Spells Of Vertigo
Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Established. Jan 01, 2016 | SELF
Music
Press
By Matt Graves
Spells of Vertigo are a musical trio who came out of the dark last Halloween from Aurora, Ontario.
The band has a unique mixture of melodies and noise with a dash of roll n’ roll. “The music we play is a conscious choice. It’s a primal, and imaginative thing for what we do. When we plug in our amps and sound, it really becomes rock music.” said lead singer Keegan Powell.
One year since their inception, the band has released their first EP, Soaked, that includes their single “Dizzy”. “When we wrote the song, the lyrics appeared out of nowhere. We can really adapt the song to the style we want it to be. It’s fun for us, and it’s rock n’ roll for us too.”
Spells of Vertigo’s sound was influenced greatly by the musical influences of their youth. “Growing up it was The Kinks and The Rolling Stones. Now, we don’t have to try to listen to their music to influence our own. Whatever comes to our mind is our inspiration,” says Powell.
Like most musical groups, they’ve played in different bands over the years. So far, they’ve learned a lot since being in this band together. “We have experience but we don’t know a lot. We want to keep learning as we continue to grow as a band. The way we work, you can’t be lazy. You have to be motivated to do it!”
The experience so far has lead Spells of Vertigo to the final six of the Edge Next Big Thing and the importance of the show on the 21st at the Phoenix Concert Theatre is a huge blessing and opportunity for the trio. “We’re going to do our thing and just be as natural as possible. When we play on the 21st, it’s a representation of the work we do,” said Powell. - Matt Graves
Canada calling once more and this time it is Spells of Vertigo on the line with their message being contained within the confines of the three songs that make up their “Soaked” EP.
Spells of Vertigo - Keegan Powell, Dan Marranca and John Lubanski – have taken the hybrid approach and have, to their credit, avoided the traps of derivation and reverence that are so often the downfall of bands following the path from the past. Whilst the rock excesses of the seventies have clearly played a part in the musical development of Spells of Vertigo, the band also provide more than enough evidence that their purpose is to go forward rather than to relentlessly ponder what has gone before.
“Telegenic” is the most conventional song here with nothing other than a short and discordant intro to make the song stand out from the crowd. “Baby Born (With No Brain)”, on the other hand, takes a positive step down the kind of alleyway that inevitable leads into the street with no end and, whilst at times anarchic and at times polite, this song makes you appreciate the collapsing space around us. “Clover”, being three of three, is the near obligatory opus with Keegan Powell taking his voice for a six minute walk with all the ghosts lost in the machine.
In days gone by, the cognoscenti would call Spells of Vertigo a head band but, in the here and now, we might better think of them as the kind of band unafraid to walk all the way to the edge of the stage that is life. - Bluesbunny
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/3-new-ontario-songs-you-need-to-hear-this-week-1.3158242 - CBC Hamilton
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
Connecting together classic American and British rock radio, elements of lo-fi with a purpose to go forward, Spells Of Vertigo is a musical affection for progression created by Keegan Powell, rounded out by Mitch Clark on the drums and Reid Soper on the bass guitar. After previous bands dissolved and became obsolete, Powell moved to Toronto in 2013 to start devising what would become Spells Of Vertigo. After several attempts to find members a lineup was secured in the winter of 2014. The band quickly amassed a set of songs and tirelessly rehearsed at their downtown rehearsal space, often overhearing some of Toronto’s local greats such as Fucked Up, Metz and Sloan. “We happened to be rehearsing where some of the city’s best bands were also rehearsing. Hearing these people working beside you was influential every day we walked into rehearsal. It made us realize if you’re not showing up all the time for work… Someone else is…We want to be as good as it gets”. Soon after the band started playing shows in the winter of 2014, headlining their own shows at some of Toronto’s finest venues including The Horseshoe and The Garrison, they began to gather a growing following of intrigued listeners. Some of these listeners included the cities leading radio station, 102.1 the Edge who embraced the band as one of Toronto’s "Next Big Things" by The Edge 102.1 in the summer of 2015, the band’s single “Dizzy” was premiered on air, a day before their 3 song EP “Soaked” was released physically and digitally on July 2nd 2015. Continual support on new music programs such as The Drop afforded them the opportunity to play to a near sold out crowd at The Phoenix Theatre in August of that year.
Band Members
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