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When controller.controller disbanded two years ago, bassist Scott Kaija felt the mixed emotions that come with a relationship’s demise. He says he felt relieved not to be confined in a van 15 hours a day, but also sad not to have the creative release that comes from playing live.
“I found myself missing it. I didn’t play for over a year and a half,” he says. “It’s never easy when you’ve spent that much time with people. It was disappointing, but we had a great time.”
After being nomadic for years, Kaija rented a room on Shaw and turned his crib into a makeshift studio where he began tinkering with ideas left over from his controller days. The new-?wave, jagged rock sounds emitted from his bedroom eventually roused his housemates, who happened to be players in a band called Frontier Index. And before you could say “impending noise complaint,” Medallions was formed.
Kaija admits he never expected to be in this position again, facing the uphill climb that comes with launching a new band. But if their first show was any indication, it could be a smooth ascent.
“When I stepped onstage and from the moment we started to play, I was thinking, ‘Oh my god, why did it take me a year and a half to do this?’” - Now Magazine
When controller.controller disbanded two years ago, bassist Scott Kaija felt the mixed emotions that come with a relationship’s demise. He says he felt relieved not to be confined in a van 15 hours a day, but also sad not to have the creative release that comes from playing live.
“I found myself missing it. I didn’t play for over a year and a half,” he says. “It’s never easy when you’ve spent that much time with people. It was disappointing, but we had a great time.”
After being nomadic for years, Kaija rented a room on Shaw and turned his crib into a makeshift studio where he began tinkering with ideas left over from his controller days. The new-?wave, jagged rock sounds emitted from his bedroom eventually roused his housemates, who happened to be players in a band called Frontier Index. And before you could say “impending noise complaint,” Medallions was formed.
Kaija admits he never expected to be in this position again, facing the uphill climb that comes with launching a new band. But if their first show was any indication, it could be a smooth ascent.
“When I stepped onstage and from the moment we started to play, I was thinking, ‘Oh my god, why did it take me a year and a half to do this?’” - Now Magazine
Discography
We Are Medallions (Demos)
Photos
Bio
After touring exhaustively with controller.controller (Paper Bag/Universal) and living out of his rehearsal space, Scott Kaija needed a home to call his own. In September of 2006 he met Mick Jackson and John Hunter who had also split from their Toronto-based band Frontier Index (Rainbow Quartz/Universal). Scott moved into their Shaw Street home, converted his room into a studio and started writing and recording vocals, guitar and drum parts. These loose recordings quickly matured into fully realized songs as Kaija collaborated with singer/drummer Jackson, singer/guitarist Hunter, and bass player Matt Francis under the moniker of Medallions.
In Medallions, Scott’s guitar continues to “stab and dance” as it did in controller.controller, but he explores new territory - lyrically and vocally on top of layered guitars. Jackson and Kaija trade off vocals and work closely to create lyrics and melodies that strive to be challenging and memorable. With Francis and Hunter adding their rhythmic and melodic lines, the result is a flurry of guitar and vocal harmonies propelled by Jackson’s hard-driving beats. Although the songs are primarily dark and deeply personal, there are a few tracks that come up for a breath of air - if only momentarily.
The members of Medallions have an extensive musical history, playing and touring across North America and Europe with many established artists such as The Cult, Franz Ferdinand, Death from Above 1979, OK Go, Sloan, The Sadies, and VHS or Beta.
Medallions have written and recorded ten songs for their demo and plan on recording a full-length album in the fall. Their fiery live show is not to be missed.
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