Fourthwall

- Fourthwall's song "Eyes on the Skies" was used during the TSN broadcasting of "NHL Trade Deadline 2009"

- Fourthwall's song "Eyes on the Skies" was selected by the CFL to be aired on the jumbotron at the Rogers Centre during the 2007 Grey Cup.

- Fourthwall's song "Go" was selected by the CFL and used in a promotional video aired in stadiums around the league and on CFL.ca

- Fourthwall's 1st record "Fourthwall" has sold almost 1000 copies to date.

- Fourthwall has performed live on several radio stations and television shows in the GTA.

- Fourthwall has headlined at some of Toronto's most prestigous venues including Opera House, Horseshoe Tavern, Revival, Club 279...and many more! - Fourthwall Inc.

In a bar ripe with Canadiana, Fourthwall, a band born in the suburbs of the Greater Toronto Area, prepare to rock out with its distinct combination of gritty Canuck rock and intricate harmonies.

Fourthwall is the first band on the bill this Saturday night. The four guys look confident and relaxed when they take the stage. They have played at Reilly’s on Yonge Street three times before. The bar doesn’t fit in among the modern downtown scene of martinis and stilettos. The décor seems better fit for a local watering hole in cottage country. The small crowd sits on white deck chairs and cracked brown leather stools. An eclectic mix of memorabilia hangs on the walls. When the house lights go down for Fourthwall, the room is illuminated by votive candles and a fluorescent Heineken sign.

Mike Farrell, a fourth-year RTA student at Ryerson, stands centre stage with Mark ‘Slick’ Scarmato on his right, Dan Gallo on his left and Adam Burns behind. The set is six songs long, mixing tunes from the album and songs written since they finished recording.

In one of the new songs, “Fire Supply,” Farrell and Scarmato play repetitive guitar licks back and forth, building anticipation until the climax of the song when they sing out: “When I’m looking for some fire, baby she is my supplier.” Farrell crouches down and pounds his foot on the ground to the beat of the music. He stands back up, shaking his head in the air during his guitar solos.

Gallo taps his foot subtly as he plays the smooth bass line while Burns provides the driving drum beat in the background. But what stands out above everything else is their difficult three-part vocal harmonies, ringing out with beautiful clarity. The crowd is thin but that doesn’t stop them from playing like they’re at the Air Canada Centre.

Fourthwall formed three years ago with five members in Richmond Hill. After realizing the original lead singer was only bringing it down, the band shifted to the lineup it has today. This taught them a lot about band dynamics.

“It’s so important to be friends when you’re in a band,” says Farrell. “If you don’t like the person you’re playing music with, you could be writing the greatest song in the world but it’s not going to last.”

The band now consists of lead singer and guitarist Farrell, singer and guitarist Scarmato, singer and bassist Gallo, and Burns on drums.

Fourthwall’s music is bluesy rock at its core but is also quite melodic.

“I think what’s really important about our band is that our songs are catchy, fun to listen to and you can rock out to them, but there are a lot of subtleties too that someone who is musically-intelligent would recognize.”

The band had some success in battle-of-the-bands style contests, winning two, and coming third out of fifty in the Paragon 5k. They have worked hard to get themselves attention with steady performing, a radio appearance, and a television appearance on Rogers TV.

Fourthwall cites bands like Oasis and The Beatles as its influences, but put a particular emphasis on being a ‘Made-in-Canada’ band like Sam Roberts.
“You can really see what he did with Canadian music and that’s the ultimate goal because it rings true to home,” says Burns. “It’s within our grasp which is awesome. That’s why we really look up to him.”

The band raves about the Canadian music scene and says that popular Canadian acts make Fourthwall look good just by being categorized among them.

“There are some artists who try to hide they are from Canada,” says Farrell. “It’s not like we’re trying to be patriotic about it, but you just have to respect that we’re Canadian.”

Fourthwall just released a new self-titled EP after being approached
by recording company DC Music in summer 2006.

“To have your own record is so cool. I remember going to pick them up on the first day and I went to go meet this guy on a street corner. He had a bunch of boxes in his red station wagon. I opened it up and there was our CD,” says Farrell. “It’s a great feeling to produce something that’s actually professional...We’ll have that CD forever.”

Fourthwall is celebrating the release of its EP at 9 p.m. tomorrow at the Horseshoe Tavern.

The band’s members are expecting it to be the biggest gig of their lives with a crowd of hundreds.

“Playing for a packed house at the Horseshoe Tavern, how could you have a bad time?” asks Burns.

www.theeyeopener.com - Jessica Ford - The Eyeopener (Ryerson University)

The Truth Lies Here is the new EP to be released from Fourthwall. The last release which was self -titled by Fourthwall left me impressed with the band so I was intrigued to here what the new album had to bring. The Truth Lies Here is a little mellower than their last release.

The Truth Lies Here EP consists of four tracks, the Title track starts off the album “The Truth Lies Here”, “Half and Half”, “Two Hours Time”, and “Here With Me”.

