The Apollo Effect

REVIEWS

"We're going to hear more from that CD. I really dig it." - Joe Chisholm (IndieCan Radio)

Eleven Brazilians

"This is the kind of thing that sticks in your head and becomes a hit because it's unique and it's got a good hook." - Whipped (Garageband.com)

"A really really cool tune! The production is top notch!" Andre Skinner (IndieCan Radio)

"I love this one!" - Palagin (Stockholm, Sweden)

"It is sung well and has that elusive originality." - Alexanderberry (London, England)

"The vocals are well sung and the harmonies on the chorus add a lot. The lyrics are original and interesting. Very catchy song as well. I will be 'looking for 11 Brazilians" all day now." - BassGrrl (Los Angeles, California)

"Great is Great! The heart is everything and these guys have that going for them. Just great from start to finish. What else can one say?" - JoePop (Warren, Michigan)

"Great concept. Good rock/samba transitions. Solid performance on all counts. The hook's pretty satisfying, and I like the structure of verse and chorus" - Peter Murray (San Francisco, California)

"This is a light-hearted, fun song...very enjoyable to listen to. Vocals fit the feel of the song well and the BGVs compliment it very well. I wonder what the story is behind this song? It really makes the listener curious. This is a very enjoyable song" - Matt Riley (Los Angeles, California)

"I like the melody and chorus of the song. The intro is cool and I really like where the song takes off into a rock song. I could totally see this song being in a movie soundtrack." (Eleven Brazilians) - Butcher (Tucson, Arizona)

Your Finest Hour

"An alt-pop gem…Nice Work!" - Maxx Large (Milwaukee)

"Best song I've heard on Garageband.com." - Wacey (Edmonton)

"Vocals are awesome. I like the rawness about them, accurate, smooth yet raw with edge. I Love the guitar sound in the intro - both the crunch and clean! The hook is great in my opinion, very simple and catchy. I think it fits with the whole song. Very simple yet great. This song is great"
- Sheyenne (Boca Raton, Florida)

"Well done. This has real momentum." - The Steal (London, England)

"Very groovy. Overall, a good pop song. Very tight." - The Host Network (Seattle, Washington)

"The vocals are great, the perfect pop rock voice. This could be a real hit!" - JoePop (Warren, Michigan)

Trapped In Elevators

"The walls of the studio are shakin' from the great rock 'n' roll...I love that track." - Unsteady Freddie (YourRadio-New York)

"I like this track. I like the singers voice. It almost sounds like Michael Stipe with some balls." - The Snake (Maplewood, New Jersey)

"You get a fiver! You guys are great!" (Trapped In Elevators) - Blastard (Winnipeg, Canada)

- Various

The Apollo Effect at Tattoo Rock Parlour
Posted by rokky

So on March 4th, 2008 I was headed to Toronto to see a bunch of bands play at the Tattoo Rock Parlour venue. I was hired to see/shoot BROOMFILLER and obviously would end up seeing the other bands as well.

The first band of the night was local band called The Apollo Effect, then the headlining band Cold Driven who is on tour from somewhere out west and BROOMFILLER would close out the show. Of course, seeing as it was a school night, and a night where we were under threat of massive dumping of snow, I was not extremely pleased at the idea of staying super late. Alas, Cold Driven’s singer ended up sick and stayed in their massive bus and the show went ahead with the opening band, then the closing band immediately after, and my mind was rested the next morning.

The Apollo Effect hit the stage with what I felt like no introduction, a handful of well-dressed men came on and they started playing. I remember already being tired from a long & stressful day at work, and watching them was just nice to sit back and listen to some music. Thankfully, some really good music.

The guys on stage were very cool in the “I know I’m cool… but that’s okay, we’re sure you’re cool too” sort of way. It’s hard to describe since I’m writing based on a while ago at this point. I did very much enjoy the music, and while taking a few pictures here and there just to set up shots for later, I throughly enjoyed taking photos since all the guys are also quite attractive, a big plus in this industry.

It bugged me that the venue had a lot of red lighting and not much to cancel it out, meaning most of my shots include an in-focus lead singer, and not much else. I know that a band is more than just the lead singer, and like to portray that in my photography. Bah.

