illScarlett

Alex Norman’s spent the day getting ready for the rink. He has bought a new hockey stick, picked up a pair of freshly sharpened skates and borrowed some pants and pads from a generous neighbour. He still needs a helmet, but that can wait. He’s got to make sure there’s still enough time in the day to jam out some new songs with his band, illScarlett. “More of the same pop rock-reggae you’re used to,” he says.

Norman’s better known for providing the soaring vocals behind radio hits such as “Nothing Special,” and the as-seen-a-trillion-times-a-day-on-MuchMuch “Life of a Soldier,” than for his amateur shinny skills. But he wouldn’t be getting acquainted with the hockey aisle of his local Canadian Tire if it hadn’t been for illScarlett’s rock star on the rise.

This late March afternoon, Norman is suiting up for the Junos. Off the success of last summer’s LP, All Day With It (the disc debuted at No. 10 in Canada), illScarlett is up for New Group of the Year, their first ever Juno nomination. And one of the perks – aside from getting the chance to (hopefully) party like Can-rock stars with Avril Lavigne and Michael Buble – is playing in the Juno Cup, the annual hockey tournament that pits NHL greats against a roster of scrappy hitmakers.

When you’ve spent the last seven years hauling gear to bars and festival stages while spreading your gospel of summery rock anthems across the country, the skating and stick-handling skills a good Canadian boy learns since he was cheering “Go Timbits!” are bound to get rusty.

“I mean, I haven’t played hockey in eight years, am I crazy? And then they said Doug Gilmour’s playing, so I’m like ‘Alright, I’ll do it!’”

“We used to play hockey just like every well-bred Canadian boy plays hockey from when he was eight or even younger until you’re about 16 or 17,” Norman says of himself and his three bandmates (Swavek Piorkowski, Will Marr and Johnny Doherty). “And then girls and rock bands get in the way.”

Ah yes, the awesome unholy trinity of sex, drugs and rock and roll. “Just like everything I used to do, I used to do it. I used to play hockey, baseball and snowboarding,” he says.

Rock may be the focus now, but this year his success with illScarlett is giving Norman a chance to relive his old passions: hockey at the Juno cup, and snowboarding at the Telus World Ski & Snowboard Festival in Whistler a week later.

Norman says he used to be found on the hills around his southern Ontario home three times a week. “That’s some of my favourite memories, just riding down the hill. There’s something so peaceful about it,” says Norman.

He gave up on buying season passes four years ago, about the same year illScarlett had their much-storied break: getting discovered outside the Barrie, Ont. venue of the 2004 Vans Warp Tour while busking to the kids waiting in line. From there, they got an invite to play organizer Kevin Lyman’s annual barbecue and then a spot on the next two subsequent Warped tours. More monster festival spots – including the first Canadian Virgin Festival in Toronto – and radio hits followed.

After they kick off the outdoor music series in Whistler April 11, Norman and the rest of the band will make sure to take the time to rekindle their old affair with the slopes. And he’s optimistic he’ll manage to combine another one of his favourite hobbies while there: “I’m sure [snowboarding’s] a good way to meet girls.”

© (c) CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc. - Dose.ca

STAGE 13: CAMPUS CHAOS

When: Saturday; doors at 4 p.m.

Where: Shaw Conference Centre

Tickets: Sold out

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EDMONTON - "If I don't write this hit tonight / Well the rhythm won't stop," Alex Norman spits on illScarlett's venomous reggae-punk song, The Fashion (Do or Die).

While his lyrics make fun of the record industry's insatiable hunger for instant hits and stars, Norman admits he felt the pressure of the major-label machine while recording the group's first album, All Day With It, for Sony BMG.

After years as one of Mississauga, Ontario's top indie bands, the rockers were no longer working to feed themselves, but a multinational company of employees.

Responsibility, not the desperate quest for global stardom, fuelled Norman's anxiety.

"It was overwhelming at times. Being on a major label, there's money and other people's interests at stake. Before, it was just us four and if we (messed) up a record, sure we take a hit. Now, other people's jobs are riding on this."

