Goodbye Beatdown

VANCOUVER — Like any good rock ‘n’ roll story, this one begins at night, in lashing rain, outside a country bar in Burnaby.

Arriving for what they thought was a scheduled gig at the club, the young members of Langley-based trio Critical Element — vocalist (Dizzy) Dustin Overhill, drummer Brani Shibilev and guitarist Sean Simpson — knocked on the back door of the bar and announced their arrival to the promoter, who looked at them quizzically and asked: “Who are you guys?”

Dejected and soaked, the boys retreated to Simpson’s trailer — located on the lot of an asphalt plant in Abbotsford — and called friend and bassist Mark Luongo who, at the time, was playing with singer Daniel Wesley.

“We just wanted to play,” says Simpson. “He came up to my trailer, we set up that night in the shop and we said, ‘Wow, this guy knows how to play bass.’”

With the addition of Luongo and, subsequently, James Kennedy on turntables, the quintet became Goodbye Beatdown, a reggae-rock outfit that recently took home the CFOX Seeds Platinum Prize, which among other goodies includes consultation deals, a demo-recording deal, studio time, a radio single mixed by Mike Fraser (AC/DC) and tour support from the Fox.

“We’ve done so many things [since winning the prize],” says Luongo. “We opened for Sean Kingston in Kamloops. That was definitely one of our crowning achievements. An arena show, playing for a crowd who didn’t know who we were and getting a reaction that can be best described as hysterics.”

Okay, so it’s Kamloops. But small-town gigs are where big-time skills are honed and, with the band’s brand of party music and its high-energy live show, no doubt there will be many screaming girls across B.C. and beyond in the boys’ bright future. Whatever happens, they’re sure to remember that humbling, rainy night in Burnaby.

“It was a great sacrifice, what we did to get our music recorded and to play shows,” says Simpson. “Living in that trailer, the only reason I lived there was because there’s no place to jam around here and I didn’t want to pay for a rehearsal space. I didn’t have to pay rent so we bought all the gear and set up in the shop every single night.”

Before dusting off the turntable and rediscovering his love of music with the Beatdown, Kennedy was in a hip-hop band in high school and had given up on it after deciding to pursue a career in broadcasting.

“I got tired of trying to make it in music,” he says. “It’s easier to just not play music and hate everybody that sucks.”

Dustin Overhill, a battle rapper, attended Langley Fine Arts School with Luongo and eventually recorded a song in his basement studio for the Japanese market.

“As you can see, it worked out really well,” says Overhill, sarcastically.

“Yeah,” says Luongo. “Once we became huge over there, we decided to come back here and be poor again.”

In a musical minefield cluttered with overproduced, underwhelming talent, the members of Goodbye Beatdown — all of whom are genuinely enthusiastic and passionate about what they do — are a refreshing, grounded bunch.

Then again, they’re good-ol’ Langley boys.

Well, not entirely.

Drummer Brani Shibilev met Simpson only five days after he emigrated from his native Bulgaria six years ago.

“I go down to the studio and I see this little guy — he’s 17 years old, didn’t know any English, he’s with these two older Bulgarian dudes, who were translating — sitting behind the drums. I couldn’t believe how good he was and we just meshed.

“Instant chemistry.”

So what’s bubbling up on the horizon for Goodbye Beatdown?

“It’s up to us,” says Luongo. “The Seeds program just gives you tools. They’ll lead you to the water, but if you’re going to build a bridge to the other side, that’s your choice.”

Adds Simpson: “Radio helps, it’s awesome. But the real trick is trying to get people to see us live. That’s our strong suit.”

And Luongo says that, while everyone in the band has a vision for what they want, the band makes decisions collectively.

“We’ve got some strong goals, not the least of which is to spread our music across this country. Eventually we want to be an international band.”

A band that, so far, doesn’t feel pressured to sign with a label.

“As long as we’re snowballing like this, I don’t see why we need an additional hand to push us,” says Kennedy.

