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Hats Off, Gentlemen Will Screamo Your Socks Off
by David Amar – Prince of Wales, Vancouver
Vancouver’s west side has produced many great bands over the last few years; however, barely any of these artists have made their way to extended recognition and fame. Hats Off, Gentlemen are on their way to being one of the first to achieve this feat. Collectively hailing from Magee and Kitsilano secondary schools, the five-piece rock group is ready to prove to anyone that emo is real, vital music and not just the butt of millions of jokes.
Hats Off has already created a scene for their impassioned west-side fans, and along with like-minded bands The Perks and Goodbye Enemy Airship, they have begun to make fans of people from all over Vancouver. For instance, the night after a performance at Killarney Secondary, a show at the Dunbar community centre drew many of the same fans from Killarney, many of whom went from not knowing about the band to needing another dose in the space of that one gig.
Hats Off, Gentlemen have the standard rock line-up of two guitarists, bass, drums, and vocals; however, their music is far from ordinary. They are most likened to the seminal-but-obscure band Saetia, who are regarded as the first real screamo band. Their influence is evident in the superbly constructed songs, deftly morphing from slow and mournful to unbelievably frenetic. The interplay between guitarists Tamir Schlanger and Josh Matumona is also fantastic, creating not just the intricate lines that make Hats Off who they are, but also creating a real atmosphere during live shows.
It’s not easy starting a band. It’s even harder to start a band in a genre that struggles against unfair prejudices. Because of this, one can safely assume that if the boys in Hats Off are good enough to get off the ground, they are definitely good enough to rise even further.
- Youthink Magazine
Discography
9 Song demo called "We Broke Ribs"
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
From the piecing together of 3 other local bands, Hats Off, Gentlemen started practice around July 2006. Things moved very fast, and we got our first show about a month in. The crowd recieved it very well, and we got on to writing more. After we had about 5 solid songs, we went into recording, and found a wonderful little place. 4 days and 200 dollars later, we had a demo. We called it, "We Broke Ribs," after during one of our shows kids had to be lifted on stage because of the fear of this happening. We've recently won a contest, which awarded us more recording time. We recorded there, and then threw it on the demo. So far, we have not left the Greater Vancouver area to play any shows or tour, but have been more and more active around town.
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