The Meligrove Band
Encyclopedia
The Meligrove Band is a Canadian
indie rock
band, based in Toronto
, and consisting of Jason Nunes on vocals, guitar
and piano
, Darcy Rego on vocals and drum
s, Brian O'Reilly on guitar and synthesizer
, and Michael Small on bass guitar
.
in Mississauga, Ontario
. Their first public performance was in March 1998 at Club Shanghai in Toronto. The band pressed a demo cassette in May 1998, and its first album, Stars & Guitars, was released by Ductape Records
in April 2000. Original drummer Rick Gomes departed in June 2001, and the band stayed a trio (with singer-guitarist Rego permanently moving to drums) until the release of their second album, Let it Grow on Endearing Records
in October 2002.
Andrew Scott joined in October 2002, months before his former band, Femme Fatale, ceased touring. Scott's bandmates in Femme Fatale included Sebastien Grainger
and Jesse F. Keeler
, who later rose to prominence together as Death from Above 1979
. Although the Meligrove Band's sound has been compared to Sloan
by some Canadian critics, Scott is not the same person as Sloan's Andrew Scott
. His last show as a member of the band was in September 2007 in London, but he has occasionally appeared with them as a guest since.
In 2003, Nunes, Small and Rego appeared in Joel Plaskett Emergency's Come On Teacher music video, playing Plaskett's high school posse. In 2004, the band appeared as themselves on an episode of the teen comedy Radio Free Roscoe
.
In early 2005, Small played briefly together with Jessie Stein and Owen Pallett
in SS Cardiacs
, a predeccessing band of The Luyas
.
In summer 2005, The Meligrove Band became the first Canadian group signed to V2 Records
, who released Planets Conspire
in the United Kingdom
, Canada, Taiwan
, Scandinavia
and Finland
in 2006. Planets Conspire was featured as Rough Trade Shops' Album of the Month for April 2006, and in Canada it reached #2 on the national campus radio chart.
The band's 2010 release, Shimmering Lights
, was released 21 September 2010 by Nevado Records in Canada and Last Gang Records
in the United States, and reached #1 on CBC Radio 3 in late October.
A documentary entitled Ages & Stages: The Story of the Meligrove Band will be released in the summer of 2011. The film includes interviews with more than 35 other Canadian bands and music industry personalities including Joel Plaskett
, Tokyo Police Club
, Born Ruffians
, Fucked Up
, The Arkells, The Most Serene Republic
and Sebastien Grainger
.
The Meligrove Band song "Bones Attack!!" is used as the theme song for TV show The Basketball Jones
.
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...
indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band, based 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...
, and consisting of Jason Nunes on vocals, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, Darcy Rego on vocals and drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, Brian O'Reilly on guitar and synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, and Michael Small on bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
.
History
The band was formed in 1997 by Nunes, Small and Rego, when the three attended Father Michael Goetz Secondary SchoolFather Michael Goetz Secondary School
Father Michael Goetz Secondary School is a Catholic school located in Mississauga, Canada. Founded by Ed King, it was established in 1987 and in 1990 moved to the south of the city centre...
in Mississauga, Ontario
Mississauga, Ontario
Mississauga is a city in Southern Ontario located in the Regional Municipality of Peel, and in the western part of the Greater Toronto Area. With an estimated population of 734,000, it is Canada's sixth-most populous municipality, and has almost doubled in population in each of the last two decades...
. Their first public performance was in March 1998 at Club Shanghai in Toronto. The band pressed a demo cassette in May 1998, and its first album, Stars & Guitars, was released by Ductape Records
Ductape Records
Ductape Records is a Toronto-based independent record label that was spawned from a magazine of the same name in 1997. The label's website was updated in 2007, stating that it was "on hiatus indefinitely, but some catalogue items are still available." Previously, it had not been updated since 2003...
in April 2000. Original drummer Rick Gomes departed in June 2001, and the band stayed a trio (with singer-guitarist Rego permanently moving to drums) until the release of their second album, Let it Grow on Endearing Records
Endearing Records
Endearing Records is a Canadian independent record label established in 1994, now based in Vancouver, originally based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Endearing Records has released many albums by Canadian indie artists since the mid 90s, such as Destroyer, The Meligrove Band, Julie Doiron, The...
in October 2002.
Andrew Scott joined in October 2002, months before his former band, Femme Fatale, ceased touring. Scott's bandmates in Femme Fatale included Sebastien Grainger
Sebastien Grainger
Sebastien Alexandre Grainger from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada is a Canadian singer and musician, best known as drummer and singer of the dance-punk duo Death from Above 1979 and the singer and guitarist for his current band, Sebastien Grainger and The Mountains...
and Jesse F. Keeler
Jesse F. Keeler
Jesse Frederick Keeler is a Canadian musician. He is known as the bassist of Canadian dance punk duo Death from Above 1979, and for being one half of the electronic music duo MSTRKRFT....
, who later rose to prominence together as Death from Above 1979
Death from Above 1979
Death from Above 1979 are a Toronto-based Canadian dance-punk/noise rock duo. Their album, You're a Woman, I'm a Machine, was released in late 2004. The band broke up in 2006, but announced a reunion in 2011.-History:...
