StillNative

Local two-piece rock group StillNative has grown a lot in less than a year.

Back in February, they celebrated the launch of their debut self-titled, full-length album at Mercury Lounge. The entire show was captured on film and will be released on Nov. 29.

Band members and former University of Ottawa students Patrick Steele and Max Savage reminisce about how much fun it was to celebrate something they worked so hard on and how exciting it was to share it with their friends and a packed house.

“It was an electrifying scene. It was just something that came together like that,” Steele says, snapping his fingers, “and it seemed to just work. This is a benchmark for the band.”

The DVD is a complete rundown of their first album. It reflects the band’s straightforward, no-nonsense rock ‘n’ roll sensibilities. Shot by Pascal Huot, recorded by Dave Pratt, visuals by Daniel Snelson, and on-stage accompaniment by Chloe Perrault, the quality of the video reveals the commitment of everyone involved in the project.

The footage shows a performance that starts off somewhat cautious, but builds momentum and finishes with insight into this up-and-coming band’s potential.

Steele and Savage are currently working on music they say will take the band in new directions.

“Our music is sleazy, but at the same time, there is definitely a cleaner prop to it,” Steele says. “Especially when you start listening to the new stuff, it’s really jazzy and smooth. The first recordings were raw and angsty. But I think that we have some more mature ideas floating around.”

Their debut album was known for having a Black Keys vibe, but with their new music, Savage says, “You will still hear that sound, but it has changed.”

Arts_ELEFEST_PatrickSteeleThe band has been experimenting with different players for a while. During the ELE Festival on Tabaret lawn at the beginning of the fall semester, they performed with a bassist and a rapper. This experience proved fruitful, as they will release an EP this winter that features collaborations with local hip-hop artist Atherton. Both band members agree that playing with others translates into a performance that is easier and less stressful.

“Playing as a duo, you do have limitations, and we are trying to get away from that,” Steele says.

“You can extend some stuff, you can play some real down-low,” Savage adds, “but you always need to fill in space or else it’s just dead.”

With two distinctly different sounding EPs to be released over the next six months before hashing out their second full-length album down the road, StillNative are giving themselves plenty of room to experiment and grow. Fans willing to make the trip can witness their ongoing evolution when they open a triple bill with Cold Capital and the Sunparlour Players Nov. 15 at the Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield, Que. - The Fulcrum

La Rotonde a rencontré le groupe de musique ottavien StillNative à leur demeure, le Castle Rock, où sied leur studio d’enregistrement. À défaut de les comparer aux groupes qu’ils reprennent parfois sur scène, ce duo Blues-Rock transcende son énergie et nous entraîne dans une expérience où la « performance en direct se fait reine ». Patrick Steele (voix et guitare) ainsi que Max Savage (batterie) se doivent, après leurs efforts et maints résultats qui promettent, de conquérir une place de choix dans la scène locale.



La Rotonde : L’année 2013, propulsée par le lancement de votre premier album, a été très chargée, tout comme celle qui l’a précédée. Pouvez-vous revenir sur quelques évènements récents?

StillNative : Notre première tournée en août dernier, à travers les Maritimes, nous a promus davantage et nous a permis de rencontrer des artistes inspirants. En fait, nous avions fait des demandes aux journaux de l’Université d’Ottawa l’année passée qui n’ont jamais abouti. Maintenant que l’album et la tournée sont passés, on ressent un intérêt plus prononcé de la part des médias.

Dernièrement, ça a bougé beaucoup pour le groupe. Nous venons de participer au Festival de l’Outaouais Émergent (FOÉ), à l’Ottawa Fashion Week et au festival E.L.E., en plus du Bluesfest et du festival Fringe qui ont précédé la tournée. Nous avons aussi introduit un nouveau membre au groupe dans le cadre du FOÉ, le bassiste George Douglas, qui nous accompagnera pour certains spectacles. L’équipe du festival était professionnelle et nous a offert un préposé à l’équipement, la scène principale, le temps de produire une vidéo musicale après notre performance, puis une belle (et petite) audience. Nous comptons toujours devenir plus connus dans la région. Le festival E.L.E. est une bonne opportunité dans ce cas puisqu’il se situe sur le campus et ne coûte pas un sou. D’ailleurs, nous sommes fiers d’y présenter notre collaboration Hip-Hop avec Atherton, un artiste professionnel dans sa manière de travailler qu’on a rencontré à l’Ottawa Rock Lottery.



