Oceanship

Tuesday, March 24, 2009
So, who the heck are Oceanship? They are the Canadian duo of Brad Lyons and Carly Paradis. Brad placed an ad in a paper looking for a band mate and Carly responded. He sings, she plays piano. Their new self-titled album is a monster jam of piano-driven melodies, hooks, & earnestness; a powerful collection of beautiful rock songs. The hits keep coming. This is the sound of one of them on this record.

By: Bruce Warren - Some Velvet Blog - WXPN

Talent is important, but it won't get you far without persistence or drive. Ask Carly Paradis and Brad Lyons of the Hamilton band, Oceanship. Persistence got them a ticket to China.
About a year ago, Paradis and Lyons recorded a six-song demo CD under the name Oceanship. It was slickly produced in Toronto by Jacksoul keyboard player Ron Lopata who also produced Hamilton hitmaker Tomi Swick's latest album.
Paradis is a classically trained pianist with a keen sense of melody and a love for Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Lyons' expansive vocal range contains that aching kind of earnestness that makes young women weak at the knees. (If you're over 40, think Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues.)
Together as Oceanship, they create quality pop rock, loaded with radio-friendly lyrics and anthem-like choruses. They knew how good it was as soon as it was completed.
They also knew they couldn't just sit around and wait for the record labels to line up at their door. It doesn't happen that way.
So last March, Paradis wrapped 600 copies of the Oceanship demo in neat little brown paper bags ("they're sustainable," she says), stamped them with the band's winged-lion logo and took them to the Canadian Music Week conference in Toronto. She plastered the place with them, placing one on every table she saw, in every hand she shook, all on the off-chance someone might actually give it a listen.
Someone did. More than one, actually. We'll start with the guy from China.
There was this promoter from Huihuang Entertainment, a company that was booking Canadian acts and touring them around the world's most populous nation. Huihuang had done it with before with acts such as Wide Mouth Mason, the Rheostatics and Bowfire.
"I met this guy at the very first seminar at about 7 a.m.," Paradis explains. "We were talking about Wide Mouth Mason. Brad had toured with them before. I gave him a disc and he went back to China, listened to it, loved it and gave us a call."
So on Saturday, Paradis and Lyons are flying to Beijing to headline a dozen or so concerts around the country, mostly in large soft-seat concert halls.
"It's quite expansive," Lyons says of the tour. "We're doing three internal flights so we're travelling quite far within China."
Luckily the tour is happening during the Christmas holidays so it won't conflict with their day jobs in Hamilton. Paradis, who was born and raised in Stoney Creek, is a supply teacher with the Hamilton Catholic school board.
Lyons, a Waterdown native, is an educational assistant with the public board. The two met at McMaster University where Lyons studied kinesiology and Paradis studied music.
Lyons had already had a flirtation with musical stardom with an alternative rock band called Left Pencey (the name was lifted from Holden Caulfield's opening statement in Catcher in the Rye ... "the day I left Pencey Prep ...").
In 2001, Left Pencey signed a contract with the U.S. label, Arista, and spent four months in a Malibu studio with a top-notch producer. Artistic differences, however, drove Left Pencey apart before the album could be released.
Lyons returned to the Hamilton area where he met Paradis. The two hit it off and began making music together. So far they've managed to remain friends and collaborators -- they're worried that if the relationship goes further, it might get in the way of the music.
The music seems to be everything at the moment. Oceanship has about 20 original songs ready to perform. One of them, All of the Kids, has been featured on the PBS program Roadtrip Nation.
And as I said, the guy from China wasn't the only one who bothered to listening to the CDs Paradis spread during Canadian Music Week.
Record labels started calling. There was a showcase for EMI. They also met Belinda Stronach, who took them to a hockey game with her buddy Tie Domi and offered them a deal with her new recording company, Big Bold Sun.
DJ Tootall, of the Montreal radio station CHOM FM, picked up the CD and gave Oceanship 30 minutes of primetime air on his show.
So, yes, talent helps. But persistence pays off.
Hear Graham Rockingham Thursdays between 4 and 6 p.m. on the Scott Thompson show on AM 900 CHML. Or check out his rockinhammer blog at jamilton.ca.
grockingham@thespec.com
905-526-3331
Showtime
What: Oceanship (10:15 p.m.), with Now Here This (9:30 p.m.),
Kristin Nicholls (11 p.m.) and Trevor Howard (11:45 p.m.)
When: Tonight
Where: The Casbah, Queen at King St. W.
Cost: $5 at the door
- The Hamilton Spectator 12/14/06