. Although the Meligrove Band's sound has been compared to Sloan
Sloan (band)
Sloan is a Toronto-based alternative rock quartet from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Throughout their 20-year tenure Sloan has released 10 LPs , two EPs, a live album, a "best of" collection and no less than thirty singles...
by some Canadian critics, Scott is not the same person as Sloan's Andrew Scott
Andrew Scott (drummer)
Andrew Walter Gibson Scott is a Canadian musician born in Ottawa, Ontario and currently living in Toronto, Ontario. His first bands include No Damn Fears, Oreo Reversed and Blackpool from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Currently, he is a drummer with the Toronto-based band Sloan. He also plays guitar with...
. His last show as a member of the band was in September 2007 in London, but he has occasionally appeared with them as a guest since.
In 2003, Nunes, Small and Rego appeared in Joel Plaskett Emergency's Come On Teacher music video, playing Plaskett's high school posse. In 2004, the band appeared as themselves on an episode of the teen comedy Radio Free Roscoe
Radio Free Roscoe
Radio Free Roscoe was a Canadian television series filmed in Toronto, Ontario. The show was produced by Decode Entertainment, and it first aired on 1 August 2003 on Family, in Canada. It has also been dubbed in French in the province of Quebec and aired on VRAK.TV...
.
In early 2005, Small played briefly together with Jessie Stein and Owen Pallett
Owen Pallett
Michael James Owen Pallett is a Canadian composer, violinist, keyboardist, and vocalist from Toronto, Ontario. He won the 2006 Polaris Music Prize for the album He Poos Clouds....
in SS Cardiacs
SS Cardiacs
SS Cardiacs was a Canadian indie rock band, briefly active in the early 2000s.First formed in 2004 by Jessie Stein, Andy Lloyd and Dana Snell, the band released its sole album, Fear the Love, on Blocks in 2005. Stein's brother, José Miguel Contreras of By Divine Right, also participated in the...
, a predeccessing band of The Luyas
The Luyas
The Luyas are a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2006 from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-History:The Luyas did their first live performance in December 2006...
.
In summer 2005, The Meligrove Band became the first Canadian group signed to V2 Records
V2 Records
V2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI....
, who released Planets Conspire
Planets Conspire
Planets Conspire is a 2006 album by The Meligrove Band. Released January 17, 2006 in Canada, Planets Conspire is their third studio album, and their first with V2 Records...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Canada, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
and Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
in 2006. Planets Conspire was featured as Rough Trade Shops' Album of the Month for April 2006, and in Canada it reached #2 on the national campus radio chart.
The band's 2010 release, Shimmering Lights
Shimmering Lights
Shimmering Lights is the fourth studio album by Canadian indie-rock band The Meligrove Band, released September 21, 2010 in Canada and The United States.- Side A :#Ghosts At My Back - 3:30#Really Want It - 3:14#Make Believe It - 3:31...
, was released 21 September 2010 by Nevado Records in Canada and Last Gang Records
Last Gang Records
Last Gang Records is a record label that was formed by Canadian music industry lawyer Chris Taylor and concert promoter Donald Tarlton in the Fall of 2003 at the Pop Montreal Music Festival....
in the United States, and reached #1 on CBC Radio 3 in late October.
A documentary entitled Ages & Stages: The Story of the Meligrove Band will be released in the summer of 2011. The film includes interviews with more than 35 other Canadian bands and music industry personalities including Joel Plaskett
Joel Plaskett
Joel Plaskett is a Canadian rock musician originally from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. He grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia and now resides across the harbour in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia...
, Tokyo Police Club
Tokyo Police Club
Tokyo Police Club is an indie rock band from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. It consists of vocalist and bassist David Monks , keyboardist Graham Wright, guitarist Josh Hook , and drummer Greg Alsop ....
, Born Ruffians
Born Ruffians
Born Ruffians, formerly known as Mornington Drive, are a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2004, originally from Midland, Ontario, located near Georgian Bay. They are currently signed to Warp Records. The members are Luke Lalonde , Mitch Derosier and Steven Hamelin...
, Fucked Up
Fucked Up
Fucked Up is a hardcore punk band from Toronto, Canada. The band won the 2009 Polaris Music Prize for the album The Chemistry of Common Life.-History:The band formed and played their first shows in early 2001...
, The Arkells, The Most Serene Republic
The Most Serene Republic
The Most Serene Republic is a Canadian indie rock band based in Milton, Ontario. It takes its name from the sobriquet of formerly independent Venice under the Doges, which was regarded as "The Most Serene Republic of Venice".-Members:...
and Sebastien Grainger
Sebastien Grainger
Sebastien Alexandre Grainger from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada is a Canadian singer and musician, best known as drummer and singer of the dance-punk duo Death from Above 1979 and the singer and guitarist for his current band, Sebastien Grainger and The Mountains...
.