The members of Fourthwall are Mike Farrell on Lead Vocals and Guitar. Mark Scarmato on Vocals and Guitar, Dan Gallo on Bass Guitar and Vocals, and Kyle Watt on Drums.

Just as the last album Fourthwall still impresses me with their catchy opening riffs, and progressive rock attitude. They tap into a few different genres in each song to give them a slighter edgier sound. Their edgier sound is the exact reason why I really want to catch them play live at some point in time, hopefully sooner than later.

One song that stands out to me after the first run through the album is the third track “Two Hours Time”. The song starts off with one of Fourthwalls many catchy opening riffs then the song kicks it up a couple of notches. When you listen to this song you will hear exactly what I am talking about when I say they tap into a few Genres. The song has a classic rock feel mixed with a alternative edge laced with a reggae feel. In around the middle of the song the instruments stop and there is a nicely done A cappella. The A cappella the song really works with the song. What I like about the A cappella is the fact that it is done in the song and not done at the start or used to finish out the song. The song however finishes off the way it started with a nice guitar lick.

“The Truth Lies Here” kicks off the album in a quieter fashion. There is a slower and quieter guitar intro, that leads into the lead guitar picking up speed as the riffs plays on. When the vocals kick in there are a few lines that are sung in a very nice but not over the top raspy voice, there is more of a bass kick in the vocals than the rasp but the rasp in the voice is what works for me. After the few lines of vocals the bass drum kicks in which really leads you into listening and getting right into the song. The song in my mind has a definite chance of receive radio airplay. Your ears will definitely enjoy the riff that lead guitar plays throughout the song, what is good about the lead guitar is that it blends in really well with the rest of the band and it doesn’t stand out and overshadow the rest of the band.

You can check out Fourthwall and pick up a copy of both of their albums at their Myspace page,www.myspace.com/fourthwallband and www.fourthwallband.com. You can also get your copy at all Fourthwall shows, and at Criminal Records and Soundscapes in Toronto.

Matt Hartwick
m.hartwick@partyinkingston.com - Matt Hartwick of PartyinKingston.com

Great Classic Rock and Rock N Roll is all that you need to know about Fourthwall. This album is Fourthwall’s debut Self Titled EP.

After just listening to the album once I have become addicted to their music. The only problem that I am finding is this album is such a tease I want to hear more tunes from the band.

Fourthwall is a four member Rock Jam Group. Mike Farell is the man behind the Lead Vocals and Guitar, [Mark] Scarmato on Backup Vocals and Guitar, Dan Gallo on Backup Vocals and Bass and finally hitting the Skins there is Adam Burns.

Fourthwall’s music is geared for a live show. There are albums out there that sound good on the album and wouldn’t carry out the sound nor energy for a live show. The first three tracks on this album put to rest all doubt about Fourthwall not having the energy for a live show. After listening to this album I have become addicted to their music and now hoping that they make a stop in Kingston in the near future. The music on this album is perfect for many different situations; the best so far is when I have been driving in rush hour traffic coming back from work in the afternoon the album just makes the drive worth waiting for all the lights to change.

The first three tracks on the album are fast paced songs with the last track slowing it down a little bit which I find adds a mix to the album. But I am a fan of their faster tracks.

“Go” is the first track off of the album. The title of this song really sets the tone of the album. The drum at the starting of the song gets the groove going in the song. I also liked the drum roll that leads into the second verse. As the other songs on the album the songs are easy to sing along to. The main riff of the song is catchy and blends in perfectly with the guitar solo in the middle of the song. This song was the perfect song to pick to start off this album

“Eyes On The Skies” the guitars to me is what takes this song to the next level. After the opening riff there is no turning off or changing this song. If you wanted a rock song Fourthwall has delivered a Rock song. I am especially lovin the guitar riffs after “Hey I’m Moving On”. Another part of the song that fits really well is the lightly heard backup vocals “ahhhhh” in the third verse, now that I have heard it in the song, if it was taken out of the song to me it would be the same as taking out the drums in the song, it just sits that well with me.

“Let It Slide” is the third out of the four tracks on the album. After hearing the first two tracks for the first time I thought by the title I might hear some slide guitar in the song, but there wasn’t but the guitar solo about three quarters of the way through the song is what makes this song happen it is not a very big solo but is what I wait for when the song plays. I just find that the solo fits really well into the song and it doesn’t get carried away and it fits right into the song. The deepness sounds of the guitars are at the perfect tone for me they are not too deep and not at a high pitch. The lyrics are also something that should be looked at they can pretty much be toned up to be a life lesson type of lyrics. Instead of getting angry and blowing up at something you just “Let It Slide”

“I Know you’re feeling uptight
You’ve gotta open up the road and believe in life
When you ain’t doing alright
I think it’s time to let it slide”

www.fourthwall.ca
www.myspace.com/fourthwallband

Matt Hartwick
m.hartwick@partyinkingston.com - Matt Hartwick of partyinkingston.com