Much of the pressure was of his own doing, too.

He wrote all of his lyrics at the last minute, sometimes putting them off until just a few hours before he was scheduled to record his vocals.

It's a masochistic approach, favoured heavily by musicians and journalists.

"I'm a real procrastinator," Norman chuckles. "It's painful. I'm not going to say I like doing this to myself, but it seems to be the only way I can get down to the raw emotion that I try to put into my songs."

Was his pain worth it? The jury's still out.

Rife with reggae beats, sweet harmonies, and strings, All Day With It offers more than the average punk record.

"That's what our producer, Matthew Wilder, said -- 'I want to take you through the glass ceiling and if we have to come back down a little bit, then we'll do it,' " says Norman.

"Some of his ideas didn't work, so we pulled 'em out, but a lot of the stuff Matthew brought to the table, we were diggin' it. There's stuff on the record we're not going to do live. That's why you come to see us live -- to see another dimension of illScarlett."

All Day With It is not yet a top-seller -- the disc was No. 63 on the Canadian sales charts for the week ending Sept. 13 -- but illScarlett's songs are getting some high-profile exposure.

Nothing Special, an explosive number, is used in ads for one of Canada's sports channels, while Who's Got It?, a loping ditty complete with a flamenco-style guitar intro and vinyl scratches, was selected as the official theme for FIFA's under-20 World Cup tournament.

But Norman's goal is to perform the national anthem at a Toronto Maple Leafs game.

"I'm a hockey fan. I cheer for the Leafs. That would be really fun. I think I'm actually working on it with my management to try and get (the team) a tape of me singing it. It would be nerve-racking, but as a Canadian, I don't think there are too many honours greater than that." - The Edmonton Journal

By Mike Usinger, July 10, 2008
It’s a long way from Mississauga, Ontario, to Los Angeles, California, but as far as illScarlett singer Alex Norman is concerned, the two locales have plenty in common. So when the frontman and his bandmates temporarily relocated to the City of Angels last year to record their debut full-length, All Day With It, it didn’t take long for them to feel right at home.

“L.A. has such a good vibe to it—it actually feels a lot like Canada, which is strange,” Norman says, on his cellphone from a freeway in southern Ontario. “You get a real relaxed, go-with-the-flow vibe in L.A.”

That contention is certainly borne out by All Day With It, which found Norman, drummer Swavek Piorkowski, guitarist Will Marr, and bassist Johnny Doherty working with producer Matthew Wilder (No Doubt). Polished to a radio-friendly sheen, the disc proves that you don’t have to call Long Beach, California, home to do a near-sublime job of fusing cheeba-dazed reggae, Hot Topic punk, and hard-candy pop. What Norman and his bandmates can be proudest of, though, is the way All Day With It suggests that illScarlett is gunning for something more than its yearly invitation to the Warped Tour. “Life of a Soldier” injects a healthy dose of classic rock into the mix, while the liberal use of melancholy strings elevates “NTF” to impressively orchestral heights.

“When we met Matthew,” Norman recalls, “he told us ‘You guys have a great thing going and I don’t want to change anything. You know your sound, and your fans know your sound. All I’m going to try to do is show you some things you may not have thought of before, so just trust me enough to do some of the things that I do, and if you don’t like it, you can take it out later. So let’s push the envelope and see how far we can take things.’ ”

In some ways, illScarlett has already come further than it dared dream when the band’s members first got together in Mississauga. Infamously, the quartet orchestrated its own big break by setting up and playing in the parking lot of a Toronto Warped Tour stop back in 2006. Warped founder Kevin Lyman was impressed enough by the group’s cojones that he ended up inviting illScarlett to join the tour that summer and in subsequent years.

Today, even though Norman and his bandmates hang with platinum producers, record for a fairly major Canuck indie label (Maple), and score Juno nominations, they aren’t that far removed from their beginnings. As much as illScarlett has enjoyed such perks as getting to decamp to Los Angeles for months at a time, in many ways it’s still a DIY band from Mississauga.

