THE DISTURBERS

Track of the Day on 20Mar2006 in Modern Rock
Best Male Vocals in Modern Rock, week of 13Mar2006
Best Bass in Modern Rock, week of 13Mar2006
Best Production in Modern Rock, week of 13Mar2006
Best Mood in Modern Rock, week of 13Mar2006
Most Original in Modern Rock, week of 13Mar2006

Cool song. Reminded me of a late 60's early 70's rock song. Kinda during the vietnam era. Very Neil Young, CCR, that kinda stuff. I dig it the most. The production of the song is excellent. Very clear and well put together. The chorus grabbed me right away. Best song I've heard in weeks. Vocals and lyrics are excellent. I would like to hear some other tracks of yours. You guys seem to have your Sh.t together. I give it a 5. Good Luck!

Reviewed by: MySadClown from Montgomery, Alabama - Garageband.com

Makes me sing
All you have to do is sing. I like this song, alot of goodfeeling to it. Good vocals, great leadguitar, cool riffs. I am also a sucker for percussion, so that`s always a good thing. Engaging tunes this. I like the repeating "all you gotta do is sing". Great.

Reviewed by: RevolverSession from Bergen, Hordaland, Norway - Garageband.com

The Disturbers

interview by Trent McMartin
photos from the Disturbers website, photographer unattributed
publication date: December 31, 2006

What do you get when you unite the sounds of some of the all-time great guitar based bands? Mix in some Clapton, add some Tragically Hip and a little bit of early KISS and what you have are a bunch of hard rocking fanatics known as the Disturbers. And make sure you don't call them retro, because their sound – as group member Darren Beveridge revealed– is best described as "nouveaux-classic rock." All hail the Disturbers, one of the loudest, rawest, most bad-ass guitar bands in the Capital Region.

Trent: How long has the band been around?

Darren: The Disturbers have been around in this incarnation since 2002, though its roots go back well over 15 years. Blair Jaques (the bass player) and myself have played together the longest in the group, with the others jumping in along the way.

It's a really great group of guys, and we all get along very well. Basically all musicians are a bit odd in their own ways, and we have stumbled on one of those good mixes in The Disturbers. Bruce Cline (the vocalist) is the paternal figure of the group who joined the band next, then Roy Maxwell (drums) and Mike Lezarre (guitar) are two of the nicest guys you'll ever meet.

Why the name Disturbers?

Darren: To start with...we are indeed loud. Our devotion to good old guitar based rock means we don't mess around with little pissy guitar amps. Both guitarists play through kick-ass Mesa Boogie guitar amps and to get the most out of them we crank them into that "sweet zone" that just isn't found in lower volumes.

We wanted a band name that reflected our attitude towards music as well. We're not really interested in most of the modern commercial crap out there. We love and respect the old recordings that captured great playing, but did it without "ProTools" or other computer editing where all you need to do is play brilliantly for a second or two per take, and it's all patched together.

The name The Disturbers also reflects our approach to our music, where we improvise a lot of what we play; in other words, we don't play the same song the same way each time. We just stand at the edge and leap off most of the time. Yes it is exciting.

How would you describe your music? Old time, blood and guts, garage rock?

Our music is pretty raw, honest, guitar based music. For example, we don't have a lot of effects in our signal paths. You won't see a bunch of guitar pedals or rack gear, save for a wah pedal and the amp switch units we use are pretty basic. We rely on our guitars and amps to give us our - we think - amazing tone. The best label to put on us, as much as labels suck, would be "nouveaux-classic rock."

"Nouveaux-classic rock?" Cool. What are your influences?

Many and varied. From Clapton to Tragically Hip, to The Allman Brothers, to Kiss. Basically all great guitar based bands.

How do you feel to being called retro?

It seems like there is a real interest in "retro" now in the music biz. Our fans constantly tell us we are unique, have our own sound, and are a modern day throwback to the rock and roll of the past. But I'd say we are in fact not retro. That implies a lack of modernity. We are modern day musical craftsmen who have a preference for the lost arts in song writing, production and tone.

You guys are based in Sherwood Park, my hometown; do you mostly play in and around the capital region?

Yes indeed, we hang pretty much around the Edmonton area. We'll travel around more when we go on tour to support the release of our first platinum album (laughs).

Where do you guys play when you play live in Sherwood Park? I saw some pics of Colchester on your site, is that a main haunting ground of the band?

visit thedisturbers.com for mp3s and show information

(laughs) We have indeed made Colchester Hall our own private Disturbers gig space. The fact of the matter is, we like the "hall party" environment. We like inviting our own guests, we like to be in control of the whole environment. Like there's not some dumb-ass bar manager telling us to turn it down, or some loser spilling beer on our equipment...unless it's us.

Is there a lot of crowd feedback and enthusiasm?

I'd say yes indeed! A common reaction to our music is "holy shit! You guys rock, do you have a CD out?"

Any groupies?

We do have a solid following of local folks who love our shows and the environment we create when we play.

Now for my famous last question, if you could bring back some musical personality from the dead, like Elvis or something, and sit and shoot the shit over a couple of beers, who would it be?

I'd love to have a beer and shoot the shit with Johnny Cash.

Why?

Even though he wasn't a rock and roller, he had the best attitude about his music and life. He didn't play the game, did his own thing, and basically said "love me or hate me, but this is me."
- More Goat Than Goose Magazine