Death By Robot

here’s the simple way, and there’s the Death By Robot way.

The local alt-rock band ditched its usual off-the-cuff recording strategy for a far more methodical approach on its full-length debut The Limbic System.

Death By Robot will release the meticulously crafted album at Pawn Shop Live, 10551 82 Ave., Friday night.

The nearly year-long process began when singer/guitarist Jeremy Pudlowski came to his bandmates with skeletons for dozens of songs.

“He probably brought in 50 rough songs,” says brother and lead guitarist Colton Pudlowski. “We sat down and listened through all of them and we said, ‘OK, we’ve got to trim this down to 20.’ ”

They fleshed out each of the Top 20 with more melodies, new parts and rearrangements to improve flow, while bassist Nathan Woodward sat down with Jeremy to fine-tune lyrics and vocal harmonies.

That’s when the band brought in friend Tim Plamondon from The Unfortunates, who offered more pointers.

The songs were reworked once more and whittled down to 15 by the time Death by Robot hit Paul Smith’s Morinville studio, and the recording engineer further critiqued the tracks.

“He decided which songs were his favourites, which songs were his least, we trimmed that down to 11 from there, we did a little bit more restructuring with Paul and bam, we have 11 songs,” Colton laughs. “Simple.”

It's been a long build-up – lead single Blue Skies earned Death By Robot Sonic 102.9 FM Band of the Month honours all the way back in November.

“It’s definitely a big change of pace from what we’ve been doing. The last EP (The Life Machine) was very off-the-cuff, ‘This is how we wrote the songs, let’s record,’ ” Colton says.

“But we wanted a lot of input on these songs to make sure they were the be.”

The change is part of a wholesale shift in thinking for the four-piece, which also includes drummer Paulie Finch.

The band has spent close to four years building its name as an oddball act writing quirky, often humorous lyrics centred around science fiction and other unconventional topics, but Death By Robot went personal on the Limbic System.

Fittingly, the name describes the set of brain structures that supports emotion, long-term memory, motivation and other functions.

“We wanted something very cohesive that came from a different angle,” Colton says.

“They’re all about real-life experiences that anyone could go through. We want the listen to be able to listen to it and go, I get that, I can see where they’re coming from.”

Musically, Death by Robot is catchy and accessible but a little left of centre, drawing inspiration from legends like Queen and David Bowie as well as modern bands Foster the People and System of a Down. Diverse influences seep in from jazz, pop-punk and metal.

The Limbic System is heavily built around vocal harmonies and keyboard lines, with three members contributing keys.

Death By Robot tends to get theatrical– they’ve had an actor reading monologues on stage between songs and done projection mapping – and will likely have some visuals in store on Friday.

The band ultimately hopes to produce its own rock opera. Mentioning his brother Jeremy is adept at guitar, piano, bass and horns, Colton thinks it’s definitely feasible.

“If anyone can compose an orchestra-type thing, it would be him,” he says.

Gibson Block, Rend and Hearsay will open Friday’s show. Tickets are $10 in advance through yeglive.ca or $15 at the door.

The Limbic System can be streamed at deathbyrobot.ca

kevin.maimann@sunmedia.ca - The Sun Edmonton

A few months ago I was having lunch with my friend Mark, another accountant/musician, and he asked me who *THE* band was in Edmonton right now. Without hesitating, I said Death By Robot. So it seems only fair that Sonic 102.9 has proclaimed them as their November Band Of the Month. Which is a way more awesome kudo to them than me saying something, because, let’s be honest, airplay on one of the biggest radio stations in the city, and headlining their monthly showcase (November 29 at Starlite Room), is going to open a hell of a lot more doors than me talking about them on NMM.

So, congratulations guys, well deserved. Let’s check out some of their sci-fi-indie-rock, shall we. Here’s “Blue Skies”, their newest single. - New Music Michael

Band members of a folksy, rock-sounding album are very much alive as they celebrate the release of their sophomore record with a concert at the beginning of the month.

Lead by Jeremy Pudlowski, Death by Robot will be releasing its album, The Limbic System, on Sept 5.

“We’re indie rock, kind of like dirty rock and roll,” Pudlowski said of the band’s sound.

Having released an EP in 2013, the lead singer said the new album is eclectic.

“It’s all based around a concept kind of thing… it’s kind of like the roller coaster of life,” Pudlowski explained.

“There’s lots of songs about different situations that everyone gets into and the emotional aspects behind that.”

“Our first CD, The Life Machine… was kind of a collaboration of old songs, new songs, and we really liked the way the new songs were developing, but we thought The Life Machine didn’t really show our full sound because it was bits and pieces from different points,” added brother and Sherwood Park resident Colton Pudlowski.

