The Order of Good Cheer

Music. Food. Booze. Sexiness.

The building blocks of any gathering worth remembering.

In 1606, famed explorer and legendary homme-fatale Samuel de Champlain created L'Ordre de Bon Temps. It originally was founded to raise morale through the harsh Canadian winters. These hedonistic bon-vivants would gather regularly for a whirlwind orgy of food, music, wine, and French dancers.

Fast forward to 2009, and the spirit of the club has been revived at last, after many booze-fueled barbecues gave way to the inevitable. The Order of Good Cheer was created by Toronto friend-setters Frank Guidoccio, David Tysowski, Chris Greenough and Kyle Wilson to celebrate the essence of the club through music and food. The historical Order incentive of "I'm cold and hungry so let's party" was transformed into "Country music is the word of God."

Doused in liquor, smothered in BBQ sauce, then filtered through the smoky lens of 70's country rock, the Cheer's goal is to get your feet moving and your tender bits tingling.

In late 2010 the Cheer unleashed their debut recording, the audacious double-gatefold EP Tanto Monta~Monta Tanto. Many said it couldn't, or perhaps shouldn't be done, but they somehow managed to cram nine tracks of psych-country-rock-surf-gospel onto only two discs. Adding another layer of spicy dry-rub to the record, The Order of Good Cheer enlisted an all-star cast of guest musicians and associate Cheer members from Toronto's indie-rock royalty.

Produced by hot-shot guitarist/producer 'Scuba' Steve Krecklo, the record was immediately hailed as a splash of gas in the eye of the current indie climate of bedroom-pop introspection. Tanto Monta~Monta Tanto has been showered with golden praise by Toronto's NOW Magazine as "unpretentious fun of the highest order", while the Montreal Mirror dubbed it "the fun-loving bar-rock soundtrack to your secret male society's weekly stein hoist."

2011 has been designated by many astrologists as the Year of The Cheer, and after witnessing their live shows which always include dazzling surprise guests, infectious energy, outrageous lyrics, heroic drinking, and hills of free slow-smoked pulled pork–personally prepared by the band, it's easy to see why.

Or as one Toronto music industry veteran (who shall remain nameless) recently put it:

"Thank Christ for the Cheer."