Indeed. Better to save that for a rainy day. - Vancouver Sun- Graeme McRanor

Goodbye Beatdown, a rock/hip hop/reggae band from Vancouver, BC, is climbing the ladder of success, one rung at a time. On top of many show bookings, the band is preparing to release a full-length studio album this summer.

BD: What can you tell us about your Top 3 finish in the Fox Seeds competition?

GB Mark: It’s a huge relief. It’s a major foot in the door. We should probably explain the competition a bit. Fox Seeds (of cFox Radio – 99.3 The Fox) has been going on for 30 years and has helped springboard the careers of bands like Matt Good, Nickelback, and Default. Apparently they get an average of 400 entries a year from throughout BC which are then pared down to a Top 20 by DJ’s and executives at the station. From there, fans get to check out the bands’ websites and vote, both online and by phone or text, for their favorites. Then the bands are seeded into a Top 10. These bands then have to play a showcase for a panel of industry judges, are graded, and typically filtered down to a Top 5. This year, being the 30th anniversary, they chose to make a Top 3 instead. We’re lucky enough to be one of these 3. It has been a long process and more than a little stressful. We started recording in early April and only got our submission in on May 15, the deadline, during the last possible hour.

BD: How important is it for you to place Top 3 with a chance to be the overall winner?

GB Mark: Top 3 is enough of a victory in that we get guaranteed radio play and a chance to perform at The Commodore. That’s been a huge dream of ours from the beginning. There’s a pride thing, too. If you enter a competition, you obviously want to win or come as close as possible. We take our music very seriously. To be eliminated in the Top 20 or even the Top 10, considering that we cancelled Ontario dates and flew home from Toronto just to play the showcase, would have hurt. We’re already looking past this at the next steps in the industry. It’s just nice to move on with some credibility and a leg up in our home market.

BD: Where and how do you write music?

GB Dustin: Well, we’ve got a “bandhaus” where Mark and Sean live that acts as our jam space. A lot of the time things come together there. Sean never leaves the house so all of his writing happens there! (laughs) Mark doesn’t have to practice because he actually taught God how to play bass. (everyone laughs) For serious though, he’s pretty new to the band. So far, he has mainly contributed bass lines and arrangement and production changes to what was there already. However, he’s notorious for being a master of the “noodle” and will tend to write something whenever there’s a guitar or piano around.

GB Mark: Dustin is a vocalist and so his instrument is always with him. (laughs) Coming from a rap and freestyle background, he’s very off-the-cuff and can come up with something pretty well anywhere, at any time. It’s kinda like guerrilla-style songwriting. Sometimes he writes at home where he’s got a keyboard in his room.

BD: What has been a pivotal moment for the band? The place where you rounded the corner and finally felt you were going somewhere?

GB Mark: Going to Toronto in mid-June. This re-defined the band and expanded our horizon like crazy. It was our first real tour, marked our first dates outside of BC, and brought the band together in ways nothing else ever could. We’re on the same wavelength for the first time and ready to move forward.

BD: What have been some of your highlights since coming together as a band?

GB Mark: Spending every weekend in April recording our new album sometimes sleeping at the studio. Playing Richard’s on Richards twice. Advancing through Seeds – every new success was a reason to celebrate. Being Top 3 at Seeds – we just found out on Monday so we’re still on a high. Toronto and all the new experiences from playing Barrie to NXNE. And The Artist Sanctuary showcases. Oh, and getting free stuff from Osiris shoes, Skull Candy and PKG! Represent!

BD: What’s one of your favourite places to play? And why?

GB Dustin: The Commodore! (laughs) Even though only Mark has played there so far. We’ve all seen great shows from the audience and pretty much all of our living idols have been on that stage. Richard’s on Richards was special. It’s so prestigious and also has a great legacy. The fact that it’s slated to close and be demolished in less than a month just makes this more special.

BD: What’s on the horizon for Goodbye Beatdown?

