Syracuse Me

While touring in June and searching for a place to stay Syracuse Me found a unique place to pitch a tent.

“We stopped at a truck stop in Cardinal, Ontario, and were about to set up the tent on a grassy area when the owner of the store came out and started screaming at us and told us we couldn’t set up our tent there,” said drummer Mark Duffy.

“So like jokingly KG [guitarist Kyle Gallagher] and I just asked her if we could set the tent up on top of the van, and she said ‘Yeah do what ever you want.’ She was right mad.”

So the group did.

“At night there was nobody in the parking lot,” said bassist Chris VanOuwerkerk, “and the next day it was full and everybody walking by looked.”

“Everyone was just starring at this pup tent on top of the van,” added Duffy.

The pop punk band started as a three-piece group about a year and a half ago, and after numerous member changes is now a five-piece including Duffy on drums, VanOuwerkerk, Gallagher and Jordan Walsh playing guitar, and Adam Stanley doing vocals. VanOuwerkerk is the only original member of the group.

“Gotta upgrade,” said Duffy.

Stanley and Gallagher are both members of the band Chara, while Duffy is a former member of Chara, Walsh is a member of Birmingham and VanOuwerkerk was a member of the now disbanded metal group Ares Reign.

Duffy calls the groups sound “Pop punk, happy hardcore.” Duffy and VanOuwerkerk site bands Lagwagon, Daggermouth, New Found Glory, The Full Blast and Set Your Goals, as influences. “It’s very positive,” said VanOuwerkerk.

The group hopes to start recording a full length album through Take Down Records in Halifax this fall. “After the album we’re going to start planning a two month tour hopefully out to B.C. and back,” said Duffy.

VanOuwerkerk said the most important thing to the group is to have fun. “We don’t take ourselves too seriously at all.”

“As long as the kids have a blast watching us play then we’re having a blast playing,” said Duffy.

- The Buzz