my Favourite tragedy

Also showcasing the Canadian talent was My Favourite Tragedy, who hit out a massive amount of decent hits proving Canada is more than snow and… Well, what else is there? Four beers and a bowl of fries down and it was back over to the Aussie Barbecue, landing at Maggie Mae’s just in time for what was one of the best performances of the festival.... - JACK Crane

I met up with the boys from My Favourite Tragedy (mFt) this past Monday (Oct. 3rd) at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern (370 Queen St. W) and their lovely manager Rachelle. From the stories that I had read in their 48 page CD debut booklet, I already knew a lot about mFt but found out so much more.

It all started in Rockland, Ontario (40 kilometres east of Ottawa, ON) where the lead singer-guitarist North Easton and his first money clip learned to write music in a pleasant manner. Music seems to come easy to North as he`s able to see music in a whole another light. To understand what I’m talking about, you have to see the live show because what you hear might not exactly be what you think it is.

That I didn't know going in to the interview - Boz

We exchanged hellos once they set up the stage and got changed into their show gear. All three sharply dressed and looking very confident compared to my damp Roots hoodie which didn’t smell the greatest...so much for fabric softener. Thanks mom. We move downstairs to the band lounge and if you don’t know the Horseshoe, it`s an easy place to get lost after a few wobblers.

1. We walked into the room which had a couple of beat up couches....a lot of stuff probably got beat up on those couches.
2. Built in shelves that are just elevated above the height of the couches and gives the room a bunk bed feel depending on the angle. More opportunities for positions...seating.
3. Vents running across the ceiling that didn’t insulate the space but brought the sound check that was happening upstairs into the lounge.
We all got comfortable and with a full pitcher of water began our half-hour journey.

We started to chat as I was getting my notebook out and I brought Rockland into the picture as it’s a small town that interests me very much being only 40Km east of our nation’s capital. (Guggs Moment) The Sens are gonna be shit this year. (back to mFt) We talked about the roller coaster that they’ve been on the last 10 Months or since they won the NewCap Radio Big Money Shot.

Rockland is small town of about 10,000 residents and its considered part of the Greater Ottawa Area. It's a very quiet community
- North Easton

And it's home to the largest YMCA in the Ottawa area
- Boz

So I came prepared with a loaded question as I felt that we had reached the peak of the roller coaster and we were getting ready to descend “how did the group’s name arise”. I already knew the answer to the question since I’d read the book but I wanted to hear it from North.

My mother passed away on June 25, 2007 and she was my inspiration...She was such a strong believer in my music....If you are willing to lay your heart out in your songs....you’re going to connect more with your music....inspired by my mother. I had to get back to what I love to do and that was play music. This is where my heart is....She was in a way My Favourite Tragedy
- North Easton


North Easton
North Easton has been playing the guitar and writing music since he was 19 in Rockland. He taught guitar lessons in the community growing up and that would cover most of his costs. He worked other jobs such as overnighters at the local Zellers but spent most of his time playing music for an array of bands (Garrity being the most recent). But playing with other groups didn’t always work out so well for North as not everyone was on the same page when playing as a collective.
A band should play together and work as a unit, not steal the spotlight
- North Easton

A good example of this is the song “Found” off their debut album A World of Quiet Talk which sounds amazing acoustically according to the bands manager Rachelle but sounds much more complete with the entire band working collectively. But to realize this, an artist has to let go of their pride and find something more within themselves. North has decided to live his life on the edge and live with a purpose. He’s jumped off a plane to put himself in a spot where it’s an experience. He’s been bungee jumping at the Nanaimo River which is one of the largest jumps in Canada. According to North, it’s all about opening your mind up to other experiences and I couldn’t agree with him more.

The boys of My Favourite Tragedy have only been a group for about sixteen months but have already accomplished so much as they won the NewCap Radio Big Money Shot in Ottawa last November taking home $75,000 in prize money. They won this major prize only having played together for a couple of months and I think this says a lot about the bands chemistry. As I continued to talk to the group, North mentioned that the competition has brought the community (Greater Ottawa) closer together since there isn’t such a strong musicianship in the Ottawa area. I’m not sure how many bands in Ottawa have an experienced upright bassist like John-Marc Desmarais but when you see a musician toss an instrument around like it’s a cheerleader, I begin to think....
Yes. The upright bass is such an awesome instruments to have in the band but that’s not why we won. The competition was setup something like a battle of the bands where your band goes through round by round till they reach the final.
- North


John-Marc Desmarais - Stand up Bassist
I feel that the upright bass is a bad ass instrument and it probably got the crowd fired up but the bands chemistry is what won them the NewCap Radio Big Money Shot as I got to see that first hand on Monday (October 3rd) at the Horseshoe Tavern. The NewCap competition is what got the guys that much more motivated and focused on getting their music heard by the masses.

Their music also landed in the hands of Steven Thompson who happened to be in Toronto when the group was down looking for a producer to create their debut album. Steven has produced a number of hit records during his time in the music industry. He’s worked with such artists as Guns N’ Roses, John Lennon, Madonna, Korn, Wu-tang Clan, Whitney Houston, Metallica and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. His resume only gets better as he’s collected some hardware along the way, 6 Grammys to be exact. As you could imagine, the boys from mFt were pretty excited to be working alongside a veteran of the industry that could deliver them the final product that they could call their own.

After working with Steve for almost three weeks, the album wasn’t quite complete so they continued work on the album with sound engineer Tim Greencorn from a studio that was closer to home. After 200 plus hours of working on their debut album A World of Quiet Talk, they had finally completed it and they couldn’t have been happier with what they had created.


Phil Desmarais - Drummer & Keyboardist

A World of Quiet Talk was created to remind us that communication has almost become instantaneous and the use of verbal communication isn’t used as much due to different mediums communication. Social media like Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare are becoming corporate tycoons and blogs/websites give people words on the internet, kind of (exactly) like this. Texts, sextexts and emails are our private mailboxes while telephones/cell phones have minute plans that limit us (me-200 daytime minutes) from talking to our loved ones, friends and co-workers. It’s really become the “A World of Quiet Talk” and we don’t even realize it but the boys from My Favourite Tragedy are trying to tell us.

So listen.
- The Show TO

My Favourite Tragedy, the 2010 Big Money Shot competition winners, had the audience cheering both their musicianship and their versatility. True storytellers, with some seriously smart lyrics laid down by front-man North Easton, this Ottawa-based trio is a treat to watch. And while they play on amplified acoustic instruments, these guys are electric.

Easton spent a moment hammering out a rhythm on John Demarais' standup bass, noting afterward the instrument has suffered some trauma as a result, but that, along with Easton's flailing dreadlocks were all part of the high energy show.

But the band has their subtleties too, making their reflections on unspeakable subjects like suicide very easy to listen to. Their 2011 CD, A World of Quiet Talk, was well worth the $20 price tag to many concertgoers as the lineup started to form immediately after their set ended. For the philosophically minded, the packaging alone, a 48-page book full of poetry/lyrics, glossy colour photographs and personal ruminations, is worth that.
- Northeast EMC