LR : Cette collaboration fait-elle partie de votre nouveau son?

Exactement. Certains admirateurs restent attachés au duo, mais nous voulons consolider notre style musical avec l’ajout de collaborations. Bref, nos projets incorporeront du Jazz, du Hip-Hop et même un côté électronique. Nous ne cesserons jamais d’expérimenter.



LR : Quelles sont vos échéances les plus immédiates?

Nous allons diffuser deux vidéos, celle qui a été enregistrée pendant le FOÉ et une deuxième filmée lors du lancement de l’album éponyme. Nous prévoyons de sortir un EP en février prochain et chercher des fonds pour faire un nouvel album. Notre prochain concert aura lieu au Château Cyr le 31 octobre. - La Rotonde

Blogging Bluesfest 2013: StillNative
Written by Chris Cline on Monday July 8th, 2013


The duo behind StillNative have been riding the wave of success this year, with an album, tours, and their first stage appearance at Bluesfest. With their unique sound combining just drums and a guitar, their live shows aren’t to be missed – it seems impossible for so much music to come from just two people. They’ll be out at the Casino during Bluesfest, so be sure to catch them while you can – they leave on tour at the end of the week!

How would you describe your sound?

It’s certainly rock, and it’s totally bluesy, but there’s a side to StillNative you can only experience in our live show right now. Our new songs have a jazzier world inflection both in rhythm and melody. Our next album is going to sound very different.

For now we’ll stick to “Rawbeat Rock”. It’s what we use to describe our groove based sound. Max has a way of always churning out the sloppiest beats to accompany the music we write. I get to bounce off of what he does and we end up with something that’s in between every other beat. Combine that with our call & response style song-writing and you can almost imagine two musicians fist fighting on stage to keep time.

What are you hoping to get out of your Bluesfest performance?

Our Bluesfest gig was kind of the feather in our cap this year. We worked really hard all year and released an album we were proud of.

At first we had received a “sorry try again next year” email…to which I quickly responded directly to Mark Monohan with a “Come on…Come on!” and a link to our upcoming full length concert DVD filmed during our release party here in Ottawa. We were very excited later that month when we received an official offer to play not one, but three sets in a swanky Martini Bar at the Casino! We’ve played long bills before but this will be our longest yet. The experience earned is invaluable, not to mention the cash will be going towards a tour van. We have to drive all through the night after our last set to kick off our Maritime Tour in Moncton the next night… rock n’ roll roadtrip!

Who’s your favourite Bluesfest act this year?

There are lots of great acts at this years festival..but we will be touring and probably won’t get to catch much! I would have loved to see B.B. King & the Balkan Beat Box. I’ve heard good things about Half Moon Run and one of my favorite locals would be John Carroll & the Epic Proportions.

What’s your band’s spiritual animal? (This is our silly question, have fun with it!)

Our spiritual animal would be an Iguanadon. I always loved dinosaurs and the Iguanadon is always giving everyone two thumbs way way up! Or maybe a cat…for the YouTube hits. - Apartment613 - apt613.ca

Blues-rock singer/songwriters tend to emphasize soul and flash in equal parts, thinking nothing of writing a heartfelt broken heart song with a five minute guitar solo. While these players get the credit for having the talent, the songs themselves generally live or die by the groove. A solo is great, but it won't create music that moves you unless it is on top of a talented rhythm section that drives the song home.
StillNative's Patrick Steele recognizes this, which is why the 10 songs on his debut album are nearly free of solos. Instead, Steele and Max Savage emphasize the groove, writing blues-inspired rock that blasts out of the subwoofer, emphasizing rhythm and attitude. StillNative is both greasy and slinky in equal parts, and if nothing really jumps out in the memory, the disc as a whole is a great soundtrack to a bleary beer-soaked evening that will lead to heartbreak, or possibly great sex.