“Even though we’ve got a team of people that help us now, we still do the majority of the groundwork,” Norman says. “We drive ourselves to shows and set up our own gear. When we started out, there wasn’t anyone else around at the time. When that’s the case, you get used to doing it yourself.”

illScarlett plays the Vogue on Saturday (July 12). - Vancouver Straight

"Yeah, that's our big Cinderella story," says lead singer Alex Norman, who formed the band with friends in 2001. "We just set up in front of the (fan) lineup, and we had our generator and our equipment and started playing. Before we were done, Kevin Lyman, the tour promoter, came up and said, 'I love you guys, I want you to come play our barbecue.'"

"Especially recently with the whole emo, screamo, post-hardcore, and I don't even know what they're called anymore or where the trends are, but that's a good thing for us ... when people hear a band that's not screaming or crying and all this sort of stuff, I think it's refreshing. I mean when people come and hear us they just love it. And especially when they say you guys are carrying on the Sublime legacy, it's good. We'd like to be starting our own legacy, but it's okay to be compared to one of the greatest bands ever."

"Well, I hate when people call us a ska band, I mean, we even have a lyric that goes, 'Mixing the reggae, the rock, and the ska, punk and dub,' but that just works as a lyric. We're more rock-reggae sort of oriented nowadays," he says. "We like everything and I think that shows in our music ... we never limit ourselves when we're writing a song as to what kind of song that it's going to be. We just write it." - Toronto Star

Alex Norman, singer of illScarlett, is used to getting a raucous reception.

The Mississauga band has garnered a reputation as one of the country's most energetic live acts after playing such high-profile gigs as Toronto's inaugural Virgin Festival and the Warped Tour.

Nevertheless, Norman was taken aback by the reaction he received from audiences during a recent trip to the Land the of the Rising Sun.

"Japan was awesome," says Norman, still suffering the effects of jet lag two days after returning home.

"We had kids coming up to us going, 'illScarlett! illScarlett!' They know your first name and they know exactly who's in the band. And they give you these little keychains and these presents and weird Japanese snacks."

Norman says he was blown away at how quickly the crowds took to illScarlett's blend of punk, reggae and classic rock. But he also admits he found Japanese audiences a little bit strange.

"When you finish the song they're like, 'Yeaaahhhh!'" Norman explains. "But then all of a sudden, it's silent. It's just dead quiet. They're not even talking to each other."

Even if Canadian bar crowds don't show the same respect, Norman says illScarlett is happy to be back on the road for a quick western jaunt, which includes a stop at The Back Alley tonight.

The band's major label debut, All Day With It, was produced by Matthew Wilder, who twiddled the knobs for No Doubt's breakout album, Tragic Kingdom.

All Day With It is a hodgepodge of musical styles, which is not surprising given the band members' eclectic tastes in music.

"I did a mix the other day and it went from Avenged Sevenfold to Sam Cooke to the Backstreet Boys," says Norman, who co-founded illScarlett in 2001 with drummer Swavek Piorkowski and guitarist Will Marr.

"It's important to us not to limit ourselves by saying, 'Let's write this type of song,' or, 'Let's be this type of band.

"We never predetermine what we want to sound like or what the songs are going to be like. We just let the songs kind of take on a life of their own."

illScarlett has also gained some fans because of their pro-marijuana stance. Songs such as Who's Got It and Mary Jane touch upon their love of weed.

"I'm not telling kids to go light up and do this or that," says Norman. "I'm telling the law and authorities not to throw people in jail for it. Cut them a little slack. I mean, it's just a joint. Everybody knows that." - Sun Media

IllScarlett hope to best 2007's All Day With It when they release 1UP! on Sept. 29.

The Mississauga, Ont. quartet's third release and second full-length record was produced by Robert Carranza (Beastie Boys, The Mars Volta) at Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records, the hippie overlord's solar-powered recording studio.

This record is a return to the band's reggae inspired roots, incorporating rock and surf sounds to give the album a simmered-down vibe.

"This record is a lot more reggae, it is a lot more chill than our last one," says lead vocalist Alex Norman.

