Press
Back To PressBetter Late than never
By Allan Wigney, The Ottawa Sun - June 25, 2008
As a producer and engineer, Mike Bond has worked with dozens of artists. As a musician, the percussionist has also called himself a member of notable locals The Drive Home, Sleeping Pilot and Embassies of Denmark.
So his is a head not easily turned by singer-songwriters. But when in late 2006 Bond heard former A Dying Breed vocalist Ryan O’Hagan run through material slated for a solo EP to be released under the name The Tourist, he wanted in.
O’Hagan already had A Dying Breed bandmate Mike Short in mind for what was originally envisioned as a collection of “softer material.” But with Bond and guitarist Tristan Knott onboard, songs like the restrained Neverending Accidents were transformed into uptempo, radio-friendly head-bobbers.
“We all became fans of Ryan’s songs,” Bond claims. “his songwriting, his voice... it’s just good indie stuff”
It’s enough to make a humbled O’Hagan joke of Bond. “He grew a beard because of me.”
To which Short quickly adds, “I shaved mine because of you.”
Spirit of camaraderie
It is all said with a spirit of camaraderie that befits a band excited to unleash its sound on the world. Saturday’'s CD-release show, you see, will be The Late ’94s first live performance.
“It’s true,” Bond says with a smile. “It’s our CD-release and our inaugural show. We’ll either get laughed at or kick everybody’s asses.”
Given the mix of talent and confidence behind the city’s newest buzzband, odds are we will see the latter.