“We really wanted this new album to be one really cohesive unit, and Jeremy… had a really good concept behind it. The Limbic System is basically a bunch of different parts of your brain that control memories and motions and basically control everything related to emotion life,” Colton, who is the lead guitarist, continued.

“We wrote a lot of songs about real experiences, which we haven’t done in the past… stuff maybe doesn’t directly relate to each of us, but the listener can listen to it and go, ‘Oh yeah, I know, I get that, that’s relatable,’ so we’re very excited about that.”

The band, made up of four members, was Edmonton radio station 102.9 Sonic FM’s band of the month for November 2013. When Death by Robot released its first single, Sonic gave it some air time, Colton noted.

“We’ve been spending a ton of time on this record and making sure it’s the best thing we’ve ever come up with,” Jeremy said.

“We got out and about a little bit (this year), but the majority of this year we’ve actually been really been focusing on this CD — writing, recording, ripping down the songs, writing them again,” Colton added.

“It’s kind of insane when you think about the time that’s gone into this CD, but a huge chunk of this last year has gone into it.”

While this upcoming year will see the band perform at several shows during September and October after The Limbic System is released, Colton said the main focus for the group is to get out of Edmonton.

“We haven’t been on a tour since last summer, so we’re hoping that if everything aligns correctly, we’ll probably head out in the eastward direction and hit a few stops in Saskatchewan and Winnipeg, and probably go all the way out to Toronto,” Colton said.

“We’re also going to start working on the next CD right away here as well. We didn’t really realize how much time writing and recording a full-length album — how long it takes to do one, and so this next album, we want to make sure we’re on top of things and we put out another great album.”

Record release party attendees can also expect Rend, The Gibson Block and Hearsay to be performing.

“We’re super excited about the show,” Colton said.

“It’s a really diverse record, too, and you’ll probably notice… a brass section as well, you can hear some trumpets, lots of background vocals, keyboards, organs, it’s going to be awesome.”

Presale tickets can be purchased at yeglive.ca and are $10, or $15 at the door of the Pawn Shop, located at 10551 82 Ave. in Edmonton.​ Doors open at 8 p.m.

megan.voss@sunmedia.ca

twitter.com/sunmeganvoss - The Sherwood Park News

Local music collective Death By Robot is feeling the effects of its newfound notoriety since being named Band of the Month by local radio station SONiC 102.9. Interviews have been stacking up and the band’s single “Blue Skies” has been receiving steady radio play.

“The first day when they announced it, it was just crazy,” recalls lead guitarist Colton Pudlowski, noting the texts have slowed down a little bit, but the band will still receive the odd message when a fan hears the song on air. “I had people calling me going, ‘Oh my God, I heard you on the radio. Is this really happening?’”

Death By Robot has been around since 2010, when multi-instrumentalist and graphic artist Jeremy Pudlowski sought an outlet to combine his interests in music and digital design. He eventually added Colton and Greg Tkach to the roster, and the trio released three recordings before officially adopting the moniker Death By Robot prior to releasing Silently They Came in November 2011. The album marked the beginning of the band’s direction towards sci-fi subject matter and style as it worked to defy genre constraints, creating music it felt relied more on feeling and narrative than sonic style. The Life Machine, an EP released in April, is Death By Robot’s first professionally recorded disc and is an observation of the excess, loneliness and frustration present in Western society. It is also the first recording to include bassist Nathan Woodward, and trumpet player and vocalist Raine Radke recently joined the group as well.

“I’m not going to lie, in the beginning I didn’t think it would work out as well as it has. The style of music was totally foreign to me,” Woodward says, adding the band had originally been more folk based than its current experimental rock form. “I was always in punk bands and stuff like that, but it worked out really well because the whole point of Death By Robot, especially with Jeremy, is just making songs that sound good, so it doesn’t really matter if I’m folky or not. As long as I can make something that sounds good, that’s kind of like the modus operandi of our band.”

Death By Robot has plans in the works to release a new full-length album in 2014. For now, fans have a video game to keep them entertained. Jeremy teaches at Guru Digital Arts college and designed the classic Super Mario-esque project during his involvement with the video game course offered there.

“Each of the five levels is supposed to tie into the five tracks on The Life Machine EP, so as you go through the levels you can see the theme changes a little bit,” Colton explains, noting it’s incredibly difficult—he’s only mastered the first two levels.

A project such as this is also a reflection of Death By Robot’s drive to bring another element to listeners, whether it be through recorded music or live performances.

