The Feeling United
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The Feeling United

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"The Feeling United in a search for pop perfection"

The Feeling United in a search for pop perfection
New Toronto modern rock band deliver an impressive debut
By Kerry Doole
When confronted with the task of describing the sound of a brand new group, music critics will customarily offer up other artists as reference points. In the case of musically diverse Toronto modern rockers The Feeling United, that’s not the easiest job, and the band isn’t too willing to offer help.
“I’m excited by the fact I can’t tell people what we sound like,” says vocalist/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Brendan Michie. “You have to listen to it. You can’t say it’s The Strokes meets Bauhaus or whatever.”
On their Myspace page, under “Sounds Like,” the band writes “You tell us,” while for “Influences” they cite The Moon and Alcohol. Under the influence of alcohol (patio pints at the Cadillac Lounge), the four band members were a little more forthcoming. Michie, fellow singer/songwriter/guitarist Nicholas Porter, drummer John Pacheco, and bassist Gary Toporoski proved engaging conversationalists, and their obvious sense of camaraderie justifies their choice of band name.
This is a new outfit, but all members paid their dues in other local groups before uniting. Back in 2003, Brendan and Nick launched High Water Mark, a band that made its own mark on the scene, attracting large crowds to such clubs as the El Mocambo and Horseshoe. That group disbanded when, according to Brendan, “Nick and I realized we had to go with people more on our wavelength.That’s when Gary and John came along.”
Nick had produced a demo for one of Gary’s earlier bands, while Johnny and Gary had played together in a hard rock band, Surface Underground.“I just wanted to be part of a band with such unquestionably strong songwriting,” Gary recalls. “Plus we could hang!”
Porter and Michie actually first connected as teenagers, back in the early 90s, at a Blur concert in Kitchener. “I remember us driving back, chatting and going “You play guitar? So do I,” recalls Nicholas. The talented twosome became fast friends, playing and recording songs together, before taking divergent routes.“We actually had a bit of a falling out, and then, to mend a bridge, we decided to help each other out on our solo stuff,” says Porter. “About halfway through, we were having a drink, and both went, “What the f*** are we doing? Why don’t we do this as a joint album? We were doing double work for half gain,” adds Michie.
The presence of two writers and singers within TFU helps account for their melodic and stylistic diversity. That shines through on their just-released self-titled debut album, one worthy of major attention. The group’s sound is often gently atmospheric, but is also capable of a robust aggressiveness, thanks to the experienced rhythm section. “It is tighter and heavier and the quieter parts are more beautiful. It just broadened the spectrum of what we are capable of,” notes Michie.
That’s evident on the album, where a moody Coldplayesque track like “God Is The Water” is followed by the propulsive “Shoot Shoot” (a little reminiscent of early Cure) and the ringing guitars on “Numb Regalia.” Porter singles out “Shoot Shoot” as “the entry level song when people listen to our music. It is very accessible, and it shows a lot of the core ideas that you will find in much of our music.”
There’s a real group dynamic at work within The Feeling United now, as opposed to it being a pet project for two singer/songwriters. “Before, it was almost separate halves of an apple, but now songs go through the band and become whole,” Brendan explains.“In writing, we are figuring out it is best to bring unmoulded ideas to the table and have everyone bounce it around. That’s when the best stuff comes out.”
When pressed, both Porter and Michie acknowledge that their key influences have been British. They come by them honestly, given that Nick’s parents are from England, while Brendan’s dad is from New Zealand, via Scotland. Nick chimes in that “melody is the master in British music,”while Brendan adds “There’s a great pop sensibility in British music. My transition from being a classical pianist and into jazz to moving to rock was Stone Roses, the Smiths, Cure, Joy Division. All very different but all British. I wasn’t finding anything over here at the time.”
“Brendan and I are both perhaps a little Anglophilic in our tastes,” says Porter, “but Johnny has been bringing us American bands that I’d never really explored, like Steely Dan and Toto. We are appreciating that influence a little more.”


The Feeling United is now out via www.thefeelingunited.com. The band host a CD release party at Ukula on June 21.

Publication Date: 2007-06-10
Story Location: http://www.tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=7381
- TandemNews.com


"Interview - The Dissolver April 2007"

With the surplus of bands emerging from garages all over the world these days, it’s hard to keep track of them all. It’s also unfortunate that many of them are tone deaf, cookie cutter versions of the successful bands they wish to be. Has originality gone the way of the U.S. Constitution (yes, Patriot Act, that was a slap in your chubby face)? How do you know which bands are worth listening to? Well, Dissolver fans, that’s what I’m here for. As a good civil servant of the Dissolver, I’ve gone out and looked high and low for a band that deserves some recognition and airplay. Come and meet The Feeling United, a Toronto-based band that has morphed over the years into its present being, lead by the tenacious Nick Porter and Brendan Michie.

* * * * * * *

Dissolver: How did you guys meet?