"For older fans, the last record was an exciting departure from [our first release EPdemic]," says drummer Swavek Piorkowski. "1UP! brings back the tempo a touch. The overall feel is very honest."

Fans were asked to record their own backup vocals for 1UP's first single, "Take It For Granted," in an online contest held by the band. The winning entry was included in the final version of the track. "Milkshakes And Razorblades" features vocals from Canadian hip-hop heavyweight Kardinal Offishall.

IllScarlett will set out on their first U.S. tour this fall, opening for fellow reggae rockers Pepper, and will also begin a cross-Canada tour in November in support of 1UP!. Canadian dates will be announced shortly.

You can see Norman, Piorkowski, bassist John Doherty and guitarist Will Marr at these shows:

Aug. 25 Hamburg, Germany @ Hafenklang w/ The Riverboat Gamblers and Zebrahead
Sept. 5 Edmonton, AB @ Northlands Grounds (Sonic Boom)
Sept. 23 Sacramento, CA @ Empire Events Center w/ Pepper
Sept. 24 Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst w/ Pepper
Sept. 26 Santa Margarita, CA @ Pozo Saloon w/ Pepper
Sept. 27 Petaluma, CA @ Phoenix Theater w/ Pepper
Sept. 29 Chico, CA @ Senator Theatre w/ Pepper
Sept. 30 Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre w/ Pepper
Oct. 1 Bend, OR @ Domino Room w/ Pepper
Oct. 2 Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory Concert House w/ Pepper
Oct. 3 Missoula, MT @ Wilma Theatre w/ Pepper
Oct. 4 Billings, MT @ Shrine Underground w/ Pepper
Oct. 7 Fardo, ND @ The Venue w/ Pepper
Oct. 8 Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon w/ Pepper and Iration
Oct. 9 Columbia, MO @ The Blue Note w/ Pepper
Oct. 10 Omaha, NE @ Slowdown w/ Pepper
Oct. 13 Cleveland, OH @ House Of Blues w/ Pepper
Oct. 14 Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall w/ Pepper
Oct. 15 Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Small's Theatre w/ Pepper
Oct. 16 Buffalo, NY @ The Town Ballroom w/ Pepper
Oct. 17 Killington, VT @ Pickle Barrel Nightclub w/ Pepper
Oct. 18 Farmingdale, NY @ The Crazy Donkey w/ Pepper

Here's the tracklisting for 1UP!:

"Take It For Granted"
"Extra, Extra!"
"Funky Reputation"
"Get Famous (Tonight)"
"Milkshakes And Razorblades" (ft. Kardinal Offishall)
"Freezing"
"Can't Sleep"
"Too Sure"
"Nothing Once Again"
"Sorry"
"Easy"
"1UP!" - Chart Communications

As far as Cinderella stories go, illScarlett’s is a pretty damn good one.

After six years together, the Mississauga band is finally experiencing success due to the members’ hard work and a little luck.

Vocalist Alex Norman, guitarist Will Marr, drummer Swav Pior, bassist John Doherty and DJ Pat Kennedy were playing in the parking lot at the 2004 Vans Warped Tour when tour organizer Kevin Lyman invited them to play backstage at his barbecue, resulting in a snowball effect that has led to performing at the 2005 and 2006 Warped Tours and Toronto’s inaugural Virgin Festival this past summer.

Norman describes the turning point as "one of those moments where you just want to slow it down a little bit, try to hold on to it a little longer … I was totally nervous, I’d slept in a van … my throat was a little rough … but it was awesome … in my lifetime, I think it’s my favourite moment."

The success of the band’s song Heaters is especially impressive considering, until recently, the band didn’t have a major record deal. (They have since reportedly signed to Sony Music Canada). illScarlett’s EPdemic was released in October on its own label, Infect The Masses, and its do-it-yourself attitude combined with a frenetic live show has finally paid off.

illScarlett’s music is a smooth mish-mash of styles including rock, ska and reggae, resulting in high-energy, infectious tunes.

