Organ Thieves
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Organ Thieves

Toronto, Ontario, Canada | INDIE

Toronto, Ontario, Canada | INDIE
Band Rock Punk

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This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"Graham Rockingham’s best bets: ORGAN THIEVES"

"Somewhere Between Free Men and Slaves by a Toronto band called The Organ Thieves. It’s better than I could have imagined, mixing the punk attitude of The Clash and the classic rock grit of Creedence Clearwater Revival" - TheSpec (Graham Rockingham)


"CanadianMusician Slices & Dices With Organ Thieves"

"The misty lights of Hamilton’s historic Corktown Pub glow, bathing a humble stage soon to be immersed in a spectacle of good ol’ rock and roll from Oshawa’s Organ Thieves. Now when I say “good ol’ rock and roll,” I’m not referring to the classic rock many of us have grown to love; I’m talking about the nitty-gritty sounds that demand your attention – the pulse of electric resonance that excites the nerves and plucks your heartstrings – and maybe even breaks one." - Canadian Musician Blog


"Organ Thieves steal smiles at Bovine Sex Club"

“The thing about this band is I find that everyone delivers their own entity, whether it be a mad bass line, a stellar noise from the pedals or lyrics that are so honest that it becomes clear that Organ Thieves have a style all their own. Overall, this band is young but their hearts are filled with truth and wisdom. They have a message and want people to hear it, and I think people should wake up and listen.” - Kimberlee (I Heart The Music)


"Organ Thieves Premiere New Acoustic Video in Preparation of Ontario/Quebec Tour"

"It's been several years since guitar Dave Baksh quit Sum 41, and now he's turned his attention to the grittier rock outfit the Organ Thieves. The band are planning a spring tour in support of their debut album, Somewhere Between Free Men and Slaves, and they've released a new video just for the occasion." - Exclaim!


"Former Sum 41 guitarst, Dave Baksh, happily starts over again with The Organ Thieves"

"However, Baksh maintains that The Organ Thieves is more than the, ahem, sum of its parts. “Staying too long in one place usually ends up wearing me out. So to start from scratch and have that intensity and camaraderie again is what I’m addicted to more than just having a specific role in a band." - Jason Schneider - NightLife


"The Organ Thieves - Sticking To The Music"

"I think one thing about this band is that we are very patient and we are very calculated in the sense that we don't want to jump the gun on anything. Playing in front of a crowd when you are not ready can be worse than playing in front of nobody." - Nick Barfoot - Ontario Scene


"Dave Baksh takes on and defeats 'the Beast'"

"He is also a member of the Organ Thieves, That band melds the D-Rock's metal and country traditions into a riff 'n reel spectacular. It provides an opportunity for Brownsound to display his roots in rub-a-dub, adding ambient colour to the band's rockier edges." - William McGuirk - Durham Region


"“Dog-children” and “Pube-pie” An Interview With The Organ Thieves"

"We [Chuck and Dave] both came from a strong reggae background, so there are some songs that I can hear more reggae or dub influence in them. It’s such a mix of everything, and I know a lot of bands say that, but I know there’s a strong influence from everything. Mike and the other guys come from more of a pop punk or hardcore background and also reggae to folk." - Diego Silva - Bring Back the Boom Box


"NXNE 2009 - The Organ Thieves"

"The songs were strong, Baksh’s textured guitar fills (produced by a multitude of pedals) were hypnotizing and a near-naked mandolin player bounced around the stage with glee. This band has all the potential in the world and should be a must-see by next year’s NXNE." - Hard Boss


Discography

"God’s Favourite Sons" EP (2009)
"Somewhere Between Free Men and Slaves" (April 2012)

Photos

Bio

To stamp a definitive start date on when Toronto-based punk/rock band Organ Thieves formed isn’t an easy task.

The abridged story goes like this: While the idea of the band had been ruminating for several years, it took a series of unexpected pushes forward for vocalist Chuck Coles to transform the band he started in 2008 as a largely acoustic, one-man side project into the four member outfit it is today.

Detailing the road towards the Organ Thieves debut album Somewhere Between Freemen and Slaves (2012, MapleMusic Recordings) makes that origin story read more like a winding epic.

While Coles and bassist Mike Smith have known each other since childhood – where they grew up cutting their musical teeth together in Oshawa, Ontario – they each drifted towards their own respective projects. Coles began playing with alternative rock band Cauterize, after which he joined Brown Brigade – the then-newly formed heavy metal outfit of guitarist Dave Baksh.

While playing with Brown Brigade, Coles began delving into the volumes of half-written material he’d closely guarded since his early days as a musician. This move became the push forward that ultimately spurred him to part ways with Baksh in order dedicate his time to focus his own creativity and songwriting.

Unwaiveringly honest about the struggles with substance abuse he has witnessed both first hand and through those close to him, Coles began distilling his experiences into searingly truthful music. “It’s really hard to be a positive person sometimes when you know what kind of insanity is out there,” says Coles. “Everything I write comes from a positive place, it’s like a nod of understanding for the rough things people go through.”

Once he began bringing these earliest songs to friends, including Baksh, it was clear that there was something unique and profound about them and that the two musicians had found a way to reunite their talents. The road leading to forming Organ Thieves had begun.

In an era where bands can pursue the self-gratification of recording and putting out records seemingly over night, Organ Thieves chose to take a longer path. After enlisting the talents of Smith on bass and eventually finding drummer Theo McKibbon, they began writing new material that was influenced by drawing on their common history of having been raised in working Ontario towns, where they played at local venues that first exposed each of them to the fervor of punk rock, metal, reggae, and classic rock.

Says Coles, “It took us this long for a reason. We wanted to figure out a what we wanted to say, and to make sure we were doing things for the right reasons.”

Through Somewhere Between Free Men and Slaves, the picture is vividly clear. Produced by Greig Nori, the album’s wrenching vocals, crisp guitar, and pounding rhythm are crafted to need no explanation. Evocative of the intensity of influences ranging from Bad Religion and The Clash to Tom Waits and The Pixies, the band pours every last ounce of intensity into the 12 songs.

The album’s first two tracks “Simon’s Wine” and “Daddy’s Little Girl” find the band roaring out from the gate. Each song deftly paints a portrait of struggles with abuse against a backdrop of unapologetic rock sound with an intense punk sensibility.

Somewhere Between Freemen and Slaves is not a concept album so much as a collection of 12 interwoven composite sketches that tell tales of the often-heavy side of life without coming down like dark hammer. Tracks like “Phoebe”, “Question” and “Fix The Heart of the Hollow” lend an empathetic voice to struggles for redemption and overcoming hardships, balanced with driving melody and messages of silver lining.

“I get where people are coming from when they have to stand up to the bad shit they’re going through,” says Coles. “And I don’t want to just keep things hidden, it’s about bringing everything to light and letting music not just be an escape, but a way to give some positivist.”

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