The Light Brights

It seems like Haligonians have a thing for making music on their own. One can't walk a city block without seeing a poster for an up and coming band's debut or CD release. On Sept. 30, the indie-pop-rock group The Light Brights had their CD release party at The Paragon. The event was the celebration of the culmination of a great deal of hard work.

Members Chad Harrington, Bethany Fulde, and Andrew Dehms met back in college. As the musicians started performing together, their chemistry allowed them to grow into The Light Brights. Harrington is the band's bassist and on occasion provides back-up vocals. These back-up vocals supplement the lead singing of Fulde, who also plays the electric/acoustic guitar. All of this is complimented by the drumming of Dahms. Until September, the trio had only produced a small EP, but, "We don't talk about that," joked Harrington. On September 7th the band released their first album: *The World's A Changin'*.

The nine-track album was the result of months of hard work. The challenge though, was not in writing the songs, but perfecting them. “It wasn’t hard in the sense of writing the songs; that part came pretty easy,” said Fulde. “We worked really well together and meshed really well. In the sense of the amount of time it took, there were countless hours of just listening and re-recording certain pieces over and over again.”

The end result is a brilliant commentary on everyday life. The album touches on multiple social issues and how everyone deals with them in their lives.

“It kind of goes between two different themes; between world change and anti-corporate. It touches on the environment, but then has heartache as well,” says Fulde. “The whole thing is the struggles of the positives and negatives of all of those things,” adds Harrington

Now that the recording part is done, the group has only one goal, to "promote the hell out of the album!" Over the last few weeks they have been on countless interviews from newspapers to radio stations trying to get the word out about their new CD.

In good spirits at the Paragon, excited for the show to come, the band sat and enjoyed the performances by maritime bands The Caravan and Weak Size Fish. Glad to be back to performing, drummer Dahms reminisced about, "making a chair out of all the gear in the back of the van on the way to a gig." Sharing a beer with the band, it was all smiles and relaxation; that was until just after midnight, when the game faces came on.

The group took to the stage and began what can only be described as a flawless performance. From song to song, they performed like true rock stars, captivating the audience in bar. The band had to be up early the next morning to make their way on the road again to perform in Fredericton the following evening. One thing is for sure: as cliché as it is, the future is certainly bright for The Light Brights. - Dalhousie Gazette, Tristan Kay

"It was a planned break, but not a break, just a pause," jokes Chad Harrington awkwardly over some tea at a downtown cafe.

The bass player described his band's recent hiatus with deadpan delivery, rousing laughs from bandmates Bethany Fulde (vocals) and Andrew Dahms (drums). Turns out financial obligations landed Fulde in Prince Edward Island this summer, forcing a break, er, pause, but one that was refreshing no less. "You just appreciate it more, you get to come back and practice, and just fall back into it, and realize what you were missing," Fulde explains.

The Light Brights are the product of a friendship stuck at NSCC's Music Arts Program two years ago, where they learned not only about music, but the business acumen behind it. The band then applied this model to fit their own DIY aesthetic: handling everything from recording and management, to silk-screening their own t-shirts.

The trio's sound is a conflation of homespun indie-pop (on MySpace they list Joel Plaskett and Wintersleep as influences) and baby-boomer standbys like Bonnie Raitt, who informs Fulde's vocal stylings.

Their new album, The World's A Changin', is being released online (on Bandcamp and iTunes) and in physical form, examining some socially conscious themes. "When it comes to the environmental or anti-corporate scenes, it is something that is very important to us---we're not just going to write about shopping, and boys," Fulde says, taking a stab at the vapid lyrics of today's pop stars. It's true; you really wouldn't catch Katy Perry singing "The earth keeps spinning, and keeps begging for help/It's fucked up more than we understand" (from "Do They Know"), nor would you believe her.

After the CD release party tonight, the band has Ontario in mind for a potential November tour, which would mark their first jaunt outside of the Maritimes. Fulde reaffirms their excitement: "We've been waiting to get out on the road, it's just a matter of having something that we've been proud of---we have that now." - The Coast, Music Feature, Jon Dempsey

"the indie/blues influenced trio The Light Brights hit the stage to being a complete rock out session! These guys shocked me the most out of the group. I wasn’t prepared for the powerful voice that came blowing through lead vocalist, Bethany Victoria, let alone the great tunes they presented at the show. For me, I’m a huge fan of a group called Florence and the Machine and that’s who they immediately reminded me of! I immediately became a fan and had a blast watching the three of them bounce about the stage doing their thing! After the set I got to meet and speak some with the group and it just further bolstered my support for them. Great personalities, great presentation, energetic and dedicated to their creativity…if you’ve not checked them out, I highly recommend it." - David J. Crewe

"The Light Brights played off each other with a relaxed confidence. The songs were catchy with nice breezy melodies that would grow more urgent and intense as they reached their peaks. Each band member brought something to the table. The rhythm section, guitar playing and vocals were all rock solid."
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"Mike Trask played a few songs from his newest album with the Lights Brights as his backing band. This set was a lot of fun and displayed how well the Light Brights worked together as a band. They seamlessly followed Trasks lead. Light Brights vocalist Bethany Victoria even added some excellent (and I assume made up on the spot) backing vocals"
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"The Paragon Theatre’s Wednesday night Halifax Music Club is a fun, intimate show hosted by a great local band. It’s well worth your time and your seven dollars. All you photogenic music fans out there might be interested to know that the Light Brights are set to film part of their newest music video at the Paragon Theatre on Wednesday, May 26. So show up and go wild for the camera!" - Noisography - Tiffany Naugler & Isaac Thompson

"If you're looking to go on a date with a member of the Light Brights, you may have to take a number; they're a little busy these days. The group - made up of Bethany Victoria on vocals/guitar, Chad Harrington on bass and Andrew Dahms on drums - met at NSCC's Music Arts Program and have gradually honed their bluesy-dance-soul sound over the past two years. "Once we were done school we had a lot more time to write together as a band, and a lot more room to be creative. It's a lot funkier now, with more soul, and solos," Victoria says. This past March, the group opened up for Dammien Alexander and The Caravan at the Paragon's weekly Halifax Music Club. After a warm reception, they were asked to host the series for the month of May. "It's really nice playing a regular series because we walk in and know what to expect - how big the stage is, how we're going to set up our stuff, and most importantly how it's going to sound," says Victoria. Their residency will wrap up with a live music video shoot on May 26th. The trio recorded the first half of the video this past weekend, playing outside in the rain near some creepy grain elevators by Inglis Street and later hollowing out their tour van - which Victoria refers to as "Van Gough" - so they could squish inside and pretend they were in a traveling living room. After the video is completed this Wednesday, the group is planning for an album release and tour in the fall." - The Coast, Scene & Heard - Alison Lang

"The debut album from Halifax’s The Light Brights brings the rhythm and soul of the blues together with the hooks of modern indie pop as if the two genres were the best of friends finally reuniting after years apart. The awkwardness and embarrassment that often accompanies musical genre-mashing is nowhere to be found and in its place is a welcoming set of sounds that’ll sooth your soul as much as it’ll make your shoes swing. While it would be easy to credit the album’s successful conglomeration to the soaring vocals and stunning melodies courtesy of Bethany Fulde, the Light Brights’ impressive rhythm section (comprised of bassist Chad Harrington and drummer Andrew Dahms) is not to be overlooked as the two gents have some serious chops and get your body grooving while Bethany’s hooks implant themselves in your head, forcing you to try and sing along before you even know the words" .... "The World’s a Changin’ is sure to blast some sparks through your speakers" - www.thescrapyard.com