Norman remembers meeting Pior in high school, "we traded CDs, the biggest bands we listened to at the time were Nirvana, Silverchair, the Deftones …"

An interest in Sublime and reggae was the initial spark, though. "That’s when it started feeling like something special," notes Norman.

With the Sublime comparisons Norman admits "some people are afraid to ask us …

"It doesn’t bother us, there’s way shittier bands that people can make you sound like … we just hate it when people say ‘you’re the next Sublime’ … I think their sound is different, there’s more stuff going on in our songs."

Does he have any guidance for fellow struggling Canadian acts?

Norman advises "have fun, work hard, it’s not always gonna be smooth sailing but always remember you’re a band and a band can do anything … and stay away from coke."

AMANDA B. HAUPT for Metro Toronto - Metro

Toronto reggae and dub-influenced rock band illScarlett has signed with Sony BMG Music Canada, but has just released a "transitional" record called "EPdemic." The eight-song EP is on illScarlett's own Infect The Masses label, through the major label's cooler distribution arm, Red Ink Music. The full-length is expected next summer.

"The next record will have a considerably larger budget, as well as more direction from Sony, I guess," says frontman Alex Norman.

"Heaters," is the current single, a song that influential Toronto modern rock station The Edge put into regular rotation from the 2004 indie EP, "Clearly Another Fine Mess," but has since switched out for this new, remastered, version. Sony BMG is working the song at radio across the country.

"'Heaters' is kind of a silly song," says Norman. "That's why when they first told us they were making it a single, I was like, 'Really?' It's just a tongue-in-cheek stab at the cops (laughs) 'cause I've had cops push us around. Not really anything serious and more when we were younger -- knock on wood (laughs) -- but we smoke lots of herb so they can always smell it."

The Edge is still playing "Heaters," but is starting to ramp up the second single, "One-A," which Norman says is a song about "who we are as a band, where we come from," in particular a nod to a friend.

"Neil's our buddy from Streetsville," says Norman of northeast community of Mississauga, and part of the Great Toronto Area. "He was one of the first guys who saw our potential and he used to come to all the shows. He was a few years older than us, but he had all these parties at One-A, which was a little apartment where we'd always go and party. So it's actually an address. It's just a real fun song."

illScarlett is the first signing by Greg Boggs, a former A&R man at Columbia Records in America, who accepted the position of A&R director at Sony BMG Music Canada in Toronto back in February. One of his mandates was to bring in more rock acts.

He was actually told about the band by Columbia's Nick Casinelli, who is friends with one of illScarlett's managers, Brad Rubens in Philadelphia (New York's Andy Winkler is the other manager).

"I got here (Toronto) and I started hearing about illScarlett and the first show I got to see them do was at the Opera House and it was sold out. That was in February," says Boggs. "So I kind of got here, the new guy in town, and I was like, 'Wow, I can't believe these guys aren't signed. This is really good and they obviously have a fan base.'

"I just think they have great songs. Alex is a great lyricist. The band really melds well together. The guys come from different backgrounds -- some of them like heavy metal type stuff, some of them are into the reggae thing. They have common ground too, but they are headstrong as to where they come form musically and I think that melding really works. You end up with an ability to write really strong songs, even from a pop stand point, but they're interesting and cool. No body's really doing this right now."

"EPdemic," which came out Oct. 31, was recorded independently at The Vault and Backroom Recording Studio in west Toronto in the fall of 2005, before Sony BMG Music Canada came into the picture.

All eight songs have appeared on previous illScarlett releases either as-is ("Heaters," "N.T.F." ), with a new mix ("First Shot," "One-A") or brand new studio recordings ("Rally," "Pacino," "Mary Jane," "Not A Prophecy"). All have been remastered.

"We were never really happy with (the other recordings) just because we never really had the money, so we weren't totally comfortable with what we were doing," admits Norman, whose bandmates are drummer Swav Pior, bassist John Doherty, guitarist Will Marr and DJ Pat Kennedy.

"We didn't meet the right producer until now, which is Mike Borkowsky -- he made us feel good. It was actually fun to record, where in the past it had always been such a chore."

