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If you're in the market for high-impact yet accessible metal, ONE is the number to remember. This powerful quartet builds its attack on buzz-saw guitar, a tight lock of bass and drums, and impassioned vocals from Danny Rossi. Their performance is disciplined, strong on chops but blunt; even their song titles- "You Fall," No Way Out," In The Rain,"- reflect their commitment to making the biggest impact with a no-nonsense, pointed attack. Somehow it's not surprising that the birth of the band traces back to an encounter between Danny and drummer Angelo Tomaro in a holding cell after a riotous night. With guitarist Chris Staniforth and bassist Ben Cousineau added to the lineup, ONE pummeled clubs in Montreal for five years before they felt ready to commit their bruising sound to disk. "We actually recorded the whole album and then wiped it all out and did it again," says Staniforth. "It took us another seven months, but we wanted something that we would never feel we should have done differently." No wonder the CD title is Never Say Never; the lesson is you can never count ONE out.
Artist of the month-Jan/Feb 2006 - ListenerStation.com
ONE was featured on Etalk Canada announcing their debut album Never Say Never, and showing segments of their live performance in a Montreal venue. - ETalk Canada
By Julia Gerke, The Suburban
Ben Cousineau, Rudy Occhionero, Danny Rossi and Chris Staniforth of ONE.
Looking for a name that would define them individually as well as a group, the four members of a Montreal rock band, quite by accident, stumbled upon the perfect one.
“One of us said, ‘We are four guys but we are going to be more than a family, we’re going to be brothers. We need a name that acknowledges that we’re four individuals, but together we’re going to be one.’ And that name stuck,” said lead vocalist Danny Rossi in a recent interview.
Rossi, Chris Staniforth on guitar, Ben Cousineau on bass and Rudy Occhionero on drums form the band ONE. The boys from St. Leonard (all except one) are in their mid-20s and sing about the anger and disappointment that comes with relationships. Their sound is at once groovy and melodic. The heavier riffs smack of Metallica, while Rossi’s soulful singing takes after Bon Jovi. Other musical influences include Nickelback, Led Zeppelin, Motley Crue, Iron Maiden and even Frank Sinatra. “We take the best of our influences and make it our own,” Rossi said. “We’re an in-your-face loud rock’n’roll band.”
The band was formed in 2001 but it took five years until they started recording their first album, Never Say Never.
“We didn’t want to release a debut album without a very solid foundation of songs,” Rossi said. “We chose songs that we thought would make a good rock album, one that you can listen to from beginning to end.”
Rudy Occhionero is a recent addition, joining the band in April.
Cousineau on bass and Occhionero on drums are “working together very well as a rhythm section,” says Rossi. “For our kind of music — we are a one-guitar band — the rhythm section has got to be solid, and these guys work so well together. And Chris [Staniforth]… let’s say after all of these years playing together, on a daily basis I [still] get amazed by what he can do.”
ONE has been performing for charities such as the Smiling Faces Foundation and the Canadian Cancer Society. The band is now in pre-production for their second album.
ONE will be featured on Global TV’s Ciao Montreal July 13 at noon. Other local performances are in the works. For more information, go to www.myspace.com/onetheband.
julia@thesuburban.com
- The Suburban (Quebec's largest english weekly newspaper)
....Power Rock group ONE is an obvious competitor for bands like Nickelback and Creed.... - Jounal De Montreal
...Canadian Rockers ONE will give you more than your moneys worth... - Brevard Live
...Rock group ONE has fans and media buzzing in the South... - playgrounds mag
Discography
2006 Album Never Say Never
2007 "Here We Are" music video release
2009 Album Dirty Valentine
2009 "Rescue Me" Video Release
2010 "Sorry" Video release
2012 Album "Worlds Collide"
2012 "Queen Of Rock N' Roll" Video Release
Photos
Bio
After the success of their Sophomore release "Dirty Valentine". The ONE boys felt incredibly inspired to begin working on a new album. Having spent the better part of the last 3 years touring, there was a lot of excitement about getting back into writing mode. "You spend all that time out on the road,
you see so much, experience so much and have so much to say. You just gotta sit down and begin to put it all down on paper", says Danny Rossi.
"Being away from home so much makes you feel a certain way that at times is hard to put into words. It is an amazing feeling to have great fans and friends so far away from home," says guitarist Chris Staniforth.
Having had success and a good vibe recording "Dirty Valentine" ONE decided to again acquire the services of Slaves on Dope guitarist Kevin Jardine. "He did a good job on the last record. He provides a good mix of honesty and input that just works well with us," says Staniforth.
The band spent way more time preparing for the studio process than the last record. Building a small pre-production studio in the house on one of the band members, making it way easier to get work done. "We began putting stuff together and getting a feel for where we were going with this record, continues
Staniforth.
"We wrote the least record relatively fast. We wanted to take more time on this one. Trying not to over analyze but at the same time just putting more into it," says Rossi. "You obviously learn with every album you are gonna put out, so it was more about just applying what we have learned."
Three years can seem to be a long stretch between albums. "The demand to tour always seemed to be there. You can get caught up pretty quick and not realize that all this time has gone by," says drummer Rudy Occhionero. "Playing shows and connecting with people is where the magic happens. It is where you
find out who you really are as a band."
Having added bassist Phil Hardy after the recording process had finished for "Dirty Valentine" this was the first writing and studio experience for Hardy, or "The Rookie" as he is also known as. "I was excited and nervous. Playing shows is one thing, but working on an album is another. It is all very exciting
for me," says Hardy.
In the music business today, albums can sound generic and too polished. Something that ONE tries to avoid. "The bands and albums that inspire us to be musicians are the old school Led Zeppelin, Ramones and Motley Crue records. Nowadays everything is sampled and over compressed for radio, the soul of the songs at
times seems to be lacking," says guitarist Staniforth who also co-produced the last album with Jardine.
"I love the old school hair metal. It is what I grew up on and I still listen to today. Fun, shake your ass catchy tunes that stand the test of time. The kind of tunes that can rock the House Live,' says Rossi.
The new album "Worlds Collide" speaks of struggles and success stories of todays reality. A groovy, rock your face off album that has a little something for everyone. "It even has a song that if you turned the heavy guitars back could be considered country," says Rossi.
"With so much going on in the World, you can't help but write about it. It is all about staying positive and staying the course," adds Staniforth.
With a new album comes a new chapter. A chapter that the band will write one show at a time.
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