Their songs? Very well put together, like their outfits. The whole mood of the venue was one of a lot of people enjoying what they were hearing. The venue gave way to a lot of people sitting down and chilling out, so not a whole lot of excitement on the floor but everyone would have been able to see the band, everyone cheered the band on, and dare I say everyone who showed up enjoyed their music. I certainly did, and not having a clue who they were before hand, I can honestly say I’d definitely go see them again next chance I get.

http://www.bigrockfinish.com/2008/03/08/the-apollo-effect-at-tattoo-rock-parlour/ - BIGROCKFINISH.COM

There is hope on the horizon for Canadian rock. If you're sick of hearing artists like Nickelback or artists past their prime, then the heavily based melodic hard rocking Apollo Effect will be the band to check out this Friday, May 9.
Musically speaking, The Apollo Effect is heavily influenced by the British rock genre, infused with a more traditional Canadian flavor. "there are genre's we try to incorporate, the melodic pop of the 80's, the Brit pop feel of the mid-90's and the heavy sound of modern rock with a lean towards electronic." explains lead singer Brent Lunney, when asked about the sound of their debut album Antisocial Disorder later this month.
It's been a three year journey for the band and they've performed over a hundred shows. "The best part is we have five guys who have the same goals and we all work equally hard." say Lunney. "It's not five guys with individual agendas. We get along great, we're all great friends and we have a lot of creative juices."
Collaboration is the key. The Apollo Effect isn't a totalitarian project at all and everyone voices their opinion as well as drawing from each other's inspiration. "I will come in with the songs" continues Lunney "but i leave them open-ended so the guys can put their character and influences into them. Ultimately the song may take on a whole new life compared to what i may have intended. Everyone has freedom to be creative in this band. I appreciate four other minds in the process."
Out approximately 400 other acts across Canada, and some internationally, who competed for the Great Canadian Band Challenge presented by My30Seconds.com in September 2007, The Apollo Effect took home top prize. During this time
they had already begun work on their album Antisocial Disorder. "After we won the competition, they wanted things to move along quickly. We had
just started recording the album in Hamilton, but we felt we needed to make sure the product was top notch. We spent three solid months from beginning to end to finish the project properly."
Antisocial Disorder will be available on iTunes on July 1. The extra time in the studio was a blessing for the band that originally had ten tracks recorded and two two more when asked by the label. "They turned out to be two of the best songs on the record." Lunney said.
The Spring Music Fest show will be unique because the band will be playing a two-set gig with the first being an acoustic and the second full-on electric. "it's going to be a fantastic night. An acoustic set allows us to play with the songs a little. It's a more casual feel with the opportunity to go deeper with the songs."

- VIEW Magazine Hamilton

It's an invite only event for Virgin Radio listeners featuring a special live performance by The Apollo Effect, winners of the Great Canadian Band Challenge 2007. - Virgin Radio 99.9

In Greek mythology, Apollo was the god of music. The Apollo Effect does their patron saint credit by producing high quality rock music influenced by 80's pop and British rock. Their critically acclaimed 2006 self-titled debut EP enjoys popularity inside and outside of Canada's borders.

Based in Burlington, Ontario, The Apollo Effect is Brent Lunney (vocals, guitar), Shawn VandeSande (guitar, vocals), Dennis Hahn (keyboards, guitar, vocals), Gerry Madden (drums, percussion), and Ben Legge (bass). While seeing the band performing at Healey's in Toronto, they certainly give the impression of having been together for a long time and being a tight unit. Brent explains that "myself and Gerry have been together for a little over five years, Dennis and Ben just around 2 years, while Shawn only joined a little over six months ago. Oddly enough, it feels like he's been in the band from day one. This is without question the best group of musicians I've ever played with and what's even better, the best group of guys to hang with. We're all mates for sure."

The band has created their own sound. Brent explains: "I write the music, however it's definitely a collective process. The band contributes by adding their personality in what they do. The general process works with me bringing in the basic foundation of the song, lyrics, melody and overall vision and fortunately the guys pick up on where I want to go with it and bring it together masterfully. Dennis has a great knack for harmonies and accompaniments. And on the odd occasion a song will pop out while we're just jamming out."

The Apollo Effect's lyrics go deep. Brent, who writes the lyrics "majored in English Literature and Philosophy …I've been writing lyrics since I was very young but I enjoy a curious analysis of human nature and the ominous side of life." Brent further explains that their songs in general are about "human nature. How we think and behave. What drives us as humans and why we do what we do as people. The darker side of it all seems to be my focus, but I always like to provide some hopefulness in what I write. We do ridiculous things everyday, but there's always a reason for it, I like to exploit that."