"Cold 'N Thin" is a standout, packing drama into its three minutes, acted out by Steele's guitar lines and words like "Her life is trialed with sin / A heavy heartless old gout / That I support in vain / Your heart's cold and thin." It's as good as "Move My Way," which is lyrically slight but is equal parts skittish energy and deliberate leering, feeling much longer than its 2:40 run time.

A secondary element to Steele's songwriting appears to be lo-fi ‘90s garage rock. This is manifested in "All I Want" and "Fifth Avenue," which have little in common with the rest of the disc – picture Pavement fronted by Tom Petty – but the marriage of the styles is clear on "Shake Your Boots," which nearly jumps out of the speakers.

StillNative has been playing live shows for a while and brings that energy to the record, but the lack of strong melodies and hooks counters that energy somewhat, making this music something that is great for the moment but not terribly memorable the next day. Still, Steele and Savage are on to something here with this self-assured, energetic debut, and given a sharper set of melodies to go with the grooves, StillNative will hopefully receive the attention they deserve. - The Daily Vault - Album Reviews

Just another guitar-drums, blues-influenced duo? I don't think so.

StillNative are a hard-driving blues duo from Ottawa. An initial listen will certainly prompt comparisons to The Black Keys for their configuration and blues-based rock. However, to me, there's quite a unique groove going on here. I listen to a lot of new music and I think these guys have something very cool going on. There's something about their honest delivery and passion that shines through. I think they'll be able to carve out a nice niche for themselves.

Check out the live version of "Shake Your Boots" below - great song, great playing, effective use of dynamics. Watch out for the full length DVD coming soon.

Their début album is available on their Bandcamp. - One In Ten Words

As Sam Jackson once said, hold onto your butts…

StillNative, an Ottawa rock duo have recently dropped their first self-titled EP and the whole of the city is in an uproar. Lucky enough to find my way into their album release party, standing shoulder to shoulder with a couple hundred adoring fans looking to have their socks rocked off, I thought of one thing: “Good God almighty. I need to book these guys for an IMN show”.

Seriously though, I frequent the Mercury Lounge (where they dropped their EP and where IMN hosts our Ottawa showcases) and I have never felt a more potent energy emanating from the crowd. Nor have I seen such an array of individuals together in the same place. Hipsters, rockers, coke heads, trendies, skaters, drunks and indeed a whole spectrum of social groups gathered together under one banner on that night. StillNative’s sounds may not be entirely universal, but their draw certainly seemed to be. The night was chameleon. Sights, smells, colours all changing at a whim. The only things static were the dynamic sounds pouring from Patrick’s guitar and leaping from Max’s kit.

It was anticipation, it was release, it was raw beat catharsis and only StillNative could give it to the crowd. The sweat, the smoke, and the heat all seemed to project from stage to body. Wide eyes met with closed contemplatives. Tapping feet contrasted with full body gyrations.



Now, on to the EP.

Lo Fi, dirty beats, bluesy tempos, and a shot of raw beat rock in your face, StillNative have really settled into their sound from the last time I was fortunate enough to preview their tunes. Their purpose is the same, the product of a maturing relationship between two dedicated musicians looking to take the next step without clouding the originality of their venture. The album itself is entirely cohesive. From one track to the next you’re taken on a steady, groovy ride highlighted by well pronounced, seemingly intentional drawn out beats and riffs that keep you on the edge of your seat and pull you into the sound. I feel consumed by their efforts. This truly is a musical experience if you can lend an ear.

StillNative definitely gets full marks for their freshman release. I’m giving them straight A’s in all major areas of the musical curriculum. Musical Character? A. Overall Sound? A. Texture? A. Pitch, dynamic and articulation? A. I’m particularly impressed by StillNative’s ability to express such depth and dynamism through such a simple structure and instrumentation on their tracks. The motion they express through each of the tracks is like a sexy galloping. The angular, jagged nature of the heavy tracks has so much substance and feel they almost transcend into tactility.