The Meligrove Band song "Bones Attack!!" is used as the theme song for TV show The Basketball Jones
The Basketball Jones
The Basketball Jones is a video podcast, blog and television program that analyzes, and often satirizes, the National Basketball Association. The show is written and hosted by Tas Melas and J.E. Skeets and shot, edited, and produced by Jason Doyle and Matt Osten...
.
Albums
- 2000: Stars & Guitars (Ductape RecordsDuctape RecordsDuctape Records is a Toronto-based independent record label that was spawned from a magazine of the same name in 1997. The label's website was updated in 2007, stating that it was "on hiatus indefinitely, but some catalogue items are still available." Previously, it had not been updated since 2003...
) - 2002: Let it Grow (Endearing RecordsEndearing RecordsEndearing Records is a Canadian independent record label established in 1994, now based in Vancouver, originally based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Endearing Records has released many albums by Canadian indie artists since the mid 90s, such as Destroyer, The Meligrove Band, Julie Doiron, The...
) - 2006: Planets ConspirePlanets ConspirePlanets Conspire is a 2006 album by The Meligrove Band. Released January 17, 2006 in Canada, Planets Conspire is their third studio album, and their first with V2 Records...
(V2 RecordsV2 RecordsV2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI....
/ We Are Busy Bodies) - 2010: Shimmering LightsShimmering LightsShimmering Lights is the fourth studio album by Canadian indie-rock band The Meligrove Band, released September 21, 2010 in Canada and The United States.- Side A :#Ghosts At My Back - 3:30#Really Want It - 3:14#Make Believe It - 3:31...
(Last Gang RecordsLast Gang RecordsLast Gang Records is a record label that was formed by Canadian music industry lawyer Chris Taylor and concert promoter Donald Tarlton in the Fall of 2003 at the Pop Montreal Music Festival....
/ Nevado Records)
7" Singles
- 2006: Everyone's a Winner (V2 RecordsV2 RecordsV2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI....
; United Kingdom only) - 2010: Halflight (Nevado Records; Canada only)
Compilation appearances
- 1999: Music to Fall Asleep By (Ductape RecordsDuctape RecordsDuctape Records is a Toronto-based independent record label that was spawned from a magazine of the same name in 1997. The label's website was updated in 2007, stating that it was "on hiatus indefinitely, but some catalogue items are still available." Previously, it had not been updated since 2003...
) - 2001: Songs in Motion (Hasil Records)
- 2003: Underpin Collective #1 (Underpin Collective)
- 2003: Recordings from CKLNCKLN-FMCKLN.fm is a domain owned by Chris Scully which streams an internet radio station based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada which follows in the tradition of the former CKLN-FM.From 1983 to 2011, CKLN Radio Inc...
's Wired for Sound, 2001-2002 (My Mean Magpie) - 2003: Food for Thought vol. 1 (The Food and Shelter Project)
- 2004: Function Magazine (Ryerson UniversityRyerson UniversityRyerson University is a public research university located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its urban campus is adjacent to Yonge-Dundas Square located at the busiest intersection in Downtown Toronto. The majority of its buildings are in the blocks northeast of the square in Toronto's Garden...
School of Image Arts) - 2005: Queen Aritzia (M1 Group)
- 2006: Doormat Records Remembers the Low-Five (Doormat Records)
- 2006: Brit Rock Best (a collection of V2 RecordsV2 RecordsV2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI....
artists, released in Korea only) - 2007: Friends in BellwoodsFriends in BellwoodsFriends in Bellwoods is a compilation album, released in 2007. It was the first release on Out of This Spark, through a distribution deal with Sonic Unyon Records. The album is named for a house on Bellwoods Avenue in Toronto, shared by two members of the band Ohbijou, which NOW has written "might...
(Out of This Spark) - 2007: Everything's Gone GreenEverything's Gone Green (film)Everything's Gone Green is a 2006 Canadian comedy film directed by Paul Fox and written by Douglas Coupland. It was produced by Radke Films and True West Films...
original soundtrack (Lakeshore RecordsLakeshore RecordsLakeshore Records is the independent music division of Lakeshore Entertainment . They started out as WILL Records.Will Records were started by Skip Williamson in the early 90s...
) - 2008: Songs for the Gang: Thrush HermitThrush Hermit-History:Thrush Hermit was formed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1992 by Joel Plaskett , Rob Benvie , Ian McGettigan , and Michael Catano...
Tribute (Gooseberry Records) - 2011: Last Gang Records: The Collector's Edition, Volume 7 (Last Gang RecordsLast Gang RecordsLast Gang Records is a record label that was formed by Canadian music industry lawyer Chris Taylor and concert promoter Donald Tarlton in the Fall of 2003 at the Pop Montreal Music Festival....
)
External links
- Official website
- The Meligrove Band on MySpace
- The Meligrove Band on Facebook
- The Meligrove Band on CBC NewMusicCanada
- The Meligrove Band on V2 Music
Media
- The Meligrove Band In Session at CBC Radio 3
- Everyone's a Winner music video (2006)
- Our Love Will Make the World Go Round music video (2008)
- Before We Arrive music video (2003)