“We really try, especially live, to bring in a little more theatrical elements, ” he adds. “We never play a show and just think we’ll play the music and that’ll be good enough. We always try to take it to another level.” - Vue Weekly

Death By Robot on Breakfast Television - City TV

In The West - Featured - Indie Rock Playlist

These days, everything is compartmentalized. From
music to art to studies and even people are sorted and div
-
ided up based on unique, and sometimes arbitrary, char
-
acteristics. Often we are told this compartmentalization
makes life easier and more manageable and thus more
enjoyable. But art and music isn’t meant to be compart
-
mentalized. No, music is meant to be played and experi
-
mented with. Music though, has and always will be about
pure enjoyment. We play and experiment with music
purely in the hope of finding some combination that gives
us the greatest level of enjoyment.
Edmonton’s own Death by Robot is the wonderful
result of this experimentation, bringing an almost impos
-
sible to believe combination of folk, rock and electro music
to life in a way that is sure to have you tapping along in
no time. With a self described “happy apocalyptic,” Death
by Robot gives the listener exactly that ... as confusing as
that may sound. Every track is packed full of a high energy
up beat sound with lyrics that tell a story, leaving the lis
-
tener captivated hanging on their every beat and word.
In fact, the band is so interested in the idea of using their
music to tell stories that they are already looking at doing
a sci-fi rock opera in the future, though it would more than
likely be quite some time in the future as the planning and
implementation of this kind of show would be quite the
undertaking.
This unique sound has started to cause the music
scene both within and outside of Edmonton to pause and
take notice as the band’s popularity and resume continues
to grow. The band had what can only be described as an
incredibly busy summer, hitting the road for their first
tour of Calgary-Kelowna-Vancouver-Kelowna-Kamloops
before heading home where they then opened for Said the
Whale. They were also named Resonate Studios’ band of
the month in April.
Despite the hectic schedule though, Death by Robot continues to be one of the most active local bands when
it comes to social media. Their web page, Facebook, and
Twitter are constantly updated with new, unique and enter
-
taining content that will have you coming back for more.
Providing everything from songs, to tour pictures, to just
funny posts, this is one band that uses their social media
properly. Drummer Greg Tkach explains the band’s efforts
both on and offline “the more you play and you expose
yourself to a wider audience or a wider variety of fans,
you build more likes on Facebook, more downloads. Just
exposing yourself to more people is important, that’s one of
the most important things.”
Death by Robot is more than just a cool name. This is one Edmonton band that is quickly on the rise and warrants
a look, providing listeners with a fun, high energy sound
that seamlessly blends three very different genres of music,
leaving the listener craving more. With a website www.
deathbyrobot.ca, twitter @DBRobotMusic and Facebook
there is literally no reason for you not to check them out,
hear their music and get yourself out to their next show.
As always, if you are in a band or know of a band that
demands attention, let me know via e-mail chrisfigliuzzi@
gmail.com, on twitter @chrisfigliuzzi, or by yelling at me
as I walk down the hall ... on second thought don’t do the
last one. I frighten easily. - The Nugget

Page 28-29 - Stitched Sound

Jeremy Pudlowski wears his influences on his sleeve.

Death by Robot’s songwriter (vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player) errs toward electronic productions like Imagine Dragons and Foster the People for the band’s style, but lists the theatrical elements of David Bowie and Serj Tankian as inspiration for his thematic content.

So, it’s really no surprise that Death by Robot’s latest (and first official) EP The Life Machine takes on a narrative — much like the implied narrative in the band’s name.

Through its five songs, the EP tells the story of a world ravaged after human and technological progression lead to an untimely apocalypse.

The album is post-apocalyptic science fiction and critique of the West set to moody, yet danceable, music, Pudlowski says.

Zombie Dinosaur, for example, shows, through the point of view of humans, the ramifications of a giant army of zombie dinosaurs as they rampage through their quiet community.

“I try to make everything broad-scale. I really like how pop culture is very much based on that apocalyptic, worst-case scenario type thing. I really don’t believe in any of that stuff; I just think it’s great for storytelling and great for narrative.”

The album was released in late March — Death by Robot took this time to make the official release something special.

The band recruited local actor Dallas Mix to attend the event and act out the songs, through monologue, decked out in post-apocalyptic garb. Death by Robot also set up a light show to help usher in the catastrophic esthetic it is trying to create.

This CD release party represents the first steps towards the band’s goal.

“We wanted to do a rock opera and The Life Machine is kind of the bridge into that performance-based music kind of thing,” says Pudlowski.

According to Pudlowski, Death by Robot wants to continue adding in elements of theatre and hopes to integrate multi-media aspects into their shows as they grow and strive toward a full-fledged rock opera.

The band will do a tour of Western Canada in August, and then its members will head back to the recording studio to work on the full-length production.

The band plays its CD release party on July 20 at the ARTery. 9535 Jasper Ave. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door.

