District Down

OSHAWA -- A metal music feast for the ears is served up in Oshawa on July 21.

M. Kraz Productions presents Shwa City Metal Fest at The Atria and The Diezel Room, the first of what is to become an annual event.

The event features: Pickering bands Constellations, Lead By Legacy, Backlash and Terror Spells; Ajax's Fate Prevailed; Oshawa's District Down, In The Act Of Violence, Enter Euphoria and The Blind Surgeons Operations; Whitby's Daisy St. Patience; Bowmanville's Dead 3 Days; Toronto-based Laugh At The Fakes; and, Hampton's After Life.

"This 19-and-over show will see $2 of the $10 admission fee donated to Kids Help Phone," says promoter Mike Krasnowski. "Each dollar donated by M. Kraz Productions will then be matched by Dino Iezzi of The Atria and The Diezel Room." - Durham Region

District Down was founded in the city of Oshawa, Ontario in the year of 2010. Like most good bands, they have gone through their transitions and that has just recently finished with the addition of new drummer Ryan Arsenault, coming from the now defunct band named, Something Worth Saving.

“This has solidified the roster,” says Brian Hatcher the rhythm guitarist.



“We are way more focused,” added Geoff Moyle who plays lead guitar.

So who is District Down? You might ask. They are a supercharged heavy rock band infused with a melodic sensibility that has a lively onstage presence and fearless energy. This five-piece from Oshawa is guaranteed to deliver the goods.

District Down was the semi-finalist in the 97.7 Hits FM Rock Search placing 16th out of almost 300 bands! This has made them one of the most anticipated bands in the GTA for 2013.

They have had 5 releases since 2010 that have included the self-titled EP, District Down, followed by the streaming of Three on C.B.C. Radio. Than came the Coping for Greater Ease single in 2011.The more recent releases were in 2012 produced by Stephen Kerr titled Break the Shell. They just released Memoirs that they produced themselves in February of 2013.

If you are interested in catching one of District Down’s shows, there is one on April 24th that is invite only in Whitby, but the band is also performing on May 25th at the local Atria so you can catch them there then.
- Ken Judge

http://durham-live.tumblr.com/post/20574593827/district-down-the-eclipse-friday-march-16#disqus_thread - Durham-Live.com

Oshawa’s District Down took a party bus up to their show at El Mocambo in Toronto, Feb. 18. “We do the party bus three sometimes four times a year,” said Brian Hatcher, the rhythm guitarist in District Down.
The bus left Oshawa from The Roi at 8:45 p.m. with about 40 of the band’s fans, family and friends. “Let’s get the party bus started,” said Hatcher. As he turned up his portable stereo, the bus warmed up and took off down the 401 to Toronto.
That night All But Over, Unbound and Laugh at the Fakes from Toronto hit the stage with Alyeus from London and District Down. It was a friendly and loud atmosphere all night at 464 Spadina Avenue. The artists were all predominantly heavy rock and metal influenced. Anthony Dell’ Orso and Of The Bear bookings organized the event.
On The Covers were playing 90s songs off to the side while the other bands set up on the main stage. They covered some Nirvana, Radiohead, and The Strokes hits. The crowd was enjoying themselves during each performance.
Mark Beitle, the vocalist in District Down, said, “We recently recorded a new single in Toronto.” District Down has a Facebook page that displays upcoming events and plays their music. Their performance was exciting and entertaining; Beitle is a powerful vocalist. “We don’t think we’re rock stars, but we like to have fun,” said Beitle. “We all grew up in the GTA,” said Hatcher.
“We just did a radio interview on S@Y Radio at Seneca College and we’ve been touring all over Ontario,” said Julian Craig, drummer in Laugh at the Fakes. “We just finished filming a new video.” “The songs called Little Girl,” said Everett Manson, who plays guitar and sings in the band. Their music video for Little Girl and some of their other songs can be found on YouTube.
“If you’re interested you can check out our Facebook page www.facebook.com/Alyeusband,” said Andrew van der Voort, the drummer in Alyeus.
District Down play at The Eclipse in Oshawa on March. 16 with Distance in Decibels, and other great bands. - Aaron OToole

http://www.guitarjustice.com/905.html - Guitar Justice Magazine

Hannah Carter - Hannah Carter

We are F Yeah Canadian Bands. Here you will find a bunch of great bands from all the provinces and territories. We aren't picky over genres, as long as you're from Canada we'll help support you - F Yeah Canadian Bands

Bowmanville, ON - November 23, 2010 – OnlyLuck Interactive has released the trailer for its debut title, Corrupted, an action adventure game currently in development for Xbox Live Indie Games. Follow a set of once valiant knights who become corrupted by an ancient curse. Unleash your character's evil by eliminating all those sent to stop you from capturing the kingdom’s princesses. Look for Corrupted to be released within the next two months. Check out the trailer HERE.

