New York in 1997. Their music has a mixed style including rap, punk rock, alternative rock, electronica, techno and industrial...
, and Matt Costa
Matt Costa
Matthew Albert Costa is a singer-songwriter from Huntington Beach, California.He has five independent releases: two self-recorded EPs, and three full-length CDs released via Brushfire Records.-Life:...
, among others.
The new album titled 1UP!
1UP!
-Art/photography:*Swavek Piorkowski — art direction, photography*John Wellman — design, layout*Margaret Malandruccolo — photography-Instruments:*Alex Norman — guitar*Swavek Piorkowski — drums*Will Marr — guitar...
was released on September 29, 2009 throughout North America.
The album All Day With It reached gold status in Canada.
History
Initially meeting in high school, Iona Catholic Secondary SchoolIona Catholic Secondary School
Iona Catholic Secondary School is a school in the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board. It provides education to students from the Clarkson and Lorne Park areas of Mississauga, Ontario.-Elementary feeder schools:...
, Swavek Piorkowski and Alex Norman had played in several bands while teenagers. Alex, who was working at a skateboarding shop at the local mall, befriended Daniel Krolikowski at work one day and two months later, the three had begun jamming as a trio. IllScarlett was born after the guys named the band after a local street in Mississauga, named Will Scarlett Drive, which the band later edited to ill Scarlett Drive as a prank. Later, Alex, Daniel, and Swavek began to seek members and found guitarist Will Marr and disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Pat Kennedy. The first show the band did was at the Horseshoe Tavern
Horseshoe Tavern
The Horseshoe Tavern is a concert venue located at 370 Queen Street West in downtown Toronto, and has been in operation since 1947. Owned by "JC", Ken Sprackman, Craig Laskey and Naomi Montpetit, the venue is a significant part of Canadian musical lore...
with John Doherty on the guitar (he later replaced Daniel Krolikowski on bass) in Toronto.
After many performances at small venues, illScarlett went into the studio to record their first demo called the Five Dollar Demo. In 2004, the band released a full-length CD titled iLLP
ILLP
ILLP is the first album released by IllScarlett. The album was released by the band independently. Some songs on ILLP are also featured in albums that were later released by IllScarlett, such as; a live version of "Babylon Song", "Not a Prophecy", and "Mary Jane" that were included on the bands...
. By this time, John Doherty had left and been replaced by new guitarist Will Marr. Shortly after the release of ILLP, the band performed in the parking lot for the 2004 Vans Warped Tour in Barrie, Ontario
Barrie, Ontario
Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, located on the western shore of Lake Simcoe, approximately 90 km north of Toronto. Although located in Simcoe County, the city is politically independent...
. They weren't actually scheduled to play inside the venue, but they set up their equipment beside the line where people were waiting to get into Park Place
Park Place (Ontario)
Park Place is a former park located at Highway 400 off Mapleview Drive East in the south end of Barrie, Ontario, Canada....
for the concert. IllScarlett played an hour and a half set for the concertgoers.
Within three songs, they got word from one of their friends that Sublime
Sublime (band)
Sublime was an American ska punk band from Long Beach, California, formed in 1988. The band's line-up, unchanged until their breakup, consisted of Bradley Nowell , Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh . Michael "Miguel" Happoldt also contributed on a few Sublime songs, such as "New Thrash." Lou Dog, Nowell's...
's old roadie who worked as tour security radioed the organizer of the Warped Tour, Kevin Lyman, telling him that there was a band sounding like Sublime playing in the parking lot powered by generators. Kevin Lynman, asked the band to play at his barbecue later that night and the band accepted his offer. After the band's performance at the barbecue, Lyman extended an invitation for the band to perform a few dates on the 2005 Vans Warped Tour
Warped Tour 2005
Warped Tour 2005 is the 2005 and 11th installment of the annual Summer Warped Tour music festival. Vans Shoes is again the tour's primary sponsor.-Main stage:*Alexisonfire *The All-American Rejects *Atreyu...
.
The band finished recording their first major-label album (All Day with It) in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
under the production of Matthew Wilder
Matthew Wilder
Matthew Wilder is an American musician, composer and record producer, best known for his 1983 Top 5 hit, "Break My Stride"....
, producer of No Doubt
No Doubt
No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact...
