Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
Drew Young's energy on vocals and the Henchman's intense beats make their show very entertaining. Their unique sound compliments their song repetoire and wide range can please any audience. When the guys walk off stage, the crowd is cheering for more! - Mike Michargo (Talent/Sales Manager) Hard Rock Cafe, Ottawa
Drew Young and the Henchman have a unique sound with a high energy stage presence!
They demand attention and interaction from every audience to elevate the party atmosphere.
Not only are they talented musicians, they have always shown professionalism on or off stage.
There is no doubt this band is going to make an impact on the music scene.
"Don't forget the little guys" - Douglas Dumelie (Talent Booker/Owner) Bravo, Bravo (formerly, The Penguin), Ottawa
OTTAWA, CANADA--Drew Young and the Henchman today announced the kick off of a media tour designed to tell the rest of Ottawa what many music-lovers already know: the most-booked band in Ottawa is here to stay and going nowhere but up.
Front man Drew Young and his Henchman have been working feverishly between gigs at favourite venues like the Hard Rock Cafe and Grace O'Malley's to prepare for the release of the band's first two singles, a web site with video clips, and an aggressive media tour all scheduled to kick off December 1st. The band's high tech know-how combined with a common love of music has led to the creation of the ultra-modern Destroyer Studios used to mix their own tunes as well as those of other artists. When Young and the Henchman got the ax from their high tech jobs along with thousands of others, the part time musicians responded by pursuing their true passion full time: making great music.
"The band is a hard rock reaction to economic inaction," says Young with a smirk. "After the lay off we felt we needed to make our own luck by making the best of a bad situation. We applied the high-tech work ethic to making music and less than a year later Drew Young and the Henchman is the most-booked band in Ottawa. And in 2004 we're releasing our first album."
In addition to musicianship and an original sound, these rockers have business acumen that is unusual in an indie band. A graphic designer, business analyst and photographer have all been hard at work in the background preparing for the launch of Drew Young and the Henchman. Such support normally appears only after a band has signed with a major label.
"With this team behind us, with our fans who support the venues we play at, and with media partners like XFM, we're actually putting money back into the surrounding community," says manager Gilles Nadon. "For the band to succeed we need community support so it's only fair that we give something back."
The word is out about Drew Young and the Henchman and the band has seen a steady increase in visitors to its web haunt www.dyandh.com. A growing fan base uses the portal to find out where to catch the next gig and to tell the band exactly which songs they like and why. Music-lovers will be seeing and hearing about Drew Young and the Henchman on XFM 101.1's own website www.101xfm.ca leading up to live shows December 4th, 5th and 6th at D'Arcy McGees on Sparks Street. - CCN Matthews, November 24th, 2003
Discography
Fury of Another Kind (Single) - December 2003
Falling! (Single) - December 2003
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
every good noise . from acoustic rock to full-band assault
Drew Young and the Henchman make sounds for fans of modern music. The songs are vocal-driven thunderous sound fields married to the unstoppable Henchman drum-beat. High energy rock and roll? Yes. Electronic witchcraft? Where needed. Adventurous, impassioned, and …snappy? Most assuredly. Listen for every good noise you have heard in the intricate music of Tool, the trippy soundscapes of Radiohead, and the bombast of the Who.
At the core, this Ottawa rock group are a duo, featuring the manic guitar and voice of Drew Young and the versatile rhythm-playing of the Henchman, who also doubles on anything from bass, to percussion, to guitar. Additional players are invited drop in and out of the fold as the venue and sound (and volume!) demand.
DY and the Henchman’s music-making philosophy begins and ends with the premise that fans are the lifeblood of any music event. They understand that wherever honest music takes them, a loyal fan can follow - a fan with whom the band hopes to build a lifelong relationship through a growing catalog of exciting modern music.
tale of working men . name dropping .
The story so far: Drew Young and the Henchman are headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario (“Silicon Valley North”), where recently Drew and his Rush CDs and Weezer posters were escorted from his cozy hi-tech day-job and onto the proverbial pavement, where he lay, dazed at the bad timing. After a few minutes he brushed himself off and set to work completing a host of musical works-in-progress (along with a little help from the driven Henchman), culminating in the tireless, hard-working DY and the Henchman. In every project, the band apply their working man’s energies with ferocious zeal – full-time.
Over the years, DY and the Henchman have fronted, recorded, and played alongside and artists of independent character, including Slow Motion Walter, Hennessey, Belfast Cowboys, Terry Tufts, Colin James, and even Shania Twain. Welcoming locales like Barrymore’s, Zaphod Beeblebrox, Tir Nan Og, El Mocambo, and The Hard Rock Café have played host to their collective wealth of sounds.
can these music-makers make this much good noise ?
Translating a recorded work to stage presents an opportunity for DY and the Henchman to select a sound and line-up to suit any venue. Haunting stages of any size, at any locale, they will blast audiences in a memorable display of musicality and good-time stage antics. Together with a tightly-coordinated promotional campaign utilizing modern media such as electronic press kits, their latest web haunt www.dyandh.com, Internet advertising, and tie-ins with Ottawa’s leading modern alt-station, 101 XFM, Drew Young and the Henchman may yet save the land from formulaic musical cookie-cutting.
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