OCEANSHIP MUSIC
Carly’s exquisite little CD caught my attention with its packaging – a plain brown paper bag with a beautifully crafted stamp of a lion on it. It was so creative, simple and lovely that I was taken by it and compelled to listen to it. Her group’s (Oceanship Music) three 3-song demo features beautiful piano-vocals, and the last song especially is a winner (Take It All). Another thing that convinced me to listen to the music was Carly’s shyness, and that she was almost too timid to give me her CD – in that way, she stood out at a packed conference full of other people hustling their wares far more aggressively. It was only when I noticed and complimented her artwork that she opened up and told me a bit about it. I was so impressed that I asked for a copy, and I’m glad I did. Keep up the good work Carly! It’s lovely stuff.
Editorial by: Tess Taylor - National Association of Record Industry Professionals

Oceanship is a band that's derived from the soul. I know you could say that about many bands, maybe even most bands, but Oceanship has something about them that just screams genuine emotion. Their sound is easy on the ears and their lyrics are worth a read. This good lookin' pair is definitely another band to look out for in the near future.
Keep it up, Dave-Os
http://www.bandoftheday.com/oceanship/ - Band of the Day

You know when Kate Bush runs up to that hill with all those sacred, tort and yet identifiable wistful emotions? Its a beautiful song. As is Coldplay's Fix You, Annie's Why and Robbie Williams Angels. They connect. They have with me anyway. Sitting at the bus-stop on the way to school facing another lecture from ones science teacher regarding a failed test. Or, realizing a lover was now an ex and was never, ever, coming back despite all your hopes. Or, that rush of love when a dearly missed friend appears from the arrivals lounge at an airport looking rather flustered from their long-haul flight and yet so happy to see you. These songs somehow encapsulate tearful moments of both joy and sorrow. They entwine the human nervous system and sink into the veins. So much so that occasionally they tip into the realm of annoyance (how dare a song get me to feel that way!).

Well, when I first heard Hotblack by Oceanship my heart skipped a beat. This was, for me, one of those guitar based songs which was distinctly emotional but manages to cross into that weird realm of pop. This track, this epic opus, secures that strange twist of amalgamating strands of genres of rock with soothing simple poppy chords. The chorus isn't simply just good but instead tucks you up in bed so cosy you refuse to get out. Effortlessly warm in melody, OceanShip (consisting of Brad Lyons on vocals and Carly Paradis on piano) refuse to produce traditional guitar pop. Check out their songs on myspace. Don't Me Wear Out recalls second album Siobhan Donaghy with its spookily echoes reverberating throughout the glorious yet bewildering piece of music. It needs to be listened to be understood. It unclicks itself. Deconstructive music at its best.

So, Hotblack is available to download today for a very short time (the Itunes version of Hotblack will be of a much higher quality-this is just a teaser/taster!). You see, they are on the verge of releasing their album Stateside & I personally can't wait to hear the entire Cd if the myspace songs are anything to go by. Hotblack is also the lead single with a video to appear very soon. Brads tender yet bold voice fuses so well with Carly's beautifully tempered piano playin'. I love the blips, the strings and spiraling emotions expressed on Excited. Yes, Oceanship are a very interesting band indeed. If there is any justice in the world this band will go places next year. I truly hope so! Absolutely beautiful and beautifully absolute! - Don't Stop The Pop

Carly Paradis from the Canadian duo Oceanship played piano with Clint Mansell and the Sonus Quartet in their well-received concert of film music at the Ghent International Film Festival last week.

