Nights & Weekends

It might sound weird to compare a band from Toronto to a New Orleans staple like gumbo. But when you consider that this dish is something that doesn’t make sense until you taste it, boiled together from whatever food you have in the fridge, it’s an apt metaphor for a group that brings together a vast mélange of influence and styles in a new—and delicious— way. Nights & Weekends is like musical gumbo, pulling from electro, pop, rock and hip-hop and cooking them together until you have this insanely catchy and addictive brand of music.

The origin story of the band that is like gumbo is one of true love, fate and beer. Brendan was in Toronto one weekend in early 2007 during college, visiting a friend. The morning after a party he walked by Mike’s room, where Mike was hungover and messing with beats. Once Brendan realized they were Mike’s own tracks he announced that he himself was a longtime singer. Naturally this proclamation led to the duo throwing down song ideas for the next eight hours—until it was time to party again.

It’s understandable that since this moment of kismet, Nights & Weekends has always lived by the motto “work hard, play hard.” Not only did Brendan start coming down from London Ontario to work on songs with Mike every weekend, but the two became fast friends. And it was inevitable that the pair would meet their third member, Jermaine, who’s originally from New Orleans (hence the gumbo metaphor), at a party they were playing. People were always saying, “Hey you gotta check out my friend, he’s a sick freestyler” and with Jermaine it happened to be true. Jay’s on-the-spot rhymes fit perfectly with Brendan and Mike’s electro pop sound and his captivating stage persona made it clear that Jermaine was destined to become a permanent fixture. Two quickly became three, and during the summer of 2007 the band created their first hit, a bumping pop number called “Mr. Right Now.”

“’Mr. Right Now’ was the first track written specifically for the three guys,” Mike says. “It was the turning point for our sound. This is the song that defined what we do now. Before that we were experimenting, but that particular record really solidified who we are as a band and the sort of music we make.”

The trio, then called Weekend Warriors, began work on a self-titled album. Mike produced the beats, Brendan sang and Jermaine rapped. Everything they wrote and recorded was done themselves (no co-writers here!). They began to tour around Ontario, steadily building a hometown fanbase, and eventually began playing shows in cities like Boston, New York and Nashville. Fans were pleasantly surprised to learn that live shows also included acoustic renditions of their hits, balancing the wild party attitude with a stripped down aesthetic. Even the DJ can step out from behind his turntable and play an instrument! As Weekend Warriors gained popularity they learned there were several other bands out there sharing their same name. So, in an effort to claim their territory the trio re-branded themselves as Nights & Weekends, a moniker that reflects their celebratory outlook and collective hat tip to the best moments of the week.

“We take our music seriously but we’re not afraid to throw down and party,” Brendan says. “That’s why we call ourselves Nights & Weekends. It’s our absolute favorite time of the week. You can’t deny it. The world just looks better after a good night or a good weekend. Our music is very much inspired by the idea of a good time.”

That inspiration eventually birthed an eleven-song, self-titled album that the band released on iTunes in early 2009. At first, not many people cared because not many people knew who they hell they were. But then a touchdown came when the band’s songs started getting placements on shows like MTV’s The Hills, Paris Hilton My New BFF, The Real World: Cancun (twice!) and most recently ABC Family’s breakout drama Make It Or Break It. Attention increased and the band celebrated by intently watching every episode with pals, captivated as their song “Take Me To LA” was juxtaposed with Speidi on the season 5 finale of The Hills. “Having our records on TV” says Brendan “shows us that there are fans beyond our friends and family, who might just be saying they like our music to be nice.”

It turns out people (well, most people) aren’t just saying that to be nice. “Caught Up In the Cycle” has reached over 60,000 plays and “Take Me To LA” over 54,000. Nights & Weekends won first place in Anthem Entertainment’s International Music Festival and as a result were sent to South Africa in 2009 to perform and participate in charity events sponsored by CHOSA Children of South Africa. They played two official showcases as part of New York City’s famed CMJ Music Marathon in October of 2009. The band is now preparing to release a new record, with both songs from their debut album and new tracks they’ve been working on in the studio. What do they want? What every ho