's diamond Tragic Kingdom
Tragic Kingdom
Tragic Kingdom is the third studio album by the American third wave ska band No Doubt. It was released on October 10, 1995, on Trauma Records, a division of Interscope Records. The album was produced by Matthew Wilder, mixed by Paul Palmer, and recorded in 11 studios in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
album. The new album was released on July 10, 2007 across North America. The album includes such hit songs such as "Who's Got It?", "Paradise Burning", and "Life of a Soldier". Also on the album are redone versions of the songs "Nothing Special", "NTF" (Next Time Forever), "Clearer Now", and Pacino. IllScarlett toured Canada, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the United States, and throughout Europe, promoting the album All Day with It.
Currently the band performs live shows accompanied by Fatlabs
Fatlabs
FatLabs, is a Canadian home recording studio in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 2003 by Vikas Kohli. The studio is known for its ability to work with an assortment of genres.- Mission Istaanbul :...
session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
, Anthony Carone.
Awards and nominations
| Year | Event | Award(s) Up For | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | MuchMusic Video Awards MuchMusic Video Awards The MuchMusic Video Awards are annual awards presented by the Canadian music video channel MuchMusic to honour the year's best music videos.... |
Best Video, Best Rock Video, Best Post-Production, and Best Director: ("Nothing Special"), People's Choice: Favourite Canadian Group. | Nominated |
| Juno Awards | New Group of the Year. | Nominated | |
Trivia
In September 2006, the band played at the inaugural Virgin FestivalVirgin Festival
The Virgin Fest is a rock festival held in the United States and Canada, a spin-off from the V Festival held in the UK...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
.
IllScarlett's song "Who's Got It" was selected as the official song for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup
2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup
The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the sixteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup , hosted by Canada from June 30 to July 22, 2007. Argentina defeated Czech Republic in the title game by the score of 2–1, thus managing a back-to-back world title, its fifth in the past seven editions, and sixth...
soccer tournament hosted in Canada.
Band member John Doherty is the son of the late Denny Doherty
Denny Doherty
Dennis Gerrard Stephen Doherty was a Canadian singer and songwriter. He was most widely known as a founding member of the 1960s musical group The Mamas & the Papas.-Early career:...
, tenor of The Mamas & the Papas
The Mamas & the Papas
The Mamas & the Papas were a Canadian/American vocal group of the 1960s . The group recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968 with a short reunion in 1971, releasing five albums and 11 Top 40 hit singles...
.
Studio albums
- 2004: iLLPILLPILLP is the first album released by IllScarlett. The album was released by the band independently. Some songs on ILLP are also featured in albums that were later released by IllScarlett, such as; a live version of "Babylon Song", "Not a Prophecy", and "Mary Jane" that were included on the bands...
- 2006: Clearly in Another Fine MessClearly in Another Fine MessClearly in Another Fine Mess is the second album by illScarlett, it was released at their CD Release concert on February 4, 2006 at the sold out Opera House in Toronto. This album was released independently following the independent success of 2004 iLLP...
- 2007: All Day With ItAll Day with ItUltimate Collector's Edition Bonus Disc-Album:-Singles:-Art/Photography:*Adrian Forrow - Illustrations*John Wellman - Graphic Design*Richard Sibbald - Photography-Instruments:*Alex Norman - Guitar*Johnny Doherty - Bass*Swavek Piorkowski - Drums...
(gold status in CanadaCriaA cria is the name for a baby camelid such as a llama, alpaca, vicuña, or guanaco. It comes from the Spanish word cría, meaning "baby". Its false cognate in English, crya , was coined by British sailors who explored Chile in the 18th century and were quick to describe the camelids onomatopoeically...
) - 2009: 1UP!1UP!-Art/photography:*Swavek Piorkowski — art direction, photography*John Wellman — design, layout*Margaret Malandruccolo — photography-Instruments:*Alex Norman — guitar*Swavek Piorkowski — drums*Will Marr — guitar...
Interviews
- Interview with Amped Up TV (video)
- Interview with Shave Magazine, Sep 2009
- Interview with IllScarlett (2007)
- illScarlett continues to rock the radio and M.J.-From Torontomusicscene.ca
- illScarlett are interviewed at Warped Tour 2007