The Deadly Hearts
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The Deadly Hearts

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"Deadly Hearts Bar stars"

ou may know Jake Thurgood from his job beside the stage at Gus’---pouring your baby drafts---but enough nights beside the scene led him to join a band. Thurgood teamed up with Myles Deck, after trading records and chatting at the bar. “[Working at Gus’] got me thinking more about playing, for sure. I got to know Myles, all the local bands, and what’s missing,” Thurgood says. He’d previously played with hardcore outfit Oh God. “Myles and Craig [Buckley]...booked a show in Charlottetown when there wasn’t even a band yet.” The three and bandmate Ben Manuel met up with old rock ’n’ roll, R&B and newer garage rock covers, influences eventually built into original material. “It worked pretty much right away---we had a good chemistry from the first practice, almost homoerotic,” Thurgood says. He describes their sound as “everything that’s good about rock ’n’ roll music.” Check them out at the Seahorse June 21. - The Coast


"Deadly Hearts on fire"

It's perfect that The Deadly Hearts are having their album release on a Sunday at 4pm. The band makes the type of music that's evocative of the Sunday afternoon country matinees that used to happen at Gus' Pub. It's music that should appeal to the older VLT crowd as well as the youngsters who come to sip baby draughts at night. It's music you can move to while the sun is up.

When drummer Myles Deck and guitarist Craig Buckley initially conceived of the band about a year ago, they discussed an array of common influences: classic rock 'n' roll, rhythm and blues, psych, as well as newer bands like Timbre Timbre and The Sadies.

"The idea was not to play rock music that was loud and agro but the kind that would make you wanna shake a leg," Deck says.

They enlisted Scoop Outs bassist Ben Manuel and wondered about a frontman. Deck noticed that Gus' bartender Jake Thurgood was always playing good music in between bands' sets---The Cramps, The Sonics, classic soul. Bartenders at Gus' have an opportunity to see the Halifax music scene at its best and its worst---and the parts that are missing become quickly apparent. When Deck presented the opportunity to join a fun dancey rock 'n' roll band, Thurgood couldn't refuse.

"With this group of guys, everyone understood the music really well, and not so much effort was needed to shape the sound of the band," Deck says.

Perhaps their connection explains why their self-titled album captures that sound so perfectly. The songs were largely recorded by Buckley in the room at the top of the Khyber that used to be Ultramagnetic Studios, where Buck 65, Matt Mays and Joel Plaskett recorded the albums that made them famous. The band took the tracks to Graeme Campbell to be mixed. Drums were recorded at the Echo Chamber and The Shed on Prospect Road. "We did as much as we could ourselves, and passed it off to Graeme when we reached a point where we weren't competent," Deck says. "I gave a lot of 'advice' and Jake and Ben smoked some cigarettes."

The result is six bits of jangly, fuzzy sweetness. The album opens with "Moonwalk," with Thurgood singing in a wry Chuck Berry croon about travelling through space. Ghostly vocals from Ruth Minnikin give the song a warm creepiness, while Thurgood and Buckley's guitars spiral endlessly up into the rafters. There's also the cover of Jimmy McCracklin's "Wobble," which zips along with a Flat Duo Jets-style swagger, and closer "(Come Down Off Your) Space Horse," which feels like a surf version of a Sergio Leone composition. It's a short album from a fun band, and it feels beautifully well-realized. Deck gives a lot of the credit to Campbell. "He transformed it into something extraterrestrial," he says.

The Deadly Hearts are looking forward to their Halifax Pop Explosion debut. And Deck is determined to get one of their songs on Little Steven's Underground Garage: "It's been a goal of mine for quite some time." - the Coast


Discography

The Deadly Hearts -Self-Titled Debut E.P. - August 2011

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Bio

Craig Buckley and Myles Deck: Friends/musicians - Like the sounds of primal rock 'n' roll, R&B and Canadian Indie. Inspired, they book a gig for their yet to be formed band. ??
STEP 1: Get members
Enter Jake Thurgood, bartender at Gus' Pub - local watering hole - who pours the two baby drafts. Upon discovery that Jake is playing Hasil Adkins on the jukebox, the two inform him that he is to play guitar for their new band. Later that night, the trio are lead to Bearly's house of blues & ribs by the sound of a Banshee. After stepping through the door they find that the voice belongs to Ben Manuel, karaoke star and punk rock bass player. The line-up is complete.
STEP 2: Get sound
Band has a great chemistry, shaky practices ensue. Jake describes experience as "almost homoerotic." Band spends the next few weeks learning a set of covers from their rock 'n' roll libraries as well as writing a few originals. Multiple name changes take place. Finally settle on the Deadly Hearts. Band plays a handful of shows around town and wins over the hearts of adoring drunkards.
STEP 3: Get album
In old Mullet space up at the Khyber, band sets up and self records their debut E.P. The result: a record that embodies everything that's good about rock 'n' roll.