Take note pupils of sound, StillNative’s got a lesson for you.

- Jae Pyl - Independent Muisc News

As Sam Jackson once said, hold onto your butts…

StillNative, an Ottawa rock duo have recently dropped their first self-titled EP and the whole of the city is in an uproar. Lucky enough to find my way into their album release party, standing shoulder to shoulder with a couple hundred adoring fans looking to have their socks rocked off, I thought of one thing: “Good God almighty. I need to book these guys for an IMN show”.

Seriously though, I frequent the Mercury Lounge (where they dropped their EP and where IMN hosts our Ottawa showcases) and I have never felt a more potent energy emanating from the crowd. Nor have I seen such an array of individuals together in the same place. Hipsters, rockers, coke heads, trendies, skaters, drunks and indeed a whole spectrum of social groups gathered together under one banner on that night. StillNative’s sounds may not be entirely universal, but their draw certainly seemed to be. The night was chameleon. Sights, smells, colours all changing at a whim. The only things static were the dynamic sounds pouring from Patrick’s guitar and leaping from Max’s kit.

It was anticipation, it was release, it was raw beat catharsis and only StillNative could give it to the crowd. The sweat, the smoke, and the heat all seemed to project from stage to body. Wide eyes met with closed contemplatives. Tapping feet contrasted with full body gyrations.



Now, on to the EP.

Lo Fi, dirty beats, bluesy tempos, and a shot of raw beat rock in your face, StillNative have really settled into their sound from the last time I was fortunate enough to preview their tunes. Their purpose is the same, the product of a maturing relationship between two dedicated musicians looking to take the next step without clouding the originality of their venture. The album itself is entirely cohesive. From one track to the next you’re taken on a steady, groovy ride highlighted by well pronounced, seemingly intentional drawn out beats and riffs that keep you on the edge of your seat and pull you into the sound. I feel consumed by their efforts. This truly is a musical experience if you can lend an ear.

StillNative definitely gets full marks for their freshman release. I’m giving them straight A’s in all major areas of the musical curriculum. Musical Character? A. Overall Sound? A. Texture? A. Pitch, dynamic and articulation? A. I’m particularly impressed by StillNative’s ability to express such depth and dynamism through such a simple structure and instrumentation on their tracks. The motion they express through each of the tracks is like a sexy galloping. The angular, jagged nature of the heavy tracks has so much substance and feel they almost transcend into tactility.

Take note pupils of sound, StillNative’s got a lesson for you.

- Jae Pyl - Independent Muisc News

This Friday, February 22nd, join StillNative at The Mercury Lounge as they celebrate the release of their first full length album! This RawBeat rock duo will be joined by Miss Polygamy for a truly entertaining evening of music filled with dirty guitar grooves and foot moving beats.


The album was recorded live-off the floor at Chateau Cyr with the help of David Pratt & Mathieu Borbey and features vocalist Chloe Perrault on backing vocals. All mixing and mastering was handled by Dean Watson at the Gallery Recording Studio.

You can check out the first single Private Eye on the duo’s Bandcamp page.

I’ve had a chance to hear the album, and it is definitely worth checking out! The guys waste no time in letting you know what they’re all about, quickly laying into a mean foot stomping groove with the opening track. From there, they pull you along with their numerous sonic hooks.

So make sure you come check it out! The doors open at 8:30pm and things get underway at 9pm. - Spotlight Ottawa

This Friday, February 22nd, join StillNative at The Mercury Lounge as they celebrate the release of their first full length album! This RawBeat rock duo will be joined by Miss Polygamy for a truly entertaining evening of music filled with dirty guitar grooves and foot moving beats.


The album was recorded live-off the floor at Chateau Cyr with the help of David Pratt & Mathieu Borbey and features vocalist Chloe Perrault on backing vocals. All mixing and mastering was handled by Dean Watson at the Gallery Recording Studio.

You can check out the first single Private Eye on the duo’s Bandcamp page.