Still those past recordings did tremendously well, selling some 15,000 copies combined of 2004's "illP" and "Clearly Another Fine Mess," according to figures from the band. The CDs were never bar-coded to keep track of the scans, but Norman says they kept re-ordering in limited-edition runs of a thousand or two thousand. Most were sold off stage, some on consignment at record stores, as well as in a deal with national action sport retailer West 49.

Such numbers are possible because illScarlett has built an considerable fanbase since forming in Streetsville in 2001 (with a slightly different line-up). The band recorded a few demos, including a 3-song debut in spring of '02, the "$5 Demo" that summer, and its first recording with turntables, 2003's "In Da' Bassment," but 2004 was the year that really invited attention from the industry and sealed a relationship with Vans Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman.

For the 2004 Vans Warped Tour date up at Molson Park in Barrie, ON, the band -- which was not on the bill -- fired up a generator and played in the parking lot that morning as thousands of ticket-holders waited in line for the gates to open. Lyman was told what was going on, came out to hear, and asked them to play his post-festival backstage BBQ. illScarlett has since joined both the 2005 and 2006 Vans Warped Tour.

Also, in 2004, illScarlett signed to Sanctuary Records Canada, whose A&R rep Adam Sewell wanted to put out "illP," but because of the company's very public financial troubles nothing was ever released. "It's shame. Adam's a smart music guy," says Norman, adding that "he got us out of it no strings attached." The Canadian office has now closed.

"I don't think I knew about it," Boggs says of the ill-fated Sanctuary deal. "I learned about it later just talking to the band over a long process. I was the new guy in Canada, new job in a new world and I didn't want to rush into anything and I think they felt the same way based on their experience with Sanctuary. They didn't feel they were burned by Sanctuary in any way. They just felt like the circumstances were f**ed up and they wanted to do whatever they could not to put themselves in the same circumstances again.

"Basically what I proposed to them was something I had done similarly with a band called Acceptance down here in the States when I worked at Columbia," Boggs says referring to putting out Acceptance's indie an EP first on Militia Group/Red, then a full-length with Columbia.

"The idea is with the momentum the band's already got, you find a way to be involved with that early on to bolster that momentum a little bit, add a little money here, a little opportunity or contact there. illScarlett has something going on, but we don't want to rush into making a record.

" So the idea was 'Let's take what you already have, fix it up a little bit. Let's improve the packaging. Let's distribute it. Let's do a little bit of marketing around it, nothing crazy.' We're not trying to blow the band up with the EP. We're just trying to give them the opportunity to have something to sell on the road, get some reviews and press, give The Edge something to talk about, and spread 'Heaters' throughout the country.

"It introduces the band to all the major players, all the gatekeepers if you will, without having to put a lot of pressure into saying, 'You have to add this song right now.' It's more, 'Hey, this song is working on The Edge. We're going to come out with a full-length record in six or nine months, no pressure, but this is a great song, check it out,' and we've got a great response with that." - JAM! Music

