45 Spacer

Jack and Patrick Di Blasio perform on The Rush. Their group is called "45 Spacer" and their song is "Naughty Boys". - The Rush on Shaw TV

Live Performance from 45 Spacer. - Aboriginal Truth and Reconciliation Conference

Vancouver alternative rock duo 45 Spacer have released their new song, “By Myself.” The group, comprised of brothers Jack and Pat Di Blasio, will be performing at the Musart Cultural Society festival “Deep Cove Daze” on August 24th at 5pm. For more details, click here.
Purchase “By Myself” on iTunes here. The group is currently recording more music in the studio, so hopefully fans won’t have to wait long for new material! - The Permanent Rain Press

Magee Secondary has long been seen as an incubator of talent. This season is no exception. 45 Spacer is a new band composed of Grade 11 Jack Di Blasio and his Grade 8 brother Patrick. The Di Blasio's band's single "Naughty Boys" has provided a launching pad for the brothers and was played this holiday on galaxy radio (played in an estimated 75 million homes) and earned them a number 15 spot on the Canadian Indie Chart.

Jack says their success has come as the result of a great deal of hard work.

"We started playing together in Grade 7. I had played the guitar on and off for a couple of years, and my brother, Patrick, had played the drums. We started jamming one day and we played our favourite song "Sway." We had so much fun playing together that we started playing almost everyday," he says. "We performed in our Grade 7 talent show and from then on we've been playing together since."

Since those early talent shows, the band has already made a mark. In addition to the radio play, 45 Spacer performs about once a month during school time and has played at Vancouver venues like Falconetti's, the Slocan and Cottage Bistro. They recently played on the Canadian National television show "The Rush" and last summer they played at Montreal's Just For Laughs Festival.

When they aren't rocking out, they're practicing. Jack says he and his brother jam about 30 - 40 hours a week in the summer and during school they'll put in around 15-20 hours a week. In addition to an intense practice schedule, Jack credits the support of his parents for the band's success.

"My father and step mom are a big part of our success. They continually give us the opportunities we need to succeed as well as the support. They have been a big part of our musical careers," he says.

To listen to Naughty Boys, click here. Or to download more of 45 Spacer's music, click here. - Vancouver School Board

Recently I sat down with up and coming Canadian rock band 45 Spacer. If you’ve never heard of them that’s ok just give it some time you will. Jack and Pat Di Blasio are two brothers from Vancouver who fell in love with music at an early age and have spent the last few years honing their craft and defining their sound.

Jack and Pat opened up about working with producer Dave Muselman and how their music has evolved from their first single “The Last Thing You’ll Do”, written by Jack which was inspired by and features a line from their stepmother Lana Parrilla’s alter ego the Evil Queen from the ABC series Once Upon a Time, to the debut of their latest single “It’s Not Over”. (Both songs are available for download on iTunes)


How did you guys get your start?

Jack Di Blasio: We’re 45 Spacer – two brothers who started playing what…5-6 years ago? He was in elementary school and I was in high school and we had a talent show actually and we wanted to do something sweet so we said let’s play “Sway” by the Kooks and that’s what we did and that’s how we started playing together.

Pat Di Blasio: Just jammin’ in the garage and stuff like that. My dad recorded us playing covers…

Jack: Shaky video cameras and all that.

I know what an actual 45 RPM adapter is lol. What made you choose 45 Spacer for the name of your band?

Jack: We chose 45 Spacer because we needed a band name that felt like the best fit.

Fair enough

You got started when you were really young but then your career started to take off once Lana (Parrilla) backed you up.

Jack: I would say yeah. Once she tweeted out about us definitely. My dad and Lana started seeing each other when I was in grade ten so I guess that was three years ago. Pat and I were playing and she liked it I think, I hope, and then she tweeted about us and that’s how a lot of people heard about us. She was really important.

How did the first song come about?

Jack: “The Last Thing You’ll Do”?

Jack: Well we were in the basement and I had that riff going and Pat was playing the drums and we listened to a couple bands and we were inspired and we started singing about that first line “You’re lost in a broken town, a Queen without a crown” that came out and we were like lets just build a song around Once Upon a Time and Lana’s character.

