Prologic

It’s consistent that a group of teenagers spending nearly
a decade honing their skills would eventually start to
click, but with bands including Empathize, Absent
Minded and Subdominant in their family tree, Prologic
have come up with a confident, slick and hard rocking
debut—even though the title suggests they might not be
sure what it is yet.
“As much as we’d like to not always associate ourselves
with Metallica, it’s what brought us together,” muses
vocalist/bassist Tom (Tommy J) Mays. “As far as our
music is concerned, we don’t think we sound that much
like them. That’s one of the main reasons we called the
album What Do We Got? We know that we have
something recorded, but we’re not completely sure what
it is.”
With guitarists James Gruythuyzen (Jimmy Hat) and
Mike Labelle (Joey Lebeau), and drummer Mat Labelle
(Maxono), Mays and crew distil a heavy, progressive
sound with a distinctly dramatic flair. There are elements
of a grandiose neo– majestic presentation not unlike
Queen, a twin harmonized lead guitar Iron Maiden or
Judas Priest attack, and even an angst ridden,
danceable number that could have been inspired by The
Killers. But rather than sounding unfocused, the
simplicity of the songwriting and the hardness of their
rock is the foundation Prologic rely upon.
“We had many discussions about what style to go with
for the album,” says Mays. “In the end, though, it’s not
necessarily the style of the music that is Prologic, it’s us
as individuals and as songwriters. Even if we were to
write a jazz number—which hasn’t been ruled out—
people should still be able to tell that it’s a Prologic song.
The name Prologic has a lot of meaning to the band. In
it’s most basic sense, it’s about doing things the logical
way. It also relates to how we write our music—it’s fairly
straightforward, old–fashioned songwriting.”
While the CD sounds intricate and ornate, recording at
Lebeau’s house kept things simple and direct. Once Mat
and May graduate from McMaster, the foursome would
like to focus more on their music.
“So far, this has been one of the most enjoyable and
rewarding experiences of our lives, and I think we owe it
to our music, to ourselves, and to the ones who have
supported us to reach higher,” reasons Mays. “If we all
continue to love playing music the way we do right now,
there’s not much that can bring us down no matter what
happens, good or bad. We just want to have fun and to
play our music well and to play it hard. If someday we
end up with a record deal, that would just mean that
we’d have the chance to have fun for a larger audience.
“It is so much more enjoyable to go out to a show and
see the band rocking out and having a good time so we
try to put every ounce of energy and excitement into our
live shows,” explains Mays on the their growth from the
all ages scene. “Back in our high school days there
would be a show at Transit Union Hall almost every
week showcasing bands that were close with each
other.
“Since then, it seems like the energy has died or tastes
have changed, at least in the East End. Maybe it was the
shift out of high school that did it. For one night it’s going
to be like a blast from the past, with each band having
members that were around during that time.”


By Ric Taylor - View Magazine