Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
According to Simon won top prize at the 1st annual Acoustic Battle of the Bands @ The Rockwater Brewing Company in London, ONT. The prize included recording sessions at New Moon Studios. - Local Newspaper
Meeting during their high school days in Chatham–Kent, Jarrod
Haddock and Mike Maguire have been creating music together for
the better part of a decade. Gravitating to McMaster University for
their post–secondary education, the two would form Floor
Thirteen and become part of Hamilton’s underground scene.
They’ve since graduated from Mac and from their former band,
now opting to be a duo, named after one of the mascot gnomes
that shared their stage.
This weekend, the band now known as According to Simon
offers up their latest release, We Won’t Ask Much of You Today,
showcasing their hearts on their sleeves and duct tape on their
mouths.
“I think the best definition we’ve received came from a friend
of ours who categorized it as the modern day Simon and
Garfunkel,” says Maguire on one of the more inventive reviews of
ATS. While they veer away from the pop filled tunes of Paul and
Art, ATS do offer acoustic based songs, definitely with a more
delicate nature to the songs and the instrumentation, but with a
lyrical presentation that might lend more realistic comparisons to
some of the emo that inspired them.
“I don’t think we can really pinpoint what inspired this,”
reasons Maguire. “I mean we’ve always reached for the acoustic
guitar first before plugging in and turning on an amp. I know for
myself once I was introduced to Dashboard Confessional, Jimmy
Eat World, Finch, Moneen, and others that really began to shape
how I wrote stylistically and musically.”
“I love the simplicity of an acoustic guitar and a voice,”
interjects Haddock. “But I also love the fact that ATS incorporates
some intricate melodies, harmonies and rhythms that really add
an element of complexity to our sound.
“Although I really don’t want to be labelled with anything, I
can honestly say we’re emo,” clarifies Haddock on the pitfalls of
oversimplification. “But so is every other musician, band, singer/
songwriter, poet, thinker, eccentric. We write songs that contain
emotions and we perform with emotion. If we are labelled emo, I
take it as a reflection that the listener understands the underlying
emotions within our songs.”
Recorded in Haddock’s basement, We Won’t Ask Much Of
You Today is simple in intent, but complex in its end result. What
might come off as only tragic has undercurrents of hope, outrage
and even slapstick humour.
“I think we both wanted an album that truly represents ATS
live, no lavish production, no guest musicians/singers,” explains
Haddock on the new recording. “Basically the two of us can
perform the album on stage. I think our show is surprising to
most people because I don’t think people expect the style of
music, the dynamics, and the melodies and harmonies that ATS
manages to do. And since it is only the two of us on stage I think
the dynamic between our guitars, our voices and with the subtle
addition of piano on several songs works extremely well.
“But I don’t think either of us would want a photo of the
band that looks posed or serious on our album,” adds the singer
on the unsettling album artwork depicting the two musicians
gagged in almost a ransom photo. “Thus duct tape and a slightly
blurred photograph was the only solution to our personal image
insecurities.”
“We definitely are a band that can find humour, I feel it’s
essential,” reflects Maguire on the lighter side of the band.
“Lyrically, I think we are digging deeper, more serious, but I think
that’s just a reflection of the times we live in. I’m not going to
pursue some political rant here, but if you are somewhat socially
conscious and know how to read a goddamned book, you damn
well know that something needs to change in this world and
sooner rather than later.
“I’m now 28 and I see things a lot differently now than I ever
have,” he adds. “Personally I can’t continue to sit idly by listening
to myself bitch and complain about the current state of our world
and not feel compelled to pursue something within the political
arena. But music will always be there and Jarrod and I will
religiously write music together. That’s a guarantee.”
According To Simon play Absinthe’s early 6pm show Friday
July 7 with Red Sky Down (cover is $5), and the late show has
Hamilton heavies Hypodust headline with Warmachine and Rocket
Launcher at 9:30pm.
- Ric Taylor, Hamilton Music Notes - View Magazine
'I really do want to be sitting in a field ... with the wind blowing and have nothing around me except the ocean and green, green grass, and remains of what used to be the most enchanted castle in the
world.......
anonymous - a beautiful fan
Oh. My. God.
You can't leave me hanging guys! I listened to "Moment" and then couldn't
BELIEVE it wasn't released, that I couldn't get it anywhere. I'd pay a lot for a
cd by these guys. Please do something about this tragedy! You guys rock!
- another beautiful fan
You should be opening for Postal Service - you guys are subtle, yet
emotionally-charged!
- W3G Entertainment Group
Discography
2004 - the "Aloha" CD (double CD)
- Independently recorded & produced by ATS
- Top10 McMaster CFMU charts
- Rotation on Mohawk CIOI
2005 - the "Would You Care" EP
- recorded at New Moon Studios, London Ont.
2006 - "We Won't Ask Much Of You Today CD
- Independently recorded & produced
ATS is approaching 100,000 plays on purevolume simply by word-of-mouth.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
This bio may sound strange but we will gladly take all the blame in this situation because…hmmm…we wrote it. We hope that our sound will stop you while you drive and make you wonder. We hope that our sound will echo through your bedroom and flood your brain with memories. We hope that our sound will make you cry about the happiest times of you life and smile about the saddest. We hope that our sound can make the introverts extroverts and vice versa. We hope that our sound will cause you to, without explanation, tell all of the immediate people in your vicinity how “tomorrow is your day to take over the world”. Okay, maybe that last one is a bit of a stretch but come on isn’t that the goal of music: to make everyone feel invincible and ready to conquer every aspect of their lives?
On stage we have essentially perfected (over the many, many years we have performed together) the art of tricking all listeners into believing 2 things: (1) We are a singer/songwriter duo & (2) We have the ability to see through space and transcend time. We really want people to listen intently to our words while we play, but we also honestly deep down just want to create a sing-a-long a la ‘sesame street’. If people do sing or clap along we tend to shy away from the attention…if people don’t sing or clap (or yell at us with expletives) we get concerned that ‘no one got it’. We like to play so hopefully you’ll like to listen.
On a more serious note Mike and Jarrod have been performing in one form or another since the beginnings of time (see we really do truly believe this). On the great empty plains known as “Southern Ontario” our friendship emerged in the halls. After acknowledging that our musical minds could better serve everyone as a single entity we began to create…. and create we did. Over the years our collaboration has taken on several different versions. Morphing from the simple acoustic duo; but remember not like the Simon & Garfunkel’s, more like the Cedrics’ & Omar’s (AKA The Mars Volta); to an acoustic fronted 5 piece and back again (on two occasions).
On a slightly less serious note…we are represented as a band by an 18 inch garden gnome named Simon. In as few words as possible, we were essentially betrothed with Simon, on the eve of our newest/current project and he has remained with us ever since. Not only does Simon act as a mascot for the band, but he is also the perfect scapegoat, because seriously we never behave badly…honest. Hopefully after reading this you will be interested instead of frightened. If you are interested…welcome, and thank you.
Cheers,
Jarrod & Mike & Simon
Links