Paradis, who is from Stoney Creek, ON, is partnered in Oceanship with Brad Lyons, from Waterdown, ON, in Oceanship and they have a terrific first album of piano-driven rock with accomplished songs featuring Lyons’ pleasingly raspy and winning vocals. Carly handed me a copy of the CD during one of the several Ghent get-togethers and I can’t stop playing it. - Ray Bennett, The Hollywood Reporter London 10/20/08

The Canadian duo Oceanship are Brad Lyons, a talented singer, and Carly Paradis, a gifted pianist. They spent the last year making their self-released debut. From that we offer Today's Top Tune, "Don't Wear Me Out." - Today's Top Tune: www.kcrw.com Dec. 29th/08

The captains of this ship are Brad Lyons (Vocals/Guitar) and Carly Paradis (Keys, Vocals). What they capture on tape is an astounding debut that is all at once catchy radio-pop, experimental audio freak-outs, and epic piano-driven rock. Think of a mix between Coldplay’s Parachutes’ honest, down-to-earth lyrics with The Tindersticks’ natural, emotional musical ambience. My personal favourites include “GO” and “Mistake;” both are backed by Noel Webb (drums), Kevin Dworak (electric guitar) and Dan Coniglio (bass), and are heightened by the bands sudden viciousness – as if this is their last chance to record. An impressive debut by one of Canada’s most talented bands, the major labels would be out of their minds not to pick up Oceanship. (Independent) ~ 4 Stars.

http://www.popjournalism.ca/magazine/2009/04/12/autocondo-candice-chantrell-and-oceanship/ - Pop Jounalism Online Magazine. Jason Gladu

It is often said, or at least in my mind, that to play music in a social context, you often need to be with people who are on the save wave length as you and whith whom you share a certain level chemistry. In Oceanship lives a creative duo that exemplifies the ying/yang balance of woman/man creative super powers. Carly Paradis (keys + vocals) met Brad Lyons (guitar + vocals) some years ago, on the Ontarian campus of McMaster University through some mutual friends. Brad was in between bands and Carly was jamming and creating alone as she studied multimedia. It all began when Carly asked Brad to lay down some guitar tracks for her thesis. They then sort of lost track of eachother for a few years after having had a few very good jams…

They reunited in 2004 , as, in Carly’s words, “both of us were at a strange/floating place in our lives, we began to create magic in his living room (we called the gold room). It was here that the first songs were written. We both knew that we were doing something very special that summer. Shortly after, we both decided to give this our all and formed the duo Oceanship. We recorded the Oceanship EP in 2005. We compliment each other very well as Brad is a very talented and emotional lyricists, and we both take what ever sparks of inspiration we discover and create and develop them in whatever colour or vision we feel from it.”

Already available in physical format and coming digitally at the end of the month, most songs on the new album evolve around Carly’s use of piano and keyboards, while Brad seems to build on top with acoustic and electric guitar arrangements complemented by a talented cast of supporting musicians. What comes out the other end is a powerful emotional pop rock journey. The band is not afraid of dynamics, slowly creating crescendos and transitions, where Carly’s instrumentations gets the chance to shine, as Brad’s tempestuous vocals come at the right time to bring the right brand of something to the equation.

Their single Hotblack is one of utmost delight. I’ve been listening to it on repeat as I’ve been writing this. It’s almost radio friendly. No, it is radio friendly, it’s good! The song starts with a slow build-up that leads into an endearing wordless chorus (with that epic bass line). Pop sensation, yes? The same can almost be said of the third track on the album, Excited. Then there is Go, which has a Colplay-esque anthemic quality to it. They are the best songs on the album and should really be heard by people who like good things in life. - Rock Sellout.com