So how has the experience with the fans been since that initial song?

Jack: (directed to pat) What would you say?

Pat: It kind of relates to the show so I think everyone can really relate to the character the whole concept and the lyrics. They really bring out the show and they explain the character traits of the person within the lyrics.

Jack: It’s very relatable to many people and so I think they changed and they got closer to us and they liked what we were talking about in that song. Then we started singing about some new stuff in some other songs and hopefully they like those too.

Listening to the new songs I think you are really starting to find your sound. You’re a young band that’s shown a great deal of growth in such a short amount of time.

How do you think from the debut of your first song “The Last Thing You’ll Do” to your current tracks “It’s Not Over” and “Never Put Your Heart in a Head Case” have things progressed?

Jack: I think there’s been a big step up lyrically. I think we’re kinda playing more with sounds and different colors I would say. We’re writing about more personal things I think, personal growth and love and sex and all that stuff. I think that’s how it’s changing and evolved since “The Last Thing You’ll Do”.

A little more grown up?

Jack: Yeah a little more grown up I would say.

Are the two of you writing the music and lyrics? Are you collaborating with anyone?

Jack: Yeah it’s Pat and I and we’ll write then sometimes we’ll send some stuff to Dave (Muselman) and he’ll help us out or he’ll write a song with us too.

He’ll (Dave Muselman) contribute but it’s mostly the two of you coming up with everything?

Jack: Yes. Mostly it’s Pat and I. We’re the creative part of it and he’ll come in and produce it.
Is 45 Spacer more of a passion project for guys, something you’re trying to figure out along the way and have other interests you want to pursue or do you think this is it, this is your path?

Jack: This is the only thing we’re good at! (hard laughter)

Pat: This is it. I suck at everything else! There’s no other choice!

This is your only option? (hard laughter)

Jack: Just bang out songs and hit the drums. Yeah that’s our thing.

You have a couple new tracks. Are you working on a full album?

Jack: That’s what we’re doing right now.

Pat: We’re creating one. In the basement jammin’.

You have a basement studio?

Pat: Kind of…yeah we do I guess. We have a whole jam space.

Jack: Pat engineers on Ableton Live (music production software).

Pat: We write all our stuff on there lately.

Have you thought at all about documenting this process? Not that I’m comparing you to Nirvana but now we’re seeing more of that happening and when you see the early days of bands like Nirvana coming out with their new documentary. It’s fascinating to see how a young bands struggle to make it.

Jack: Montage of Heck? It was amazing, killer.

Yes! It was a fantastic peek into that period of time and their world. But now we’re in such a tech driven age with Twitter and Snapchat and Periscope, do you ever think about documenting your experience?

Jack: I would say it’s more documented through the songs. When we started out we have some songs that I hear them and I can’t believe I wrote this.

Pat: Crap.

Jack: Yeah some of them are just no good. But I would say that’s the biggest way we document. I wouldn’t say we go and video tape. We post a Vine or two but I wouldn’t say we do too much which we should probably start doing which could be cool.

Pat: Yeah I’m not good at that stuff.

Don’t you have a younger brother?

Jack & Pat: Yeah! Matty.

Well get him to do it!

Jack: Get him to follow us.

Get him, that’ll be his gig. He has no choice he’s the little brother.

Jack: Yeah he’ll sell merchandise and follow us around with cameras.

Do you have any gigs coming up? Any hopes of touring in Vancouver or the U.S.?

Jack: Not really any tour plans yet. We’re trying to build a set right now were we can play our music only so we haven’t started thinking about touring yet. We have shows coming up this summer for sure but we haven’t organized a tour. This summer we have a couple new songs in the works right now so when we finish those up we’ll probably start talking about that.

Your overall experience from day one playing together as little kids until now?

Jack: Pat’s always on time now!

Pat: It’s just fun! It’s always a good time. It’s an escape you know. It’s like you’re on this big wave and nothing can come into your mind except what you’re doing in that moment. I think that’s one of the most important things. It brings peace to your mind. I think that’s the coolest part of it.