I’ve had a chance to hear the album, and it is definitely worth checking out! The guys waste no time in letting you know what they’re all about, quickly laying into a mean foot stomping groove with the opening track. From there, they pull you along with their numerous sonic hooks.

So make sure you come check it out! The doors open at 8:30pm and things get underway at 9pm. - Spotlight Ottawa

Shake your boots and get down to Ottawa’s newest blues-rock duo, StillNative, as they release their debut album this Friday at Mercury Lounge.

Made up of guitarist/vocalist Patrick Steele and drummer Max Savage, any fans of the Black Keys will be all over their greasy blues-rock sound. “Our debut album definitely oozes that,” said Steele. “This release party marks over a years’ worth of work and tough love.”

Just like the Black Keys, there is no bass player, but it is hardly noticeable for the slick beats being pumped out of their gear.
The band formed in May 2011, but by day teach at a music academy. “We call ourselves RawBeat,” said Steele of a term that sums up their “groove-based” sound.

The 10-track, self-titled record goes from fast jams that will get people moving on the dance floor like Shake Your Boots to songs with romantic pining lyrics supported by dirty guitar licks and hard hitting percussion like Suzy Q.

The intensely energetic album was recorded live off-the-floor last November from their home studio in a 30-hour recording spree. A highlight for the heartbroken is No Steam, a song that features a female backing vocalist and a thick-with-attitude vocal delivery from Steele.

StillNative is no stranger to the spotlight, having recently played Ottawa Fashion Week for a second time.

“It certainly feels funny to be walking around all these fashion types with a jean jacket, torn leather boots and a guitar, but I can dig spending the evening with a bunch of models,” said Steele.

They’ll get used to the attention with an ambitious summer tour taking them from Toronto right out to the East Coast.

“Ideally this album will help us get into the festival circuit,” said Steele. One gets the sense that these guys were born to play on the Bluesfest Stage.

“We’re the kind of band that believes live performance is king. We have played over 60 shows in Ontario,” said Steele.

As to what audience members can expect this Friday, Steele guarantees a raucous show. “We push ourselves extremely hard in rehearsals to work out the tightest and most explosive arrangements for our live sets.”

- Jen Trapli, Metro Ottawa, 02/21/13 - Metro Ottawa - Jen Traplin

StillNative is an Ottawan self-styled ‘greasy rawbeat rock duo’ (seriously, google it… StillNative will be your number one hit) that’s currently embracing my headphones with their light, lofty rock tunes that are just as catchy as they are smooth.
A relatively new act in the Ottawa music scene, StillNative is making their mark. Flowing and fluid, there’s nothing that goes down easier than these guys. Now, that’s not to say their music is simple; it’s actually extremely well crafted. Strokesian in tempo, frank in its approach, StillNative isn’t about blowing you away so much as they are about keeping you grounded and groovin’.
Speaking of simplicity, Einstein, who gave us so much more than a formula once said, ‘”Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” I think StillNative has achieved this brilliant task and should therefore count their accomplishments among world-changing physicists… Ok, ok. I’m clearly getting a bit ahead of myself here! Yet, the ‘simple’ physical and auditory dynamism that occurs naturally in the case of StillNative is a kind of quantum symmetry that’s oh so addictive… and it just makes sense!
Its dynamism bounds into your ears and ricochets down into your now toe-tappin’ feet. It’s music that just feels, well… good. My cares melt away. My smile grows while my soul’s just a little lifted. The music softly screams radiance while nudging you with a vitality that’s totally unique.
The only downfall about these guys… they have yet to drop their first EP. I was lucky enough to be sent three of their demos from their up-coming Fall release and have had them on repeat all night. All you suckers will unfortunately have to wait until the end of the summer/early fall to hear the tracks I’ve been so impressed by. If you’re in the Ottawa area though, do try and see a show! They usually have some demo’s up for grabs which usually sell out like hot cakes. Anyways,
Like a simple truth along a sublimely elegant path; this is StillNative.

- Jae Pyl, 2012 - Independent Muisc News