The Nobs

Artist Information

Biography

The Nobs are a three piece rock and roll band from Sudbury who write odes to wild love and wilder parties. Many of their songs celebrate life in Sudbury Ontario. Musically, they draw on rock from the 70’s but have a feel for punk and classic heavy metal.

The line up has remained the same for over 11 years: Rob Straughan on drums, Chris “Pepper” Peplinski on bass and Kevin Closs on guitar and vocals. The sound is raw and stripped down, the songs short and to the point. Their first CD contains the hit “Bushparty”, an unforgettable anthem to good times in the North. The album has a distinct classic rock vibe with the occasional detour into blues.

Their latest release focuses more on hard rock but with nods to power-pop and punk. All but one of the ten songs clock in at three minutes or under without a whiff of pretension.

As a live band The Nobs have appeared at Canadian Music Week, North X Northeast, Bluesfest, and clubs across Ontario. They have received regular airplay on classic rock station Q92 as well as college stations across the country.

Instrumentation

Kevin Closs: Guitar, vocals
Chris Peplinski: Bass, vocals
Rob Straughan: Drums

Discography

The Nobs (Tower Bay Records TB-4).
The Nobs II (Tower Bay RecordsTB-9).

Official Website

http://www.myspace.com/thenobs2

Links

• MySpace

Audio

• S.L.A.G.
  Listen   Download
• Move
  Listen   Download
• Pearl
  Listen   Download
• Doreen
  Listen   Download

Lyrics

• S.L.A.G.
• Move
• Pearl
• Doreen

Video

Katie C'mon

Photo Gallery

Press

• The Record [+ Show ]
  

  With its staunch blue-collar image, Sudbury has likewise never refuted its reputation as a place whe...With its staunch blue-collar image, Sudbury has likewise never refuted its reputation as a place where a good time can be had when the working week is over. While it can't be said that the members of the Nobs have ever been down the mines, their music certainly reflects the latter aspect of life in the great white north.
  
  "We started out about four years ago as a cover band," explains singer-guitarist Kevin Closs. "We were all involved in different projects, so it was just an excuse to get together and play Cheap Trick and KISS songs and have a good time. Then about two years ago I wrote a tune called Snowball as a joke. We demo'd it in my home studio and brought it to the classic rock station up here, and lo and behold they started playing it and people started requesting it. After that we decided to write some more songs and eventually we became an all-original band."
  
  Snowball, and other songs cut from similar cloth, can now be heard on the Nobs' self-titled debut album, which is finally bringing the trio south. Closs says that being a musician in Sudbury is probably similar to any medium-sized town: lots of people looking for a way out, but without much direction. "It's a tough town to be from, and I'm not really sure why that is," he says. "There's a good scene here, a lot of people are putting out CDs. I think the problem is that bands from here don't tend to go on the road. We don't have the people who can help bands do that, so you have to do it all yourself.
  
  "If it happens that the fact that we don't take ourselves too seriously gets us attention, that's great, but it wasn't designed that way," he says. "I think it was important that we started doing this just for fun. Being from Sudbury and having a bit of a cynical attitude toward the music business did make us feel like, 'Who cares?' I mean, you have to be a little serious about the business side or you won't get heard at all, but whenever we get together, it's always about having a good time and having a few laughs about each other."
  
  It's a little ironic, then, that Closs says he often gets asked to judge battle of the bands competitions in Sudbury, where often the participants are hoping to become the next Nickelback. "There seems to be dozens of young bands imitating that sound and attitude, which is fine, but I always write, 'Stop watching MuchMusic. Stop pretending to be this gloomy, depressed person.' Rock 'n' roll is supposed to be funny. It's supposed to be about goofing off."
  
  Jason Schneider

• Wow Sudbury [+ Show ]
  

  The Nobs is more than just a rock 'n' roll band, it's a brotherhood. Comprised of Kev (guitar and vo...The Nobs is more than just a rock 'n' roll band, it's a brotherhood. Comprised of Kev (guitar and vocals), Pepper (bass), Rob (drums) the band got together four years ago as friends performing songs by their favourite rock bands.
  
  Nowadays The Nobs have evolved into a very different creature, recording 10 original tracks of "straight-up rock 'n' roll" for Sudbury's own Tower Bay Records.
  
  "It was started as a band of friends who were into the same kind of music," said vocalist Kevin Closs. "We were playing old Kiss tunes, old Cheap Trick and just music that we all grew up with, and it just kind of grew from there."
  
  The Nobs' debut album was recorded in June at Mission Studios, and was showcased at a CD release party as part of this year's Summerfest itinerary.
  
  An Ontario-wide tour of clubs and campus pubs is also in the works, in an attempt to expose the album to the college and university circuit.
  
  "We're doing the indie band thing, which means getting the CD into the hands of campus radio disc jockeys, and getting out there to support it," said Closs.
  
  According to the vocalist/guitarist, writing and performing with The Nobs is a much-needed departure from his previous gig as an acoustic-based singer/songwriter.
  
  "The great thing about The Nobs is that we started just out of the love of rock 'n' roll," he said. "It's very refreshing to me, because as a pop songwriter you're trying to say something important."
  
  Closs hasn't performed as a solo act in a long while, and is very committed to The Nobs.
  
  "I would say that I'm a full-time Nob now," he enthused. The chemistry and camaraderie of The Nobs can be attributed to the friendship shared by the three members.
  
  "I think for any band starting out the best thing to do is to find your best friends and to spend a couple years just hanging out together and jamming tunes you like, then just let the songwriting part evolve on its own."
  
  The Nobs kicked off their fall tour of Ontario with a Sept. 5 performance onboard the Cortina Cruise as part of the Cambrian College Frosh Week. If you missed the boat, you can catch the Nobs at the Townehouse Tavern Friday, Sept. 20.
  

Setlist

Over 20 originals from 2 cd's worth of material

When playing a night of covers, here's the current list:




Surrender - Cheap Trick
California Man - Cheap Trick (the Move)
I Want You To Want Me - Cheap Trick
High Class In Borrowed Shoes - Max Webster
In the Mood - Rush
Wang Dang - Ted Nugent
Cat Scratch Fever - Ted Nugent
Dirt Deeds... - AC/DC
Highway to Hell - AC/DC
You shook me all night long - AC/DC
Jailbreak - AC/DC
The Jack - AC/DC
Ride On - AC/DC
Hot Blooded - Foreigner
Can't Get Enough - Bad Company
Wild Eyes - Stampeders
Squeeze Box - The Who
Slow Ride - Foghat
All Right Now - Free
Got this thing...- Grand Funk
Thunderbird - ZZ Top
Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings - ZZ Top
Cheap sunglasses - ZZ Top
Waitin' for the bus - ZZ Top
Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie
Same Old Song & Dance - Aerosmith
Tie Your Mother Down - Queen
Jailbreak - Thin Lizzy
Lazy - Deep Purple
Rock & Roll - Led Zeppelin
One Way Or Another - Blondie
Strutter - Kiss

+ MANY MORE......

Basic Requirements

PDF Rider

The Nobs Stage Plot

Calendar