I say a big thanks to Lana. I think she’s contributed a great help and that’s amazing and my dad, one of the best men in the world. I love that guy. He’s helped us out so much. What do you think? (directed to Jack)

Jack: I would say Pat’s on time more. (hard laughs) And I can actually play the guitar and we write cool now. I think that’s what’s changed the most.

Pat: When you’re a kid you just don’t know what you’re doing you’re just trying and testing stuff out.

Jack: It’s still the same energy though; it comes from the same place. That hasn’t changed. We’re doing it for fun and we love doing it. It’s not contrived or anything. The only thing that’s changed is we’re progressing and getting older and seeing new elements of the world and we’re incorporating that into our music.

Follow Jack & Pat on Facebook and Twitter:
https://www.facebook.com/45Spacer
https://twitter.com/45_spacer
https://twitter.com/JackDiBlasio
https://twitter.com/diblasiopat

Download their latest songs on iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/mz/artist/45-spacer/id580561902 - Eclipse Magazine

When you think of Vancouver, you probably think of the 2010 Winter Olympics, Stanley Park, and its majestic mountains, forests and ocean. Or if you’re a fan like us, you recognize it from the set of the hit ABC show Once Upon a Time. Well, now there’s one more must-see attraction that you can add to the list (or rather your playlist): the rock band, 45 Spacer.

Delivering a mix of both punk-rock and alternative rock sounds with heartfelt vocals and lyrics, 45 Spacer is made up of a pair of brothers, lead vocalist and guitarist Jack Di Blasio and drummer Patrick Di Blasio, who, pardon the cliché, live and breathe music. In fact, when asked what their hobby is outside of their passion, the duo had this to say to GALO: “There are not many things that we are doing besides that. At this point, we are writing and producing songs nonstop. We are down in the basement working really hard all day, finishing songs and rehearsing for shows.” (Sounds to us like this band won’t have any trouble making it to the top in the chart climbing journey if they continue to show such devotion and passion for their craft!)

Gearing up for the release of their new single “Fly Away” on December 17, we sat down with 45 Spacer last month and talked about their beginnings, what places they’d like to play and what we can expect from their upcoming EP and sound.

GALO: In 2012, both of you decided to form your band. Was there any specific occurrence or series of events that led up to this, and were there any concerns that either of you had going into this juncture?

Jack Di Blasio: I guess it kind of comes across that we started in 2012, but there was a series of events before that. Patrick was at a school that really encouraged contemporary music, so he was playing the drums all the time, and I was playing guitar. And one day, we just kind of got inspired to form a band. I grabbed the guitar — [Patrick] was playing the drums — and set up my amp, and we just started jamming to a song called “Sway” by the Kooks. We performed that song at my grade seven talent show, and we just kept jamming from there. I guess it became a real thing a year after.

GALO: 45 Spacer is a unique name. Is there any kind of story or special significance behind it?

JDB: Well, we went through a series of names. We started out with the DB’s, then we went to Super-Fast Jellyfish, and eventually 45 Spacer just kind of stuck.

A 45 Spacer is a plastic/metal insert that goes in the middle of a 45-rpm record. So we were like, “wow, that is kind of cool. It’s a musical thing and it’s old and vintage.” That’s kind of how we chose that one.

GALO: The two of you range in ages, but seem very close-knit. Does your relationship with each other affect your music at all? And is there any sibling rivalry, or are you both usually in agreement when it comes to decisions concerning the band and the direction to take with your music?

Patrick Di Blasio: I think it is just how a team works. It brings us closer as a team when we work together.

JDB: It’s not a rivalry. There is more of a friendly competition aspect to it. Sometimes Patrick will have an idea on the keyboard, and sometimes I’ll have a riff on the guitar, and from there we’ll start writing and structuring a song. It is not a rivalry, but there is some friendly competition that pushes us both to write better songs, melodies, and all that kind of stuff.

GALO: OK, so you feed off each other?

PDB: Yeah, it is team work — 50/50.

GALO: Going off that, I was wondering if you two would ever consider taking on a new member, perhaps to add more instrumentation to your sound, or do you want to keep it all in the family?

PDB: Yes, actually, we are kind of incorporating a new member into our band right now. We have a friend named Shawn and we want to get him on the bass. He has been practicing for a while, so we are going to see if he can work with us and stuff. That would be cool if he could join the band.

