Courtney Wells
Toronto, Ontario, Canada | SELF
Music
Press
Performing at the birthday bash of Reuben O’Dell-Barkow alongside the New Grunge fraternity (hard rock series of yore) who says all tomorrow’s parties can’t have a little 70’s inspired soul-pop? Enter Courtney Wells, evoking a bit of Whitney, a bit of Christina, belting-out vocals & cavorting around the stage with the sauciness of a young Tina Turner. References aside, the point is that same vibrant savour-the-moment spirit continues to be reflected in singer-performer divas everywhere. - lonelyvagabond.com
Performing at the birthday bash of Reuben O’Dell-Barkow alongside the New Grunge fraternity (hard rock series of yore) who says all tomorrow’s parties can’t have a little 70’s inspired soul-pop? Enter Courtney Wells, evoking a bit of Whitney, a bit of Christina, belting-out vocals & cavorting around the stage with the sauciness of a young Tina Turner. References aside, the point is that same vibrant savour-the-moment spirit continues to be reflected in singer-performer divas everywhere. - lonelyvagabond.com
Squeezing the last drops of summer, media, guests and fans of Courtney Wells (www.courtneywells.com) boarded the Empire Sandy for a night of scmoozing and great music. Organized by Jennifer Fitzgerald, Courtney Wells' release titled "Who Will Stop The Rain?" was a fantastic debut EP this summer. The charismatic band, headed by Courtney Wells with Scott Baragar (backing vocals), Reuben O'dell Barkow (bass) and Sasha Siegal (drums) play a mixture of soul, funk and rock, and left the crowd breathless after their stellar performance. Their sound is new and hip, and with Courtney's channeling of the grand dame Janis Joplin herself, we cannot help but look forward to more gigs from this band! - Snap - Downtown Toronto
Discography
Albums;
"Who Will Stop The Rain?" - 2009
Singles
"I Know That He Loves Me"
Photos
Bio
In Toronto, theres a dingy little Irish Pub. If you've ever been there, chances are, you've drank in it. Heavily. I'm not sure what it is about it but it's a spot where every struggling musician/singer/songwriter/bongo player is dying to play at just before the time where everyone is dying for them to play at their place. It's kind of like a must when it comes to paying your dues.
Over the years, the many musicians who've inhabited this place have inadvertently created a community. It's a community unlike any other in the Toronto music scene. Musicians supporting each other, showing up at each other's gigs, giving each other almost embarrassingly positive encouragement, hooking other guys up with gigs at new places, pumping the tip jar, and even starting families together...
And that's exactly what we did.
When you play somewhere long enough, you get to jam with other great musicians, and as time goes by, you start to realize that it's probably not just a jam - There's something more than that here -
We've started a band of players so comfortable with one another that we've become even more entwined as a family. We've been playing the music that we love together. We' ve been growing together and challenging each other musically and personally. Now we've created something we call our own.
COURTNEY WELLS is the obvious name for the collective that is us.
We 'marry' all of our influences from Motown to the Rolling Stones; from Green Day to Amy Winehouse; from Led Zeppelin to The Black Eyed Peas; from The Beatles to Lauryn Hill to create an original, yet familiar sound. We've been described as Motown meets Metric, or Janis Joplin meets No Doubt, both evidence as to our influences.
"Never go against the family"
Links