Michie: We met in 1997 coming back from a Blur concert. We bonded over how much we hated the show. We were pissed off and ranted, and Nick mentioned he played music and I mentioned that I did as well, so we thought “Why not get a band together?” At that point we were The Skeptics for about a week until I couldn’t handle that name anymore and I refused to have it. Then we were High Water Mark.

Dissolver: Then you formed A New Decade in 1998?

Porter: Well, we were High Water Mark at that point until we found out Apples in Stereo had a side project called The High Water Marks, so we fooled around with A New Decade for a while.

Michie: We got in with this label called Fur Trade Records but then our drummer and bass player weren’t interested anymore for some reason. Nick and I were left again sort of twiddling our thumbs wondering what the hell were we going to do this time. Then we met Gary (present bassist) and Johnny (present drummer) and it’s never been better. Now we are The Feeling United.

Dissolver: Nick, you mention in your blog that this is the most cohesive band you’ve ever played with. Why?

Porter: We really seem to understand each other musically. Everybody knows what their strengths are and we play off that. In terms of the sound, we listen to different types of music, we come from different musical backgrounds, so we have different styles to contribute. I feel like we’re extremely productive when we come together, the way we work out our material. This band is able to take in any sound and make it a part of itself, which is what the name The Feeling United means. It’s not just about the people; it’s also about the ideas.

Dissolver: Are your songs confessional?

Michie: They are to a point but they’re not confessional about anyone in particular. I’ve had exs come up to me in the street and go, “If you write another song about me I’m going to kill you.” They’re confessional but only about me and not about the specifics of me.

Porter: A lot of the current material stems from relationships. The songs tend to be observational and quite personal. A lot of the songs are about love lost and love found.

Dissolver: What other bands do you like? What bands do you emulate?

Michie: I think emulate is a harsh word because no musician will ever want to say, “I’m trying to sound like somebody else.” I’m a huge My Bloody Valentine and Joy Division fan, but my stuff doesn’t sound like theirs. But I do take elements from music I like, use those elements in a sort of interwoven texture way and apply them. So I’m not trying to emulate anyone, I’m just trying to learn something. People say we sound like Pink Floyd but I’ve never listened to them. I’ve been told I sound like the singer from Catherine Wheel, but I don’t listen to them either. One day I want someone to say, “You sound like The Feeling United.”

Dissolver: How are you received in Toronto?

Porter: We’re well received and we’re not. We are in the sense that other musicians seem to appreciate our music; we aren’t because we just haven’t been able to get past a certain roadblock. In Toronto we tend to eat our own, and it seems like you have to prove yourself elsewhere before coming back and making it here.

Michie: We have a pretty good following but we’ve never gotten off this little jumping ramp. It’s weird because we get noticed as a band around town. I hear our music coming out of bars, I’ve heard people drive by in cars listening to it but we’re not enjoying any kind of success over it because we weren’t doing things right. But now I think we’re doing things the right way.

Dissolver: What’s the indie scene like in Toronto?

Michie: A couple of years ago there was nothing really. We were dominated by I Mother Earth and stuff like that. The scene now is unbelievable. I mean, you have bands like Broken Social Scene, Death From Above 1979, and it goes on for a while. Toronto bands are finally getting noticed.
Porter: It seems like everyone in Toronto is in a band and the bar is set really high. There are only so many venues to play, most of which are in downtown Toronto. There’s a lot of competition, a lot of great musicians - www.thedissolver.com


"Bands of the Month"

Who: The Feeling United

What: A fun rock band with a great abbreviation, "The FU." Good music that everyone would love.

On the Web: thefeelingunited.com

Sounds Like: Piano-based alt-rockers such as Coldplay and The Fray

Stand Out Single: “Your Love Is Laced”

Grade: B+

http://www.hearsay.cc/sub_pages/reviews_interviews/11-01-08-07/SonicBids.htm - Hear/Say "America's College Music Newspaper"


"Review - The Dissolver Sept 2007"

THE FEELING UNITED
The Feeling United
(Self-released, 2007)
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by Casey Rue | Canton, MA
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With its eponymous maiden album The Feeling United, the eclectic Canadian band smartly avoids tampering with “new” sounds, thus saving themselves and the listener from the shameless trend-chasing most bands these days seem to do. With diverse musical backgrounds, the foursome incorporates nostalgic sounds from the 80s and 90s and adds a layer or two of unassuming austerity. Despite the familiar territory, the group aptly creates its own aesthetic universe, never wearing out its welcome or lapsing into clichéd sentimentality. Lyrical songs with clear counterpoint, such as “Aim High” and “Spatial Encounter,” comfortably rest alongside guitar-rock/indie-fused songs such as “You’re Love Is Laced” and “Numb Regalia,” of which the latter is a faithful throwback to the 80s long-haired, guitar-ripped awesomeness only that decade could engender. The atmospheric “Coma” evokes an ocean of sentiment from a simple but sweet guitar line, trumped further by unabashedly earnest vocals. Musically, the group doesn’t exactly tread the most original territory, but the way they forge ahead provides a good degree of musical intrigue. The secret to the album’s success lies in the band’s emphasis on the basics – chiming guitars, a love-themed lament here and there, solid drumming, and straightforward yet distinct vocals. The Feeling United delivers a solid demonstration of how much spirit young talent can breathe into old modes. - www.thedissolver.com