JDB: Aside from that, we don’t want to go too big, like [with] too many members. I think all we need now is to be at peace with an awesome bass player, a great guitarist, and a great drummer like Pat, who plays the piano now, too, which is a bonus.

GALO: What about collaborating with another artist on an album or a song? Have you ever thought about that?

PDB: We’ve done writing sessions with other co-writers. We’ve done a couple of those, but, I don’t know, we kind of seem to write better together as a band. I’ve found [that] most of the best stuff is when we come together and do it ourselves. It’s cool, though, when you go into a co-writing session and you get different input from other musicians.

At this point, I think our favorite songs are the ones we’ve been writing together so far. We are always open to writing with new people and new artists.

GALO: Noting your social media accounts and the posts and conversations you have there with your fans, it is obvious that you both hold great passion for what you do and for music in general. Do you have a preference for the music you yourselves like to listen or jam out to?

PDB: We listen to everything — right now, we’re really into alt-rock and pop-rock. We learn stuff from different genres, and we incorporate what we’ve learned into our songs. We like a lot of funk, some pop…it just depends. We just saw the Foo Fighters, actually, like a month ago. They have always been a big inspiration for us — Kings of Leon, U2 and Nirvana as well.

GALO: Apart from having that punk/alternative rock vibe to them, your songs also seem to have great meaning and are sung with a lot of passion and heart, such as with “It’s Not Over” or “You and Me.” Do you plan to stay within that genre or delve outside of it at some point in the future?

JDB: As an artist, you are always developing and evolving. “You and Me” is a song I wrote in grade eight or grade nine. I think I was 13 years old when I wrote that song. “It’s Not Over” we wrote two Mays ago.

Yeah, those songs are great. They highlight a place that we were in our lives, but a lot of the newer stuff that we’re writing has a little more edge to it. Our new songs explore new sounds and kind of fuse some genres together.

GALO: Do you ever feel that putting a label or genre on an artist’s music can be a hinder to their career, such as preventing them from being able to experiment outside of their normal sound?

JDB: I don’t think it hinders a band’s success. I think every band has some iconic/signature sound. When you go and you listen to U2 or to The Killers, Led Zeppelin or Nirvana, they all have their own signature thing. I think bands belong to a certain genre of music more than other genres, but it doesn’t stop them from going outside those boundaries — unless they want to stay within them. That’s my take on it.

GALO: I know you live in Canada and do shows in Vancouver. Naturally, it is every band’s dream to break out of the local scene. So what are some cities or places you hope to play?

JDB: We hope to play everywhere. I think as a musician you grow up dreaming to play at the most famous and iconic venues. We want to play Wembley [Stadium]. That would be incredible. Also, we’d like to play at the Reading Festival, the Glastonbury Festival, Madison Square Garden, and at the Staples Center in L.A. I think all those places are really cool, but we want to play everywhere. At the end of the day, it all comes back to the music, and our goal is to share our music with as many people as possible.

GALO: You’ve played for crowds of 5,000 people at some of your shows. What would you say are some of your other big accomplishments that you are proud of with your music?

PDB: Up to this day, one of our favorite shows we have ever played was one when we played at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver — that was incredible. We also performed in a Battle of the Bands in L.A. with two other musicians and we won that, which was really cool.

I think some of our favorite moments are about to come with all these new songs we are writing, [and] as time progresses, we will just keep evolving and dreaming bigger.

GALO: What other goals do you have in mind that you would still like to achieve?

JDB & PDB: We have big aspirations and big dreams. I think that our work ethic is going to allow us to get to the places we want to be. At the end of the day, it all comes back to the music and our goal to share our passion with the world. If you’re true to the music and the art, then people notice that and want to listen. That’s what we do. Again, it’s all about the music and being true to yourself and your art.

GALO: What are your fans like when they go to your shows? On Twitter, I noticed you have a great deal of female fans. Would you say your fans are more diverse or does it lean more toward one gender over the other?

JDB: Our fans are great when we play shows. I’d say our fan base is pretty diverse. We have fans from a bunch of different places in the world.