GB Mark: Total. World. Domination! The end! We’re going to start by taking over Western Canada – Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Kamloops, Kelowna, Penticton, Edmonton, Calgary, and Saskatoon. That’s right people, Saskatoon! After that, we’ll move to Toronto in the spring, set up shop, and start playing all of Southern Ontario and parts of Quebec… maybe even the Maritimes. After that, we really want to dip into the US, West Coast mostly but parts of the South East. Then, who knows? Europe, Australia, Japan… pick a place, any place! We just want to make music for a living, be it on a stage, in a studio or at someone’s backyard bbq. Everything about the job appeals to us. Well, other than long drives and load in and out! (laughs)

GB Dustin: We’re also hoping to make lots of fat cash for our managers – they need it! (everyone laughs) - Toronto Independent Music Awards

The road to fame and fortune can be a long and grinding one. Nobody knows that better than Canadian bands who make their living criss crossing the second largest country on the globe.

But a brand new Langley band that’s already found success as an up-and-coming act on a popular Vancouver radio contest, is poised to bring the party, not only across Canada, but “all over the world.”

Since forming about six months ago, when former Daniel Wesley bassist Mark Luongo signed on with another Langley-based group, Critical Element, Goodbye Beatdown has claimed the platinum prize in 99.3 The Fox’s SEEDs contest and hit the road in an effort to make a name for themselves.

Speaking from the road to Kelowna, where Goodbye Beatdown was set to perform last Thursday night, before heading farther north for a weekend concert at UNBC in Prince George, Luongo explained that the two bands already shared a fair bit of history, playing at a lot of the same gigs and recording in the same studio, while their careers took parallel paths through the Valley and beyond.

“There are lots of connections. We kept tabs on each other,” said Luongo.

Alongside their new bass player, singer Dustin Overhill, guitarist Sean Simpson and drummer Brani Shibilev, have already covered a lot of ground in southern Ontario and will soon be taking their original fusion of reggae, rock, blues and hip hop across Western Canada, with dates booked from Victoria to Saskatoon.

They’ll lead off for Sean Kingston in Kamloops on Oct. 3, but before that, the band opens for Finger Eleven during UFV’s disOrientation at the new Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre this Saturday (Sept. 19).

“There are not many bands capable of pulling off that range of sound,” said Luongo.

“It’s also something of a curse, because radio stations don’t know what to do with us.”

“(DisOrientation) will be our first arena concert. It’s pretty exciting when you get to the point that you’re sharing the stage with some of your idols.”

Getting on the bill was a matter of polite persistence, he explained.

“We pursued the folks over at the UFV Students Union. I’d played there before, and I told them I’ve got a new band; we’re up and coming.”

The concert organizer gave a listen to Goodbye Beatdown’s music on their MySpace site and signed them up.

“That was before we entered and won SEEDs. He was taking a leap of faith and I appreciate that,” said Luongo.

Taking the platinum prize in the 2009 Fox SEEDS contest has helped the band to not so much get a foot in the door, but to nudge that door open just a little further. Their single The Grudge — the edgiest of the three songs posted on the band’s site — is now in rotation on the Vancouver radio station.

Meanwhile, the guys will get the opportunity to work with some big names in the recording business, including audio engineer Mike Fraser, best known for his work with AC/DC, who will mix Goodbye Beatdown’s next radio single.

Offering consultations with managers, agents and a host of other mentors in the music industry, the SEEDs victory is more about making contacts than signing contracts, and that’s just fine with the band.

“Having their brains to pick is a great opportunity,” said Luongo.

“It’s good to remain free agents, as long as you’ve got people to give you good advice.”

They’ll soon be able to put some of that advice into that into practise, with several projects in the works, including a music video a seven-song EP release party on Oct. 23 at the Shark Club in Vancouver.

The group hopes to become an inspiration to the next generation of up and coming music acts, but at the same time, Luongo is generous in spreading the credit for his own band’s success to date.

