VEER

Article By: Cecilia
Date: August 31st, 2007

Summer, like all good things, must end. However, that doesn’t stop Vanvcouver from partying one last time before the rain and the school kick in.

On August 30th, Vancouver’s beloved rock act Veer played their tour kick off show along with Burning Borders and Cold Driven to a packed house at The Plaza Club. A day later, the guys were back at the Ukrainian Hall to bring the same party to an underage crowd.

Although the number of people waiting at the door was less than impressive compared to the night before, the bands still pulled their acts together and delivered a nothing short of amazing show. First band up was Kamloop’s Cold Driven. The set was characterized by a lot of head banging on the band’s side and some undeniably genius work from the guitarists. Although the fans liked the set as they all nodded with the beats, the night was still young and the sun was still out; this was only a warm up.

Burning Borders did not take long to set up after Cold Driven finished their 25 minutes set. A noticeable difference in Burning Borders’ set from the former was the frontman’s ability to lead the crowd. While Cold Driven’s lead singer worked the mic, Burning Border’s vocalist worked the mic and the floor. Constantly leaning over to the crowd, the singer captivated the kids in the venue. For a while, the guitarist also jumped down into the crowd and attempted to start a mosh pit still carrying his guitar. Crowd interaction reached its peak of the night and the audience reacted by giving the band a greater response, even though whether Burning Borders is better than Cold Driven musically is highly debatable.

When the second band finished playing, most people went out for some air, but in true hardcore fan spirit, a handful of girls stayed in the front, their hands clenching to the edge of the stage, patiently waiting for Veer to start. Fortunately, the band was also quick in set up and did not waste any time getting the crowd into their set. Perhaps the most melodic of all bands playing on the last night of August, Veer put on a set full of anthem like sing alongs. The band played most of the songs off their debut album, Time to Break the Spell and showcased a couple of new tracks to be released on their sophomore offering. “Over Me,” the radio single was sang by a collaboration of the band and the fans. My personal favorite track from the set was “Youth of Yesterday,” a medley of the best parts of the debut album. Though most bands end their shows with their best known track, Veer ended their set with the best known track of summer 2007, a cover of Rihanna’s “Umbrella.” The track has been covered by other rock bands numerous times before, but Veer made the R&B fave sound as if it were originally written on distortion guitars and heavy bass lines.

Summer 2007 shall be remembered to many reasons- half a dozen of genre defining new releases and a Warped Tour line up worth paying 40 bucks for, and Veer’s show with Cold Driven and Burning Borders might very well be the best local show of the summer. - SaintRocknRoll.com

Used with permission from The Issaquah Press — Sept. 16, 2007

On the Web
Check out Veer at www.myspace.com/veermusic.
Learn more about the You Can Be Anything Foundation at
www.ycbafoundation.com.

Veer rocks Issaquah High School

By Chantelle Lusebrink
So, you want to become a rock star?
Well, it’s not always lavish parties, limos and stacks of cash like you see on VH1
or MTV. Just ask the hard-rocking, hard-working men who make up Vancouver,
British Columbia’s, rock sensation Veer.

“There were times we were sleeping in our jam space and that was tough,”
guitarist and vocalist Eric Schraeder, 25, said. “But it’s about perseverance.”
The band stopped by Issaquah High School Sept. 13 as part of the Youth of a
New Day Tour, sponsored by the You Can Be Anything Foundation.
Instead of waiting in line for lunch in silence, students were rocking to a four-song
set played by the band, including songs they wrote and a crossover rock cover of
the popular R&B song, “Umbrella,” by Rihanna.

Before they were Veer, at least two of the bandmates saw the ugly side of the
music world, when they were signed with record labels in separate bands.
Both Schroeder and Crispin Earl, 25, the band’s lead vocalist, waded through
band politics and power struggles with their labels in those years.
Eventually, Earl departed his band and started songwriting for Tommy Lee, who
was producing his first solo album, as Schroeder separated from his band.
Schroeder and Earl moved back to Vancouver.

Bassist Marc Roots, 22, was playing basketball on an athletic scholarship at the
University of Manitoba; guitarist James Fiddler, 21, and drummer Neil Beaton,
20, were finishing school and trying to figure out what they really wanted to do.
“Every day after basketball practice, I’d pick up my guitar,” Roots said. “I found
out pretty quick that I’d rather play guitar than play basketball and that I really
wanted to be in a band.”

What it took, Schroeder said, was perseverance to make it through their personal
conflicts and a huge leap of faith to form their band with a renewed commitment
to helping others achieve their own dreams.
“The music business can be really, really hard on anyone trying to break in, so
we decided to veer away from the music business and get back to our roots,”
Earl said.

“We had great musical programs in the schools we all went to, and had we not
had it, we probably wouldn’t have started playing music,” he added.
“They were a musical inspiration,” Emily Carl, the student leadership advisor at
Issaquah High School, wrote in an e-mail. “They not only played for the school,
but then they visited a choir class to discuss their music careers and overall
journey.
“It was a way to connect with different groups of students and their interests,” she
added.

The purpose of the foundation sponsoring the tour is to support music programs
in education and encourage children to pursue their interest in music, said
DeAvon Burnes, its founder and executive director.
The foundation is a national nonprofit organization that offers scholarships,
tutoring and services aimed at young musicians, athletes and struggling
students. It also helps other foundations and organizations that provide youth
services and is looking to develop a facility to offer free studio sessions for
budding musicians.

While at the high school, the band also gave a presentation to a music class,
letting the students ask questions about different aspects of the music industry,
problems they’d encountered and how they overcame adversity.
“It is hard work, but we want to let them know that they really can do anything
they want to do,” Burnes said. “We want to bring back the option of following a
career in music in schools.

“We want them to know that they can do this, if that is what they choose to do,”
he added. “But instead of having them go into the music industry blind, we are
trying to educate them.”

Reporter Chantelle Lusebrink can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 241, or
clusebrink@isspress.com. - Issaquah Press