GALO: I have listened to all of your songs, which I think are very moving, passionate and meaningful, but also, they’re something you can jam out to. Your songs consist of “It’s Not Over,” “You and Me,” “By Myself” and “Naughty Boys.” Do the names of your songs and/or lyrics have a special meaning to them? Or do you rely on inspiration from various outlets, such as personal life experiences or what you see around you, for instance, in your friends’ lives or possibly even on television?

PDB: I think the inspiration for our songs is pulled from different places. We both have muses. So when we go in and we write, we incorporate our feelings into them.

We wrote a new song — we haven’t put it out yet, but we played it at a show we recently did. It is a newer song and it’s got more of a political tone to it. We write lyrics where we know what we are talking about. We do not try to write about something we do not know [anything] about. So, whether it’s us taking from what’s happening in our lives and putting it into a song, or what we are seeing in the world and the effect that certain political events are having [on people’s lives], we take it and we write about it. We want to make it real. We are not trying to fake our way through any lyrics, sound or song. We’re very true to our craft and ourselves.

GALO: From what I have seen, your music is available on iTunes, SoundCloud and Spotify. Are there any other platforms that your audience can download or purchase your music from? And any updates on releasing either an EP or LP in the future?

JDB: That’s actually a really good question. The main place to get our music is iTunes, or you can stream it, like you said, on Spotify and all that stuff. There are videos on YouTube. There are a bunch of old YouTube videos of me playing songs that we both wrote when we were really, really young that we taped with me playing on acoustic guitar.

PDB: We are in the process right now of building an EP, actually. We are trying to create as many songs as we can.

JDB: Well, right now, we have 20 to 30 demos on Patrick’s computer. We are working on writing all those [ideas], and then taking the ones that are our favorite and finishing them. So, I think fans can expect an EP in the next little while.

GALO: Now, Jack, I know that you have done some acting and modeling. In fact, you’ve tweeted some of your modeling shots and announced when you were to appear on the hit ABC show Once Upon a Time, so I am curious if both of you plan to stay in the music business, or do you have other plans for a career or interests you would like to pursue in the future?

JDB: Our main passion is music. Until the day we die that is something that we are always going to love. If other opportunities come up and we like what the opportunity is, of course we are going to take it. But right now, our biggest focus is music, and creating songs and writing the best we can.

GALO: So not to regurgitate what we already spoke about, but there has been talk that you are working on some new music and an official website. What can we expect from both? Any chance you can tease a bit about the type of sound we can expect from these new songs — is there any change in direction?

PDB: I think our sound is evolving. The music still has great pop melodies, great little hooks and lyrics. It is still rock-pop, but it is more edgy, and you will hear more violins, synths and stuff like that. That’s where we are at right now.



GALO: What about the website you are planning on launching?

PDB: We have to finish a couple of things. We are working on a bio. That will be coming up pretty soon, too — in the next couple months.

GALO: What types of things might we find on your site — do you plan to sell merchandise?

PDB: We want to sell merchandise on it, for sure, like t-shirts and stuff like that. [We’ll sell] CDs, and generally we just want to get lyrics on there and some songs. We’ll put some new stuff on there, like show dates and all that stuff. It’s going to be a typical band website with all the basic information.

JDB: Yeah, exactly.

GALO: As much love as you have for music and your band, what are some hobbies outside of it that you enjoy indulging in?

JDB: I don’t have too many hobbies outside of music. At this point, we are writing and producing songs nonstop. We are down in the basement working really hard all day, finishing songs and rehearsing for shows.

PDB: There are not many things that we are doing besides that.

GALO: So basically outside of music, your hobby is music [laughs]. That shows true passion. Finally, are there any interesting facts your fans would be surprised to know about either of you?

JDB: We actually have been writing — we aren’t sure if it is going to work out or not — for some artists who need some songs. We are writing for ourselves, but we have some people who want us to write for them — whether they’ll use the songs or not, we do not know.

Also, we are planning a tour. It is going to be a West Coast tour. We are going to try to get on the East coast, too.

GALO: What about on a personal note aside from music [laughs]?

JDB: I just finished midterms. [Laughs] Right now, it is a lot of music stuff.

GALO: Well, we wish you guys a lot of luck and success, and hope to see you play in New York City one day! - Galo Magazine