Each of the members came through local music programs at Langley Fine Arts School and Langley Community Music School, or with the Langley Ukulele Ensemble, which is directed by Luongo’s father, Peter.

“It’s a credit to the Langley community, that it’s produced not just us, but several other artists (who have found success) at least on a national scale,” he said.

“The fact we’re doing well and looking to become a nationally acclaimed band is one more example.”

Overhill has high hopes for his new band as well.

“I think our goals are pretty much the same as any other band. We want to be the best we can be, play the biggest shows and spread our music to all of the people we can. Lots of the goals that we set before, I didn’t think were attainable — like winning the Fox SEEDs— so at this moment I feel like the sky is the limit. I think our goals are to work with the best, biggest and brightest people in the industry.

“We want to play a lot of shows and make a comfortable living doing what we love. I think with hard work and determination we aren’t far off of achieving those goals.”

And Overhill is confident the band has the staying power to realize those goals.

“Whenever you are in a band and around the same people for long periods of time it can start to wear on you, but overcoming that for the greater good of the music is what makes a band great. (Brani, Sean and I) have been together for four years, so its basically the same between us as it has always been,” he said.

“Since Mark and James (Kennedy, on turntables) have joined we’ve sort of made a brotherhood. I know with the band as it is now I am a lot more focused, but all in all we still just play music and do what we love to do.”

•••

General admission tickets for Sept. 19’s disOrientation show with Finger Eleven are $30 for stadium seating and $40 on the floor. Tickets are available at the AESC box office, at www.abbotsfordcentre.ca and at the UFV Abbotsford campus in Casey’s Restaurant in E Building and at the Student Union Society office in C Building.

Go to myspace.com/goodbyebeatdown for more about the band.

•••

What’s in a name?

With infinite word combinations to choose from, how do you come up with the perfect name for a band?

And while you’re at it, how do you navigate the line between something that is truly original and something that’s truly bizarre?

Turns out, it’s not such an easy task.

“We are a mainstream band. We didn’t want a name that was 14 syllables long and unpronounceable,” said Goodbye Beatdown’s bass player, Mark Luongo.

“We were painstakingly trying to think of a name for two weeks. I was literally reading a dictionary while I was stopped at red lights.”

In addition to more old-school methods, the band tried a random online word generator and even went so far as to buy a book about how some famous bands had come up with their own names.

Eventually, the word throwdown caught Luongo’s eye — but what to add to it? Hello Throwdown?

A few conversations changed that to Goodbye Beatdown, but far from settling the matter, the name was added to a small catalogue of possibilities.

Then, last March when the band was helping out at the Juno Awards, lead singer Dustin Overhill did his part by watching the door of the room where celebs were being fitted for running shoes. The singer struck up a conversation with George Stroumboulopoulos and Rick Campanelli, while they waited for Sarah McLachlan to finish up inside, Luongo said.

Overhill rattled off the five or six named the band had been tossing around and asked the Much Music alumni for their opinions.

“Both of them agreed instantly that Goodbye Beatdown was the best by far.”

Apart from sounding cool, what does the name say about the band?

“It’s like saying goodbye to all the forces that beat you down, that hold you back,” said Luongo.

“It’s about liberating you from the grind.” - The Langley Times

Dub-rock reggae group Goodbye Beatdown are turning heads as Vancouver Seeds '09 finalists, and the more you hear from these good times rockers, the more you've got to have. Combining feel good grooves with a loose and laid back style straight out of BC, we are really excited to bring Goodbye Beatdown to the Toronto stage on June 19th, for Supernova.com's Unofficial NXNE showcase!
Formerly known as Critical Element, Goodbye Beatdown has smoothed out a unique sound since switching gears. The 5-man outfit includes a number of instruments, mashed up to create something deliciously unique - in the words of band mate Mark, something that "sounds like melting in slow-motion, glazed in Day-Glo frosting." Mmmmmm.