They are not like any other band in the scene right now. They are one of few, If not the only band in Mississauga to have turntables in their line up, givng them a unique edge on the typical rock show Where other local bands have angry and aggressive undertones, Ill Scartett blends rock and reggae to create an atmosphere of adrenaline that will keep you dancing and singing along
Established in the spring of 2001 by lead singer Alex Norman and drummer Swavek Piorkowski before having mistaken Dan Krowlkowski for the bassist of Sum 41 It so happened that not only does Dan resemble Cone but he also plays bass. After a few trials and errors with other guitarists, Will Marr signed up for the role n 2003. leaving his position as bassist in punk band Might As Well. He has found exceptional guitar talents that were hidden behind playing bass for so many years.
Sublime. Bob Marley and The Specials influenced the foundation of the band before Will introduced the elements of punk rock. Their sound took another turn for the better when DJ Tanner Pat Kennedy joined the roster just last year, which finalized Ill Scartett as we know them.
"The band scene brings a whole new world to a DJ. You can make the turntables an instrument rather than just being something that is used to play other people's music, " said Pat.
Unlike other bands that have designated roles for each member, Ill Scartett works with eachother's ideas creating a balance within the group. And the group works hard "We consider this band a full time Job." Will explains that they are always finding new ways to get their name out. being able to build new relationships with other bands to link them to new venues and a larger audience. By June of 2004 the band plans to have 12 songs recorded, new merchandise including t-shrts. buttons and hoodies, and they hope to purchase a van so they can start tourng.
"We would like to get to a point where we can live comfortably and be able to do what we love doing. We feel we have a good chemistry with each other and that we all have the same wants for what we want the band to become."
As of right now the band frequently plays The Horseshoe Tavern and Lee's Palace in downtown Toronto as well as the infamous Masonic Lodge n Streetsville. Regular performances at the Duke of Marlborough always draw capacity crowds. Ill Scartett has shared the stage with bands like The Planet Smashers. The Next Best Thing. The Getaway and The Black Maria
There is never a lack of support from friends and fans. Their good friend Yarko Ogrodruk is the band's official technician, roadie and number one fan as he will not hesitate to jump up on stage to change a string, lug equipment and be the first to get the party started.
It has only just begun, Tight sound, soldout shows and a live perfor­mance that will leave you lost in the moment is the most basic way to describe Ill Scartett. If you see them once you'll want to see them again. They sellout allages and 19+ shows because all of ther fans seem to agree with the lyric in their song 'Dance Hall, "Strange to admit but I think that I'm addicted.'- - Jodi Singer(Inside Magazine)

The chilled-out sound of Long Beach ska-punks Sublime has influenced countless bands, perhaps none more than Mississauga's Ill Scarlett
One listen to their songs like Rally, Ain't Supposed To Be and NTF, and you conjure up images of sitting on some west coast beach, sipping brews as your skin turns a healthy, brown.
Garnering a strong following through relentless live shows, Ill Scarlett plays the Streetsville Masonic Lodge this Saturday. Admission costs $5 and the doors open at 6 p.m.
Also performing are The Smear Campaign, for­merly the Dead of Summer, The Worst, Keepin' 6, Heroes For Sale and Without A Doubt.
Formed almost three years ago, the boys combine elements of ska, punk and dub in their music. Much like mainstream band Incubus, a turntable and numerous samples are an important part of the band's dynamic.
Ill Scarlett is comprised of vocalist and guitarist Alex Norman, bassist Dan Krollkowski, guitarist Will Marr, deejay Pat Kennedy plus vocalist and drummer Swavek Piorkowski. Marr, the latest addi­tion to the band, joined almost a year ago and played an important role during the recording of the band's professional three-song demo at Mississauga's Metalworks recording studio in November.
The band is currently in pre-production of a new 12-song CD. According Marr, the songs are writ­ten and the band is getting ready to record at Burlington's Music Gym. - Chris Clay(Mississauga news)

It has been a busy year for members of Mississauga's latest "it" band, Ill Scarlett.
The quintet, who combine elements of ska, dub and punk into a trippy blend of beats, released their first full-length album this spring. Known as the "Ill-P," the 12-track self titled CD was a godsend for long-suffering fans who desperately wanted to export the band's live sound, said gui­tarist Will Marr.
Containing hits Here We Go, Mary Jane and Not A Prophecy, the strength of the album helped the band sell out their CD release show in July at Toronto's 360.
Hoping to keep their musk career on an upward trajectory, the band plays the Edge 102 street level studio in Toronto Saturday. The show is free and the band has arranged for two buses to shuttle fans down. Tickets cost $2 and can be pur­chased through the band's website, www.illscarlett.com. Buses leave the Erin Mills Town Centre at 7:45 p.m.
"We're on for an hour between 9-10 p.m. on Barry Taylor*s show," said Marr. "We're gonna have like four cameras down there as well, shooting footage for our upcoming DVD."
The band already has a cult-like following among teenagers here in Mississauga but their profile is on the rise in Ontario's punk community. - Chris Clay(Mississauga News)