Corrupted features a unique dual stick control scheme for both melee and ranged combat allowing players to attack and move independently in any direction. The game allows up to four player local co-op in both story and survival mode. It also features a local player versus player mode. In Corrupted, players can customize their characters by upgrading eleven different multi-level skills.

Corrupted's trailer leaves a lasting impression with music provided by District Down; a local band out of Oshawa, Ontario, Canada (www.myspace.com/DistrictDown). Corrupted features original music produced by Mark Beitle, lead singer of District Down.

Attached is a screenshot from the Corrupted game trailer. - Paul Donald

Bowmanville, ON - November 23, 2010 – OnlyLuck Interactive has released the trailer for its debut title, Corrupted, an action adventure game currently in development for Xbox Live Indie Games. Follow a set of once valiant knights who become corrupted by an ancient curse. Unleash your character's evil by eliminating all those sent to stop you from capturing the kingdom’s princesses. Look for Corrupted to be released within the next two months. Check out the trailer HERE.

Corrupted features a unique dual stick control scheme for both melee and ranged combat allowing players to attack and move independently in any direction. The game allows up to four player local co-op in both story and survival mode. It also features a local player versus player mode. In Corrupted, players can customize their characters by upgrading eleven different multi-level skills.

Corrupted's trailer leaves a lasting impression with music provided by District Down; a local band out of Oshawa, Ontario, Canada (www.myspace.com/DistrictDown). Corrupted features original music produced by Mark Beitle, lead singer of District Down.

Attached is a screenshot from the Corrupted game trailer. - Paul Donald

Taken from www.zap-music.com


District Down Moves Up
By Keirra Saffrey

Up and coming from the Durham area, alternative rock band, District Down is on their way to becoming a musical landmark for the GTA in 2010 – and in a very short time.

Formed in November of 2009 the group known as District Down includes the talent of Mark Beitle, Matthew Goodliffe, Brian Hatcher, Shawn Mabley and Steve Searle. This cohesive lineup has seen many changes and has had many members come and go. Finally they decided on a distinctly unified sound from each of their influences.

Naming the band didn’t come easy. They had discussed and debated many band names with minimal luck for an overall agreement. In search of a name to define the band and distinguish their sound, Searle brought “District Down” to the rehearsal studio. Although the band members have only been together for a few months, the fan response has been remarkable.

“For just the short amount of time we’ve been together we’ve built a healthy following.” Mabley says.

Everyone is pleased with the way things are so far. Without sharing the same passion, drive and love for music, it would be very difficult for the band members to work as a team.

“You just find that passion for music and it’s hard to let it go. No matter what age you are, it just sticks with you for a long time,” Goodliffe says. “When you’re jamming and collaborating together, it creates something that’s special.”



Practising, three to four hours, two to three times a week at the Trapped Down Entertainment rehearsal studio (TDE) is part of everyone’s weekly schedule. Goodliffe, the owner of TDE, takes a lot under his wings and most of his time is spent with young artists helping them learn, and be a part of the ever changing music industry. He also collaborates with Hatcher to delegate the promotions and marketing for the band.

The future of District Down looks promising. With the band’s first show at the Velvet Underground, this performance shocked spectators and rose their online following dramatically. District Down will be performing at a fundraising concert for a group of second-year Durham College PR students at the college’s pub along the sounds of If looks Could Kill, Fallen Legion and 85 East.

With hopes of being chosen to perform in the North by North East (nxne.com) music festival in Toronto, their dreams might turn more heads to the march of their genuine sound.

“We are basically using the nxne as our chance to break into the music scene. We are playing a few other shows before then, but we are focusing a lot of effort towards that festival,” Goodliffe says.




