There has been a mountain of changes in my life since I last posted. Relationships have began and ended, careers are in flux… and music projects coming and going.
I spent the bulk of my time from late 2019 to the end of 2020 focusing on an amazing opportunity playing for Daemon Grey. I was asked to audition back in mid 2019 on the recommendation of prior Greg Shier drummer Dan Winter. I was handed a pre-release of the tracks and instructed to learn a handful ahead of heading to Toronto. I was also asked if I knew any bass players. The guy that immediately came to mind was my wonderful friend Alex Burnett (Sex-Ray Vision) who filled in for me at one of Basalisk’s largest gigs. The two of us honed our chops, auditioned together in the summer, and both got hired.
This lead to a short, whirlwind fall 2019. Our next audition was in front of producer Gavin Brown, who graciously approved our candidacy and gave a nod to the record label. To get me up to the city, I was invited to move in with Daemon, and began a secondary role acting as the band’s interim manager; branding, getting merch made, and getting us gigs.
In short order we played some of the Toronto venues that I had coveted since my teenage years. Most notably for me, two slots at the infamous Bovine Sex Club; the first opening on a Sunday for Phantom High, the second headlining a Friday. The shows were amazing and very well received.
My time in Toronto living with Daemon was a productive one outside of my work with Daemon directly. It was during this time that I developed a friendship with Gavin. In addition to the work on building the success of Daemon Grey, Gavin invited me to a Noble Street Studios session with a band he was currently producing. That was my first introduction to the boys in Ascendia. I got to hang out with everyone, preview the new record, and take in the vibe of an incredible space. It was shortly after this first meeting that I was invited to audition as a session bassist for the band. Needless to say, that this relationship has continued, but has unfortunately been on pause since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the onset of the pandemic, I decided to leave Toronto and head back to Kingston to stay with family. It was about this time that Alex decided that he would be departing the band.
The summer months passed, and in September, we shot the music video for the single release of Stoned and Alone (followed by an adventurous photo shoot where i, for all intents and purposes, broke my foot). My relationship with the aforementioned Phantom High had been growing and I was invited to cameo in their first music video, Black Divine the next month. This was promptly followed up with a live stream performance with Daemon Grey in Toronto. After this burst of productivity, the pandemic worsened and all momentum was halted.
In the months to follow, after a number of discussions, Daemon and I dissolved our professional relationship and I exited the band. With everything now on hold, and new-found creative time, I decided that it was time to get back to work on getting music out.
The first step was to get Piece by Piece back up on the various streaming platforms, which happened back in February, shortly after its 10th birthday. Second, If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve likely seen a number of posts of my DAW. This is because I’m in the middle of mixing a new Greg Shier single. Last, in addition to all the new solo work, I have two new projects to announce when the time is right.
The last 18 months have been a wild ride and I feel l’ve made more progress in my music career in this short period than the decade preceding. I am beyond excited to share whats cooking behind the scenes, but that’s for another post. Stay tuned both here and on Instagram for more updates.
