Bunkeye

Bunkeye – The Way We Roll As Nicholas was busy recording some local bands in his makeshift recording studio in the basement of his townhouse, Chris & Maksu were jamming in Chris’ apartment to memorable tunes such as “Closing Time” and “Save Tonight”. Matt, who had never really played before, was attending University in Louisiana and decided it was time to give music a try, playing with a few of his College buddies and learning a few chords. Doug, being a native Newfoundlander, had a guitar in his hand at a very young age and had migrated to Alberta along with the rest of the province in 1997. Each member of the band knew each other in some way, Chris & Matt are brothers, Maksu and Chris worked together at Chili’s, Matt & Nicholas worked together at Crosstown Heating & Ventilation, and Doug was introduced to us through friends, likely on a night of heavy drinking. As soon as it was known that Nick had a recording studio we all decided to get together and see what happened. The first jam was not at all an indicator of what was to come, but at the same time it was. We sounded pretty shitty, mostly because Chris was hammered and the only reason he made the jam is because his brother drove to Whyte Ave and dragged him out of O’Byrnes. The name Bunkeye came to us almost immediately, when Chris drinks too much one of his eyes starts to go to sleep, and he had definitely had a few too many on this night. Although it was not an instant gel, what it lacked in cohesiveness it more than made up for in energy. I think we all knew after that night that the raw (I mean straight off the bone raw) talent was there and with a little work and a little less beer we could have something. Since then we have always been about enjoying ourselves. It has never been about anything else, which sounds cliché…but if you have ever been to one of our shows you know that we treat it as though it’s just us in Nicholas’ basement for the first time, enjoying the passion for music we all share. In November of 2005 Bunkeye released their first CD – Ifs and In Betweens, on our own label BEJ Productions. (Bunkeye Jam Productions) It was recorded in one day due to financial limitations and then mixed the next day. After 4 years we had 2 successful CD release parties and are always thankful for all the support from family and friends as well as all of those who have been supporting us since our early days at the Uptown Folk Club. Bunkeye has been performing new originals, and still have a few that were left off the first album…the wheels keep turning. Look for a new CD to be completed by late 2007. We have been asked over the years what type of music we play and it’s really hard to describe, and we prefer to have no labels. We enjoy diversity and we have that luxury as we play originals from Nicholas and Chris as well as some cover tunes. It should be also mentioned that we do not have a lead singer, any member is encouraged to bring new songs to the table and the rest of the band always finds a way to contribute. Our influences range from the old Folk singers to the new Rock, our library is all over the place and that’s the way we like it. We feel that a very wide range of people can enjoy our music. You may hate one song and love the next…that’s the way we roll. Check out more at... www.bunkeye.com