As Goodbye Beatdown prepares to enter the final voting for the 30th annual Fox Vancouver Seeds Talent Competition powered by Supernova.com, the guys sat down to talk about how their music came to be.

Introduce your band mates and explain what each brings to the band?

"Dizzy" Dustin Overhill
(Singer/MC/HypeMan Extraordinaire)
D Dizzle brings more personality to GBBD than Cheese Whiz ever could - he's the spark plug, the heart-beat, the swift kick to the balls and the cherry on top all at once. To slap Dizzy with the word "intense" is an understatement at best and would probably get you a slap back so hard that your children's children'll inherit the bruises.

Sean Michael Simpson
(aka Seany Mics, Seanzo and Scene)
Axe-wielder of the Blues Conspiracy (aka guitarist) SMS is the band souldriver. His grinding, dirty blues guitar styles combined with supacool stage presence make him a musical force to be reckoned with. Sean loves earth tones and has been known to rock green jeans on more than 1 occasion (and by 1 we mean at least 27).

Brani Shibilev
(aka Brani Taylor cuz nobody can pronounce this man's last name)
He's the group's European connection-slash-stowaway and he's not so bad behind a drum kit either. Aside from being our token exotic import, Brani brings his trademark brand of double kick induced "jah-metal" and aggressive, hip hop laced "boom-shnik"...or is it "shnik-boom"!?
(I'm pretty sure it's boom-shnik-boom)

Mark Luongo
(aka Lu aka Skillz)
Last of the Beatdown brethren (and most recent to join) is this former D-Dub (as in Daniel Wesley) bassisto whose box of rumble and rock-your-socks off (and then back on again) bass steeze was the lost piece of puzzle which now builds the Beatdown Dy-Nasty. The End.

How would you describe your band’s sound?

Goodbye Beatdown sounds like it's melting in slow-motion, and glazed in Day-Glo frosting...a sweet yet horrible noise that the old folks might just barely recognize as something they would nod their heads to. It's party music, or at least let's-get-drunk-and-dance music, or (if you don't have friends) take-the-roof-off-the-car-and-drive-somewhere-fast music. Like a barbed-wire fence wrapped in velvet. Yeah, just like that....

Seriously though, if we were a house we'd be located at the intersection of "Blues Rock" and "Reggae" with a front yard full of "Funk" and a garage full of "Crunk"...don't even ask what we keep in the basement.

What is the most rewarding thing about being in a band?

Haha...hahahaha...haha...ha? Oh you're not kidding. Come on, there's gotta be at least a bit of "wink wink" to this question. Taking the high road... (Know what's funny? Almost every band thinks this is a monetary question, and then laughs it off... I think we all deserve a raise!)

I like that this question includes the words "rewarding" and "band". Making music can be a very personal experience and any artist/performer who's serious about their craft spends a great deal of time honing skills and creating on their own. This said, when musicians join forces in artistic dialogue the product always seems to be greater than the sum of the parts. Nothing beats the camaraderie of working for a common goal, sharing moments of inventive clarity and building a collective sound that reflects a vibrant mosaic of unique personalities. Except maybe meeting hot babes on tour. (A given, hehe...)

Was there any particular moment or event that made you realize you wanted to pursue music full time?

We've learned quite a bit about each other trying to answer this question. Each of us can actually point to a defining time in our lives when music transformed from a basic hobby or passing interest into a way of life.

Dustin can vividly remember being inspired to become an MC after his first rap battle at age 13 and went on to devote countless hours for years to come in his bedroom freestyling over anything he could find.

Mark was born to a pair of music educators and thus began piano lessons at the age of 4 but never really developed a passion for music until circumstance lead him into a self directed study of the acoustic bass from age 12 through his teenage years.

Music in general and the guitar in particular became Sean's sanctuary during a trying time in his family life at age 17. Forced out of the house and into a hard labour job, he lived alone in a trailer for 3 years developing a love affair with music unlike anything any of us has seen before.