The songs on The Apollo Effect's self-titled EP take you on a ride through life with its ups and downs. YOUR FINEST HOUR is "one of our more spiritual songs in the sense that it is essentially about being in that moment when everything is going so well. The power you feel when life is on the up-swing and the feeling that nothing can go wrong," Brent says. THE HONEYMOON IS OVER "is a darker song about the moment in which you realise, everything is about to change and you know it's going to be a drastic transformation, for the better or worse," Brent continues. He says that WAKE is "perhaps everyone's favourite lyric, and probably mine as well. It's definitely about the human response to the mind bending and often unanswerable questions we have about life, the universe, everything really. But in order to get through it all, to function normally that is, we basically have to forget about it and so going to sleep and waking up fresh is really all we can do. Getting a fresh start as another new day is born. It's a coping mechanism."

Not only photographs, but also very energetic graphic images represent the band. Brent does most of the designs, also for CD covers. "It's just something I like to do and feel that my vision represents the band well. Any meaning to the logo is simple really, it highlights our energy with a certain confidence in what we do," Brent says.

In the fall, The Apollo Effect is going back to the studio to record a new album, which definitely is an album to look forward to: "We have the best set of songs we've ever had and the new album will incorporate many of the same elements our previous disc had, with lots of layers. However, the new record will have much more in the way of vocal harmonies, dynamic guitars, both heavy and soft. Definitely a lot more electronic textures as well. It will be a very diverse, yet extremely interconnected collection of songs," Brent says. The future looks bright for The Apollo Effect, their plans are to make another record and touring the world.

http://www.indiesolo.com/artists/The_Apollo_Effect/interview.htm - indiesolo.com

The success of Toronto’s The Apollo Effect comes straight from the band’s genuine desire to push itself beyond an independent boundary. The city got another taste of the band’s astounding dynamic range and signature style of evocative lyrics at Holy Joe’s.

From ground zero, they’ve persistently performed, improved material and gone through band members like Sean Connery goes through women. Two years have gone by since the band changed its lineup—playing alongside The Fixx, Mobile and others—and it’s still independent.

Fusing elements of an eerily familiar style of retro rock with something comparable with more of a modern musical resonance, The Apollo Effect appreciates classic rock and roll, naturally incorporating sounds from multiple eras into its own to turn out something unique.

“Anyone can listen to song melodies and sing along, but still have something of substance to say. I think you can put something of substance that’s open-ended in three minutes,” says lead vocalist Brent Lunney.

Lunney says there is a certain spark with bands like Duran Duran, The Cars and the roster of other like-minded 80s pop rock wizards.

“In the 90s, there was a surge of really melodically focused music when the Brit rock came out, but with a little more attitude,” Lunney said.

“The bands we love from the 80's are still relevant today because the guys really knew how to play. They all had great vision. This band (The Apollo Effect) really has the chops and I’m proud of what these guys can do.”

Driven by the dark yet often uplifting and artistically rhythmic past generations that took philosophical approaches in writing style, The Apollo Effect takes what it has absorbed and jovially puts a new spin on it.

“We make music that’s feel-happy even if the message is something slightly less so,” says Lunney. “The whole thing about the 80s in general and specifically the Brit pop movement of the 90s is that the melodies were positive, the rhythms were upbeat and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Aside from drawing crowds everywhere they play, the band has been broadcast on satellite radio continent-wide and aired more than liberally on Canadian radio.

While the self-titled debut EP is now available on iTunes and CD Baby, the band is currently working with Mastermind Studios (BLR Promotions) and expect to have a full-length late summer/early fall release of a new Apollo Effect cd.


Please the following link for the recent interview with TorontoIndie.com

www.torontoindie.com - TorontoIndie.com

The Hard Rock Cafe is celebrating their 30th Birthday and in honour of this milestone, they had a celebrity Guitar Smash. Although everyone in the band is strictly against any inhumane treatment of instruments of any kind, Brent was relieved to hear that the guitars used for the event were in fact factory rejects and were going to be destroyed by the manufacturer. More importantly, the Hard Rock generously made a donation to school music programs, which will provide kids with spanking new instruments. Smash away!!!! Special thanks to Crystal, Robert and Alex at the Hard Rock - TAE Inc.

If you're a fan of Oasis, U2, The Killers and Coldplay, then this is one disc you must own! - iTunes