Take Off Your Hat

Take off Your Hat is a 5-piece Canadian indie band from Mississauga, Ontario. Formed in 2009, they are dedicated to delivering quality music to their audiences though energetic live shows and cleanly recorded tracks. Instrumentation consists most frequently of lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass, piano, and drums. The band has just released their debut seven song EP “Greeting Seasons EP”.

Music written by Take off Your Hat cannot necessarily be categorized into one genre. With four different singer-songwriters composing pieces with their individual influences, each song is unique in its own way. One aspect that makes their music unique is the frequent incorporation of complex time signatures. Their songs range from simple 4/4, to 5/4, to 15/8, to name a few. Sometimes complex time signatures can keep less musically diverse audience members but Take off Your Hat works tirelessly on making sure the groove of the song is easily accessible to everyone in the audience. Lyrics also cover a broad spectrum. With more than one lyricist, the emotions and thoughts portrayed range from raw and passionate to refined and pleasing. Because of the band’s diverse musical background, there is always an overabundance of new and fresh ideas brought to each practice. Every new song by one of the composers is shown to the rest of the band who then interprets it in their own way. In a sense, they make it their own, yet stay true to the original idea. The result is always an effective balance of each part.

While the band has a main instrumentation layout, each member is talented in more than one area of music. This gives the band the opportunity to explore an assortment of different sounds and timbres. Some of these sounds include trumpet, banjo, accordion, violin, and mandolin (which can all be heard on the “Greeting Seasons” EP). The various instrumentation, combined with complex time signatures, and compelling lyrics are what separates this band’s sound from the modern music of today.

As mentioned above, Take off Your Hat’s live performance is one that incorporates quirky, high energy music that go hand in hand with their on-stage presence. Jokes and banter keep the audience interested even between songs. Not only are they tight and together, with a good sound balance, but it is the way they alternate their music that makes it so engaging for the listeners. Their songs do not remain constant in their live shows. To keep their sets musically interesting certain parts of songs may get played in different styles. For instance, breaking into a heavy jazz swing or switching a heavy half time bridge to a groovy reggae feel. Even instruments sometimes get switched around. Such as a Kazoo or vocal scat taking place of a guitar or trumpet solo. The group has played at many different venues around their home town, and are looking into an offer of headlining a show in honor of their EP release.

At this point in time, Take off Your Hat is fairly well established among the youth in the Mississauga area. Because of this, it is in the band’s best interest to expand their music to other locations and audiences. This is the main goal they are working towards now. Currently, Take off Your Hat is playing local gigs, selling their EP and generally expanding their audience. Work for their first full length album has also begun

Take Off Your Hat is:
David Di Iorio - Drums/Percussion
Ben Milligan - Vocals/Guitar/Banjo
Stefan Mohrhardt – Bass/Vocals
Ryan Szukalo – Keyboards/Accordion/Violin
Mason Victoria – Guitar/Vocals/Trumpet