Drivenation

DRIVENATION

Some people like to imagine that life is a field full of roses. It’s always
sunny out there: the birds are always singing chipper songs, and happy bells
are perpetually tinkling in the distance.

If you’re that kind of person, then Drivenation is not the band for you.

But if you’re the type of person who is driven to look a little deeper, to
scratch beneath the surface of this life and feel the mounting passions and
tensions that ripple underneath, then welcome to the show. Perhaps you’ll find
some answers in Drivenation’s music, or perhaps it will just leave you with
more questions. At the very least, you’ll find a band that isn’t afraid of the dark.

Passion, not angst, is the operative here. Their music is a musical trip
through the darkest alleys and the most punishing depths of experience:
pounding rhythms and mesmerizing riffs. They feel it, they’ve lived it: and now
they’re ready to deliver it to a wider audience.

Though you’d think from watching them perform that the band was born in a
sudden flare-up of musical hellfire, the reality is somewhat more mundane.
It goes back to picturesque Kenora, Ontario: a little town on the edge of one of
the country’s most beautiful lakes. This is where a young vocalist named Kelly
met guitarist Chris: the pair performed for years together,
before Kelly packed his bags for the big city, heading to Winnipeg to broaden
his horizons in the summer of 2001.

In Winnipeg, the pieces fell together. A mutual friend introduced Kelly to
Kevin, who was a graduate of New York’s prestigious Drummer’s Collective
school, and the two immediately clicked. They rounded up a bass player and
played some shows (with Chris commuting to the city to complete the band).

From the beginning, the band was influenced by more than just music. Some of
their influences are obvious... memories of adolescent adoration of classic
80’s metal acts and modern pioneers in heavy rock (even the creepy and
subversive music of Danny Elfman)... while some are more conceptual: the
stylized vistas of Tim Burton. The visceral writing of Chuck Palahniuk, the
epic, melancholy romanticism of Anne Rice. The dramatic and haunting visuals of
Todd McFarlane. This is what Drivenation aims to capture... not just music, but
images, emotions, memoirs of existence in a deep and fractured world.

As it turns out, they’re not the only ones who long for that kind of musical
succor. From the start, the band was trailed by a loyal legion of fans. They
scored airplay on Winnipeg’s biggest rock station, Power 97, and were invited
to perform at the massive Snow Jam festival alongside bands like The Headstones and Gob.

But it was snapping up a showcase spot at the 2002 Prairie Music Week that took
them to the next level in their career: that was where they impressed
Juno-award winning, Winnipeg producer Brandon Friesen, who promptly took the band under his wing to develop their debut CD.

With an expected release date in March. of 2005, the band’s challenge now is to
capture the hypnotic and heart-rending energy of their live show. They revel in
the intensity of their onstage performances, they lust for the nearly
supernatural connection that drives them when the amps are on and the riffs are
coursing through the air.

And as long as the sun still sets at night: as long as shadows still fall,
guitars still scream, and demons come out to dance to vicious rhythms,
Drivenation will be there to make the soundtrack.