Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
...for a debut, it shows a great deal of potential. "Silver Lining" (available on their Myspace, along with the EP's other three tracks), for example, makes '70s soft-rock sound like a good thing, as frontman Matt Burt channels James Taylor and the music is pleasantly mellow. Similarly, "I Am" has a nice jazzy feel to it, and "Buildings" shows that they're pretty good at the country-rock thing, too...
...the Secret Weapons seem like a band to watch. With luck, they'll...turn out to be something special. - iheartmusic.net
Dead end street doesn't seem like a very wise name for a band. I dunno, it just sounds like it could never go , y'know? "It does seem like you're dooming yourself right there," says Matt Burt, vocalist and guitarist for the Secret Weapons, formerly known as Dead End Street.
"Dead End Street was something I just pulled out of my ass because we were booking and we needed a name, but later we wanted something that sounded a little less pessimistic."
Everything's in transition since the name change...but the local quintet have just finished recording their very first EP, four tracks recorded in two days.
"We recorded it live off the floor because we wanted to get that old-school sound where you catch that energy in the room."
The rock offering draws on inspiration from the Beatles, Sabbath, Unknown-era Soundgarden and Guns N' Roses. The keyboards lend elements of prog from time to time. They're very excited. So far, so good, says Burt.
"Our very first show at Sneaky Dee's, we were lucky enough to have a buttload of people out, and that was two weeks after our first rehearsal."
I have to ask how many a buttload is. (This is Burt's second rectal reference in five minutes.)
"I think a buttload is anything over 100. That's the technical quantity."
The live show, of course, is so important, says Burt. Classic rock enthusiasts, the Weapons often mix a few covers into the live show such as songs by the Who, Creedence Clearwater, Pearl Jam, the Band.
"There's some good energy around us," says the ever-positive Burt.
- NOW Magazine
In a debut as well received as could have been wished for, the Secret Weapons burst onto the Toronto indie rock scene just a few short weeks after coming together to do what they love.
Consisting of Matt Burt on guitar and vocals, Brian Seligman on guitar, Keith Chenier on bass, Joe Organ on the keys and Kyle Bryan on drums (and occasionally spoons) the Secret Weapons were formed in October and by the end of the month had already played a successful show at Sneaky Dee's.
The band hopes to continue its success and parlay its passion into a full-time gig.
"We'd all love to succeed at this, we'd all love to be able to make a living off this," Burt said. "Even if that means touring the country and driving in some beat-up van all the way to Vancouver and hitting every little stop along the way, that would be amazing if we could get by doing that kind of thing."
Both Bryan and Burt were previously members of separate bands that did some recording and touring before breaking up around the same time in 2004.
"Between the two of our old bands, we've played at the Opera House, the Horseshoe Tavern, the El Mocambo and a bunch of other Toronto venues, and we plan on hitting them with the Weapons in the near future, followed by Wembley Stadium," joked Burt.
The Secret Weapons return to Sneaky Dee's for their second concert on Friday, December 2. For more information on the band and to hear a few of its songs, check out the website at http://www.myspace.com/secretweaponsonline
- Humber College Et Cetera
Discography
the Secret Weapons EP tracklisting:
1) Buildings
2) Standing There
3) I Am
4) Silver Lining
recorded and mixed by Jeremy Darby at Canterbury Sound, Toronto, ON, May 13-14, 2006
These songs are available in streaming audio at:
http://www.myspace.com/secretweaponsonline
The band has since written several new songs and debuted them in a live setting, including "I Know You", "Anticipation", "Born A Long Time Ago" and "Rugburn".
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
In October of 2005, a young band then known as Dead End Street played its inaugural show at Sneaky Dee’s in downtown Toronto. Though it was just two weeks after their first-ever rehearsal in a cramped Kensington Market apartment, the band played to an audience of over 130 people.
Encouraged by the success of their debut and armed with a growing collection of original songs, the group that would soon become known as the Secret Weapons set out on the local circuit over the next several months, playing rock clubs like the Bovine Sex Club and Clinton’s Tavern, as well as making a successful trip to Southern Ontario for their first out-of-town show.
In May of 2006, the Secret Weapons recorded their debut EP, a 4-song effort cut live off the floor over 2 days. At the helm was sound engineer Jeremy Darby, a music industry veteran who had worked with artists such as Pearl Jam, Eric Clapton, Lenny Kravitz and the Rolling Stones.
In June, the Secret Weapons played Toronto’s North By Northeast (NXNE) Music Festival and were one of a handful of groups featured in NOW Magazine’s coverage.
In September came the band’s official CD Release Party, held in front of a massive crowd at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern. The band has sold and distributed approximately 1000 copies of its EP.
In October, the Secret Weapons were named “Best Rock Band” at the Toronto Independent Music Awards, held at the Phoenix. Their song “Buildings” was also among the top five nominees out of over 500 submissions for “Best Song” (to see video highlights of Matt’s acceptance speech, go to http://live.canoe.ca/Videos/Showbiz/Music/2006/10/06/1964362.html
The Secret Weapons rocked the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern once again on November the 23rd to a crowd of over 200 people. With an AIDS benefit show planned for the New Year and several gigs on the radar for 2007, the Weapons are poised to explode.
The Music of the Secret Weapons
“Buildings”
This is one of the best examples of the band’s five musicians working together in perfect tandem. It’s like clockwork; a kind of organized chaos as the Secret Weapons pulsate in crescendo towards an absolutely massive climax that closes this poignant track. The song ends with vocalist Matt Burt's signature wail, a simple "yeah" often shouted out by 100 extra vocalists at every show. Lyrically, the song is simple and bare – yet effective, asking questions and playing with universal themes of revolution and rock and roll, and sending out a passionate plea not to take things for granted.
sample lyric: What keeps your buildings from falling down? What keeps your airplanes from crashing into the sea?
“Standing There”
The verses creep along darkly in Black Sabbath-draped grooves before guitarist Brian Seligman launches into the song’s soaring chorus that recalls vintage-era Soundgarden. Keith Chenier’s fuzz bass adds a thick layer to the ballistic sonic assault brought on by this track’s straight-out killer hooks.
sample lyric: If I lost my way, I won’t waste another day to see myself out of this mess that we’ve made…
“I Am”
The track’s unique, almost spoken-word verse gives way to a joyriding, bouncy chorus that plucks along with Skynyrdian twang. The bridge dazzles with dead-on precision, showcasing the group's solid musicianship.
sample lyric: I am a man of integrity and I am a man of heart…I am a man of loyalty and that’ll set one man apart…
“Silver Lining”
Starting out with the bare sounds of a quiet piano, it’s with the gentlest touch that keyboardist Joe Organ first tickles the ivories in this melodic and beautiful track. After the final chorus, which is somehow both sad and triumphant at the same time, the song delves into an epic outro before coming right back to where it began, ending on Organ’s final soothing notes.
sample lyric: So hard to leave a friend, know we won’t meet again in the sky…
New songs include "Born A Long Time Ago", "Anticipation", "Rugburn" and "I Know You".
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