Discography

The Feeling United (2007) - Self Titled Debut Album

"Your Love Is Laced" track of the Day on 10Apr2007 in Indie Rock, Garageband.com

"Shoot Shoot" Best Production in Alternative Rock, week of 17Apr2007 Best Lyrics in Alternative Rock, week of 17Apr2007, Garageband.com

Photos

Bio

The name really does say it all. The Feeling United is a Toronto-based modern rock four-piece whose genuine camaraderie and positive internal chemistry seems destined to take them far.

Their self-titled first album is the sound of a band in it for all the right reasons. They’re not novices, but have rediscovered a youthful passion and enthusiasm that serves as a perfect complement to their well-honed skills as players, singers and songwriters.

A real diversity exists within their unified front. Each member has different musical backgrounds and tastes (from classical and jazz to metal and electronica), and this helps account for their refreshingly eclectic and wide-ranging sound. The Feeling United have pledged not to confine themselves to one rigid form, and so have left all doors open for their future musical explorations.

As Brendan Michie (vocals, piano, guitar) explains, “No-one is afraid to put any kind of style on our stuff. This allows us any avenue without it being fractured and all over the place. There are threads through everything, but we like to leave it open. I’m excited by the fact I can’t tell people what we sound like. You have to listen to it.” Drummer John Pacheco agrees, noting that “what is on the record is very much a representation of where we’ll expand and grow. It is everything we want in a platform to build from. None of us want to get bored. We have all been playing for long enough and in such different musics, and that is just part of our personality.”

To record The Feeling United, the band set up shop with engineer Lorne Hounsel in famed Toronto studio Signal To Noise. Together they have crafted a resonant work that speaks with true emotional eloquence. From such gently haunting keyboards-driven ballads as “Spatial Encounter” and “God Is The Water” through the pulsing and irresistibly melodic “Shoot Shoot,” the restrained anthem “We Need More Light,” the hard-driving “Your Love Is Laced” and the cinematic opening instrumental “Coma” (a tune Sigur Ros would be proud to claim), The Feeling United is a multi-faceted album that reveals extra layers with every spin.

The roots of The Feeling United can actually be traced back to a Blur concert in Kitchener in 1996. That’s where the band’s two writers and singers, Brendan and guitarist Nicholas Porter, then still teenagers, first met. “I remember sitting in the back seat on the way back, chatting and going ‘you play guitar? So do I,’” recalls Nicholas.

The dynamic duo became fast friends, playing and recording songs together, before taking divergent routes. “We actually had a bit of a falling out, and then, to mend a bridge, we decided to help each other out on our solo stuff,” says Porter. “About halfway through, we were having a drink, and both went, ‘what the f*** are we doing?’ Why don’t we do this as a joint album?’” “We were doing double work for half gain,” adds Michie.

Their different musical skills (Brendan on keyboards and guitar, Nick on guitar) meshed perfectly, so forming a band together was the next logical step. In 2003, High Water Mark was launched, a group that made its own mark on the Toronto scene, attracting large crowds to such clubs as the El Mocambo and The Rivoli. That group disbanded when, according to Brendan, “Nick and I realized we had to go with people more on our wavelength. That’s when bassist Gary Toporoski and John came along.”

Nick had produced a demo for one of Gary’s earlier bands, while Johnny and Gary had played together in a hard rock band, Surface Underground. “I just wanted to be part of a band with such unquestionably strong songwriting,” Gary explains. “Plus we could hang!”

This rhythm section has added a real muscularity to the sometimes gentle and atmospheric sound of The Feeling United, as Michie observes. “It is tighter and heavier and the quieter parts are more beautiful. It just broadened the spectrum of what we are capable of.”

There is now a true group dynamic and identity in TFU, as opposed to a collaboration between two singer/songwriters. “Before, it was almost separate halves of an apple, but now songs go through the band and become whole,” Brendan explains. “In writing, we are figuring out it is best to bring unmoulded ideas to the table and have everyone bounce it around. That’s when the best stuff comes out.”

Porter and Michie acknowledge that they’ve both been most influenced and inspired by British bands. “There’s a great pop sensibility in British music,” notes Brendan, while Nick chimes in that “melody is the master there.” They come by their influences honestly, given that Nick’s parents are from England, while Brendan’s dad is from New Zealand, via Scotland. They both profess a love for bands ranging from the Beatles to Joy Division, Blur, The Cure, Swervedriver and The Stone Roses

United they now stand, and they demand your close attention.