Former SONiC Band of the Month Tanner Gordon and the Unfortunates will open for them. - Edmonton Examiner

Have you ever wanted to hear the theme song for a a television show about an IT worker in Nevada who is in love with his slightly
kooky co-worker? Here it is. Combining electronic sound with that of a slight country twang, this song exceeds the conventions of
genre in a new take on songwriting. - Sound Out

"Awkward soldier, where's your mother?" Prodigious & idiosyncratic. The opening drums and keys draws you in. The following lyrics are wonderfully insightful and catchy. This is a very visual song. I'd imagine a really strong music video would accompany it. Great background harmonizing. Quirky keyboard melodies.
- Sound Out

This weekend has its usual share of album release parties, but one of the most anticipated of the year may be Death By Robot at the Pawn Shop on Friday. One of the bands to watch on the local music scene for the last year or so – and confirmed by their selection as last November’s Sonic Band Of the Month – they’re definitely worth checking out, even more so now that they have a full-length album at the ready. Limbic System is the indie rockers’ debut full-length, but undoubtedly won’t be their last.

Whereas their first release in 2010 was a little disjointed, combining songs written long ago with newer material, this album is more poignant, with real-life experiences coming to the forefront. The instrumentation is also a lot fuller, including a brass section, keyboards, and organs. This band really incorporates the best of everything the Edmonton music scene has to offer, combining a distinct indie rock feel with a folk vibe, with the odd electronic insurgence.

And if that’s not enough of a motivation, three more of the city’s rock standouts – Hearsay, Rend, and Gibson Block – will also perform on this night. BUY TICKETS. - Gigcity

Westlock County isn’t known for the wealth of big-name musicians coming out of its hamlets, but three artists from Fawcett are hoping to change all that.

Jeremy Pudlowski, along with brother Colton and friend Greg Tkach, are three of the five members of Death By Robot, an up-and-coming band in the Western Canadian music scene.

And after just two years of playing together as a band, along with bandmates Nathan Woodward and Raine Radtke, they have been featured this month as the Edmonton radio station Sonic 102.9 as the band of the month.

This has meant daily radio play, culminating with a live showcase Nov. 29 at the Starlite Room in Edmonton.

For the three local boys, this recent success follows 10 or more years of playing together since they were in junior high school — and they all agree they’ve come a long way.

“We used to be terrible,” Jeremy said.

“We still might be,” Greg added. “We kind of coast on our good looks.”

False humility aside, the music speaks for itself.

The single getting all the radio play is Blue Skies, which is immediately reminiscent of System of a Down’s driving guitars and harmonized vocals.

Before settling into their current sound, however, they went through many different phases, beginning with a comedy rock outfit in their very early years — which they say may or may not have been immortalized on in an early camcorder recording of a 60-song album.

“We’ve gone through so many different genres, starting with that comedy band,” Colton said.

“Jeremy and I were also in a metal band, and Greg was in a folk band, then we kind of went progressive then went back to folk… Now we’re kind of just a mash of genres.”

Woodward joined the band after a previous bass player had to leave because of other commitments, and the Grant MacEwan music program graduate has been a good fit.

“He’s one of those people that you always feel bad when you’re sitting by him playing music; he’s more talented than us,” Jeremy said.

Radtke, who plays trumpet and does backup vocals, also raises the overall skill level in the band’s work.

“She’s also from the Grant Mac music program and she’s very talented,” Colton said.

At it’s core, however, Death by Robot it a band driven by Jeremy’s creative talents — it began as a backup band to play the songs he wrote. After playing together for a few months, though, they gave themselves a name and haven’t looked back.

They have been playing one or two shows per month steady for about two years now, and those shows have included some big-ticket events and festivals.

Furthermore, the band isn’t just about musical performances, but also incorporates some impressive multimedia elements as well — such as a video game feature on their website, deathbyrobot.ca.

“Our first show we did where we knew we were doing pretty good was we opened for an international band called Neon Tree,” Jeremy said. “They have a huge following, and that was really cool because we were still pretty green.”

They’ve also toured around much of Western Canada, and this summer hope to take their show east to Toronto and Montreal — after taking some time off in the spring to write a new album.

But even as their talent develops and they earn more renown, the three Fawcett natives still remember their roots and their early influences in the Westlock area.

All three credit their parents with exposing them to a variety of music when they were young.

Jeremy and Colton both say their first guitar teacher, the late Bob MacClachlan, taught them the fundamentals they have built on over the years — not to mention the importance of jamming.

For Greg, drum teacher Jeremy Seatter was a great mentor and taught him much of what he knows about proper technique.

Anyone interested in seeing the band perform can head to the Starlite Room this Friday.

Tickets for the 18-plus show are $10, and are available at www.ticketfly.com. - The Westlock News

follow link for article. - Vue Weekly (Tom Murray)