They played in Regina, and we interviewed them
That hair is something to be admired / www.theglorioussons.com/
Author: Michaela Solomon
Last week I was lucky enough to sit down with The Glorious Sons, a brand new band out of Kingston, Ontario. The band was honored to open up for The Trews at the Casino Regina on Wednesday, Dec. 3.
The boys found their initial success in several Battle of the Bands competitions, beginning with the Whiskey Rocks Showdown in 2012 where they placed in the top three.
They went on to enter themselves in 97.7 HTZ-FM’s Rock Search, where they went head to head with other bands, all vying for first place. The boys came out on top with their cool and catchy hooks, and, with that, they managed to catch the eye of John Angus, guitarist for The Trews.
Angus worked on producing the bands first EP Shapeless Art and assisted them in getting their first radio plays. The band stressed to me how different everything would have gone if they hadn’t put themselves and their hard work out there during these competitions.
“Mama,” which can be experienced in full music video form on YouTube, turned out to be the most popular song from their EP. The music video involves the first instance of singing while taking part in extreme water sports. “Mama” is the type of song you would probably picture yourself playing on a boat on a hot summer day keeping with the theme of the music video.
The free-spirited rock and roll vibes oozed from Brett Emmons (lead vocals), Jay Emmons (lead guitar), Chris Huot (bass), and Adam Paquette (drums). Although I didn’t get a chance to talk with Andrew Young (guitar/vocals), he provided our interview with awesome background music from the show.
Michaela Solomon: How did you guys become a band?
Jay Emmons: Chris and I were jamming together, Adam and Andrew were jamming together, [and] Brett was out East. Initially, I wanted to go out East and start a band with Brett. But, when the four of us got together, we realized we had something pretty good in Kingston, so we stayed there and started getting shows, and Brett eventually joined up with us.
MS: What’s a memory from your childhood involving music?
Chris Huot: I used to build guitars out of LEGO and pretend I was playing these LEGO-made guitars. Eventually my parents bought me a real thing that was a guitar. I never really learned how to play anything on it, but I jammed all the time just making racket. And then I became a bass player.
MS: Who inspires you in terms of other musicians?
JE: I like The Stones, and I like a lot of classic guys.
Adam Paquette: I like a lot of old stuff. Levon Helm, but also Nathan Followill from Kings of Leon is one of my favorites too.
CH: Something people wouldn’t expect is classical. I actually listen to a bit of classical now and then and I don’t think people would expect that.
MS: How would you describe your sound and how do you think you stand out from other rock bands?
JE: I don’t know if we’re trying to be different. We don’t really try to match any existing guitar tones or drum sounds. We just sort of have our gear, we all like our own thing, and that creates something when we’re together.
MS: What do you think is the most important social issue today?
JE: I would say the state of the environment is pretty disturbing
AP: We’re pretty disturbed with the lack of rock and roll fans. The way the music is right now is pretty friggin’ frustrating. You make it all with a computer, and you don’t really have to have much experience or anything to make a number one hit song that everyone listens to. That’s a problem in my eyes.
MS: What’s your take on fans downloading music online?
JE: I would rather have people listening to our music than not. At this point we don’t see that much money from record sales.
MS: What’s the most exciting thing that’s happened in your career so far?
JE: We’re doing it right now! We just announced a U.S. tour, and that’s one of the most exciting things that has happened to us. Touring with The Trews was on my bucket list and just getting to be up on stage with them every night. Knowing The Trews and just being able to do this for a living is pretty awesome.
MS: What advice would you give to up-and-coming bands?
JE: Work hard, play lots and as much as you can. Be yourself is a huge thing, don’t follow any trends, and be original.
CH: And Battle of the Bands competitions are not a waste of time. We won a couple of those, we have an undefeated record of 3-0, and it basically got us to where we are now. That got us in touch with John Angus of The Trews, who produced the album, and then got us our first radio spins. Three top ten singles now since being on the radio, so those are not bad things. Battle of the Bands gets a bad rep sometimes, but it’s always been worth it for us. Rock and Roll lives on.
There you have it! An inside look at what makes an all-Canadian rock group tick. If you didn’t get the chance to check these guys out at the Casino, then be sure to give their debut EP Shapeless Art a listen!