Brani just likes to bang things. Seriously though, while everyone hits pots and pans as a kid, Brani was fortunate enough to be dealt the drum card in a family of musicians. Back in Bulgaria he'd jam day and night with his brothers and through this woodshedding developed a razor sharp technique that's allowed him to stay on top of his game in spite of less opportunity to practice here in Canada.

James is the band's one true rockstar...at least he parties enough for the part. We call him our "musical swiss army knife" as the man does everything from tap fat beats out on his MPC to rock quasi-virtuostic turntable solos, hype the crowd, contribute sound effects, spit the occasional verse, chime in on background vocals and "slappa da bass" when Mark's on the keys. That and he's a walking encyclopedia of popular music history- just wind him up and brace yourself for an unebbing torrent of fact (and fiction) about every genre, style, scandal and personality in showbiz.

Where is your favourite place to play?

Can a band that's never left South Western BC really answer this question? We're stoked to play everywhere and anywhere really, although Victoria's always been good to us and our May 8th show at Richard's on Richards in Vancouver was prettttty hype. In fact, we'll be taking the stage there again on June 5 and short of playing The Commodore see it as something of a permanent "home" venue in good ol' Vanland.
(And... you'll be playing in Toronto on June 19th for our secret unofficial NXNE showcase!)

Who would you most like to tour with?

The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gym Class Heroes, Down With Webster, John Butler Trio and Streetsweeper Social Club.

If you had to listen to one album on repeat for the rest of your life, what album would it be and why?

We have to answer this individually:

Mark: Blood Sugar Sex Magic (Red Hot Chili Peppers) - Epic album, first CD I ever bought with my own money (at a Best Buy in North Carolina, for the record). Was forced to throw it out by my parents on 3 separate occasions but kept bringing it back...this record was formative in my understanding of all things rock, funk 'n soul.

Dustin: Illmatic (NAS)- Who can contend a hard core hip-hop-head's love affair with an album that's universally hailed as one of the quintessential hip hop recordings of the 1990's.

Sean: Electric Ladyland (Jimi Hendrix)- You need only spend a maximum of 20 minutes with Sean on any given day at any given time to sense his undying passion for Hendrix...and that's providing he doesn't even touch a guitar in that span of time. Catch this man playing, electric or acoustic, and you'll know within seconds.

Brani: Le Mystere des voix Bulgares (Trio Bulgarka)- You can take the boy out of Bulgaria but you can't take the Bulgaria out of the boy. He actually loves Alice in Chains' self titled album and lives to rock hard.

What brought you to the Vancouver Seeds competition powered by Supernova.com?

Seeds is the ultimate springboard for independent rock bands and remains one of the last great radio station sponsored competitions in Canada. Mark's past with Daniel Wesley is enough testament unto itself that while not every band can translate success in Seeds to Nickelback-esque platinum record status, it's a major resume booster and gets attention from music and program directors from coast to coast. We're honoured to be a part of the 30th anniversary festivities.

Is there anything else that makes your band unique that new listeners should know?

Hell yeah there is! Aside from matters of autobiography, our name has a unique and interesting back-story. Formerly known as Critical Element, the band decided to find a new name to match the changing identity brought about by Mark's involvement. While assisting at a VIP artist lounge over Juno weekend in Vancouver, the boys began brainstorming with Ill Scarlett's tour manager Donnie Kitchen. (another band that's played a Supernova.com stage...)

After about 20 minutes of hilarity and straight up silliness the name "Hello Throwdown" came out. Digging the direction but not wanting to join the ranks of Hello Beautiful, Hello Operator and Hello Disaster (etc...), close friend Sarah Bisch suggested Goodbye Beatdown.

Initial reviews were positive but it wasn't until Dustin found himself in a confined space with Rick Campanelli and George Stroumboulopoulos (could you ask for better sounding boards in the Canadian pop/rock music scene?) and ran the group's entire list of prospective names that it all came to a decisive end - Goodbye Beatdown was a hit and THAT is the rest of the story. - Supernova.com