For more information, visit myspace.com/districtdown
- Keirra Saffrey

The walls and tables full of beer bottles shook to the sounds of local Oshawa rock bands at the Riffs N’ Rock event at E.P Taylor’s on March 12.
Bands included In Your Dishonour, 85 East, If Looks Could Kill, District Down, and Fallen Legion.
“I found it worked very well,” said Keirra Saffrey, organizer of the event. “There was a mix of rock, alternative, pop rock, electro and metal, so it appealed to everyone in the audience.”
Funds raised from the concert went toward the second-year Public Relations students’ annual trip to Chicago. The students have been attempting to raise $10,000 to cover the cost of the trip since September.
“I was surprised at the turnout,” said Saffrey. “The weather wasn’t the greatest and we were worried people wouldn’t show. But we had a good 70 people show up, which turned out to be our most successful event so far.”
She said roughly $300 was raised.
Each band played a 45-minute set of their original music.
According to Saffrey, the audience mostly watched from the sidelines, sipping back beer and socializing with friends. However, a handful of students weren’t afraid to get a little rowdy.
“There were a few people dancing and even moshing, so that was fun to see,” she said. “I really enjoyed it, and I think everyone else did, too.”
She said a lot of hard work went into advertising and preparing for the event. She teamed up with two other girls in her course, creating Facebook events, Twitter updates and posters.
“Most of the students agreed we put on a good show, so hopefully the word spreads and we’re able to host more shows in the future. Most of the bands thanked us and thought we did a good job, too.”
Mike Kraz, lead singer of In Your Dishonour, said he was impressed with the turnout.
“It looked like everyone was having a good time,” he said. “There were a couple times when I saw a lot of people really moving and dancing, so I like to think they were enjoying themselves.”
He said he hopes the band will be able to go on tour some time next year.
“The sooner the better,” he said. “We all obviously want to be successful. Until then, we’ll be glad to come back and play more shows.”
“If you’ve never heard them before, I encourage you to have a listen,” said Saffrey. “Even if you’re not really into rock, each of these bands offer something unique and fun to the stage.” - Kyle Reynolds

The walls and tables full of beer bottles shook to the sounds of local Oshawa rock bands at the Riffs N’ Rock event at E.P Taylor’s on March 12.
Bands included In Your Dishonour, 85 East, If Looks Could Kill, District Down, and Fallen Legion.
“I found it worked very well,” said Keirra Saffrey, organizer of the event. “There was a mix of rock, alternative, pop rock, electro and metal, so it appealed to everyone in the audience.”
Funds raised from the concert went toward the second-year Public Relations students’ annual trip to Chicago. The students have been attempting to raise $10,000 to cover the cost of the trip since September.
“I was surprised at the turnout,” said Saffrey. “The weather wasn’t the greatest and we were worried people wouldn’t show. But we had a good 70 people show up, which turned out to be our most successful event so far.”
She said roughly $300 was raised.
Each band played a 45-minute set of their original music.
According to Saffrey, the audience mostly watched from the sidelines, sipping back beer and socializing with friends. However, a handful of students weren’t afraid to get a little rowdy.
“There were a few people dancing and even moshing, so that was fun to see,” she said. “I really enjoyed it, and I think everyone else did, too.”
She said a lot of hard work went into advertising and preparing for the event. She teamed up with two other girls in her course, creating Facebook events, Twitter updates and posters.
“Most of the students agreed we put on a good show, so hopefully the word spreads and we’re able to host more shows in the future. Most of the bands thanked us and thought we did a good job, too.”
Mike Kraz, lead singer of In Your Dishonour, said he was impressed with the turnout.
“It looked like everyone was having a good time,” he said. “There were a couple times when I saw a lot of people really moving and dancing, so I like to think they were enjoying themselves.”
He said he hopes the band will be able to go on tour some time next year.
“The sooner the better,” he said. “We all obviously want to be successful. Until then, we’ll be glad to come back and play more shows.”
“If you’ve never heard them before, I encourage you to have a listen,” said Saffrey. “Even if you’re not really into rock, each of these bands offer something unique and fun to the stage.” - Kyle Reynolds

We recently did a photo shoot with the Oshawa based band District Down. The five guys who comprise this band are total pros (they even showed up early for the shoot), and we had a great time shooting them. They had just finished playing the KOI Music Festival the night before so the fact that they arrived ready to go, and still managed to be very photogenic after that was very impressive.

You can visit their myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/districtdown to hear a sample of their music and find out where they will be playing next.

- Light Monkey

We recently did a photo shoot with the Oshawa based band District Down. The five guys who comprise this band are total pros (they even showed up early for the shoot), and we had a great time shooting them. They had just finished playing the KOI Music Festival the night before so the fact that they arrived ready to go, and still managed to be very photogenic after that was very impressive.

You can visit their myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/districtdown to hear a sample of their music and find out where they will be playing next.

- Light Monkey