The Trews
are a Canadian rock band from Antigonish, Nova Scotia, consisting of vocalist Colin MacDonald, guitarist John-Angus MacDonald, bassist Jack Syperek, and drummer Sean Dalton. The band is currently based in Toronto, Ontario.
|
THE TREWS TICKETS
|
History
The band started their career with the name
One I'd Trouser
when they formed while in high school, before changing their name to
Trouser
, and eventually
The Trews
. They released an EP as One I'd Trouser, and a second EP under the name The Trews.
In the early summer of 2002 the band entered a Rock Search, a high profile contest that is held annually by a Southern Ontario rock radio station. Winning the contest would prove to be their big break as they soon landed a recording contract with
Sony BMG Canada.
The release of their first full-length CD
House of Ill Fame
, soon followed in 2003. The album contained the hit singles "Every Inambition", "Not Ready to Go", "Tired of Waiting", "Fleeting Trust" and "Confessions". "Not Ready to Go" hit number one on Canadian rock radio and was the most played song of 2004 in that format. The band was nominated as New Group of the Year at the 2004 Juno Awards and "Not Ready to Go" was nominated as Single of the Year in 2005.
[1] House Of Ill Fame
has been certified gold in Canada. In the past three years the band have racked up six Top 10 rock radio singles, including two chart-toppers.
The song "Hollis and Morris" on their first album, refers to an intersection in the nearby city of
Halifax, and not an intersection in Antigonish as previously speculated. John-Angus has mentioned during concerts and in the online Trews diary, that the corner of Hollis and Morris is notorious for prostitution.
[2]
The band released a follow-up to
House of Ill Fame
on August 16, 2005. The album,
Den of Thieves
, was produced by Jack Douglas. The first single, "So She's Leaving", was released to radio June 28, 2005 and was followed by the singles "Yearning", "Poor Ol' Broken Hearted Me", and "I Can't Say". The album was released April 18, 2006 in the
United States on Red Ink and Sony BMG.
In 2005, the band was featured in several episodes of
Radio Free Roscoe
.
Their latest album, called
No Time for Later
, was released in February, 2008. The first single, "Hold Me in Your Arms", was available on November 25, 2007. It premiered at the
2007 Grey Cup pre-game show and was immediately released on
iTunes; it eventually went to number one on
MuchMusic for a week in April 2008. In early 2009, "Hold Me in Your Arms" won in The 8th Annual
Independent Music Awards for Best Hard Rock/Metal Song.
[3]A bonus song called "Long Way from Freedom" was included with this single but was not released on the album. In early February 2008, the band added keyboardist
Jeff Heisholt to their live line up. The second single was "Paranoid Freak", the video for which was released on May 22 and went straight into rotation on
MuchMusic. The third single, the ballad "Man Of Two Minds", was released during the week of September 8, 2008, with the video being released September 19. The fourth single, "Can't Stop Laughing", was sent to radio January 23, 2009, and a video was filmed in April. The band was nominated for two Juno Awards in 2009, Album of the Year (for
No Time for Later
) and Group of the Year.
No Time for Later
was released in the United States on April 7, 2009, on
Merovingian Music, with the first single, "Paranoid Freak", sent to radio a few weeks prior to that.
[4]
Discography
Albums
Release date
| Title
| Label
|
1997
| The Trouser E.P.
| Bumstead Recording
|
2002
| Trews E.P.
| Bumstead Recording
|
August 19, 2003
| House of Ill Fame
| Bumstead Recording
|
November 30, 2004
| House of Ill Fame – The Live Cut
| Bumstead Recording
|
August 16, 2005
| Den of Thieves
| Bumstead Recording
|
February 19, 2008
| No Time for Later
| Bumstead Recording, Universal Music Canada
|
Singles
- "Every Inambition" – 2003
- "Not Ready to Go" – 2003
- "Tired of Waiting" – 2004
- "Fleeting Trust" – 2004
- "So She's Leaving" – 2005
- "Yearning" – 2005
- "Poor Ol' Broken Hearted Me" – 2006
- "I Can't Say" – 2006
- "Hold Me in Your Arms" – 2007
- "Paranoid Freak" – 2008
- "Man of Two Minds" – 2008
- "Can't Stop Laughing" – 2009
- "Hold Me in Your Arms" (re-release) – 2009
Nominations and Awards
Juno Awards
- 2004: New Group of the Year - Nominated
- 2005: Single of the Year ("Not Ready to Go") - Nominated
- 2009: Group of the Year - Nominated
- 2009: Rock Album of the Year (No Time for Later
) - Nominated
Independent Music Awards
- 2008: Best Hard Rock Song ("Hold Me in Your Arms") - Won
References
- http://junoawards.ca/archive_results.php
- Hollis and Morris
- Independent Music Awards - 8th Annual Winners
- The Trews official website