Ashleys
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Ashleys

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"Carleton Students on iTunes"

Local alternative indie band the Ashleys have just released an EP on iTunes - and they're not even signed by a record label.



Mike Melanson, their lead singer and rhythm guitarist, has been hard at work designing posters and cover art to promote the record, Bears, in addition to editing band photos, booking shows and running the band's Myspace and Facebook pages.



"I'm really into it. It's important to keep an online fan base cause it's the way the world is moving," Melanson said.



The native Maritimers recorded Bears in August, "live in a garage," with the vocals added separately from the band. Even then, the singer's raspy melodies go hand in hand with the fuzzy sound of the guitars and clashing drums.



Since then, Melanson has transferred to Carleton from the University of New Brunswick and now lives with fellow band mates and Carleton students Jack Bielli, their lead guitarist, Aaron Toner, their bass player and drummer Michael Smolinski.



Discussing music in his Ottawa home, Melanson leaned back on his bed and picked up a mandolin that laid beside him, casually strumming chords on its strings. His room opens up to the band's new rehearsal space in their basement, where a drum kit and a series of guitars, amps and cables have buried the floor.



"Listening to music all my life, I just wanted to be a musician. I was raised on a jukebox in my basement," said the front man, who first got into performing on his father's guitar at the age of 12.



After getting into singing as well, Melanson joined forces with the Ashleys' current line-up at their high school in Quispamsis, N.B. in 2007. Now 19, Melanson is eager to enter Ottawa's music scene with his band mates.



"The scene in Ontario seems to be more indie and alternative while New Brunswick is really pop-punk ? we just don't really fit in. We're kind of like outcasts in terms of our musical style," he explained.



But Melanson still appreciates the band's hometown fans and the gigs they played back on the east coast, including a spot at Saint John's major summer music festival SaltyJam in July.



"It's a lot of fun. It's nice getting into the public and hearing what people think and definitely just hearing the songs live."



--



- Jill Krajewski


Discography

BEARS (1st EP)
-available on iTunes and available for listening on MySpace
-recorded live in 2010
-released on iTunes Oct.19th, 2010
-singles: Jack & Handel, Nighthawk

LAND OF FEAR AND SHAME (1st LP)
-avalible at ashleys.bandcamp.com and on iTunes
-recorded live in 2011
-released on January 8th, 2012
-singles: Polish, Rivers Shivers, Flightless Little Birds, Twenty

Photos

Bio

Ashleys are four boys who come from a little lake in the woods. Hailing from the Maritime town of Quispamsis, NB, Ashleys have spent the last three years establishing themselves as a hard-working band in the Ottawa music scene.

They have come to be known for their own original recipe of indie rock, having shared the stage with Paper Lions, The Dudes and other reputable Canadian acts. Through blood (ask Mike), sweat (ask Jack) and years, Ashleys have crafted a live show based around interaction and the spirit of rock. Their high-energy shows inspired the band to bring the same spontaneity to live from-the-floor recordings for their independently-released debut, "Land Of Fear And Shame" in January, 2012.

Ashleys are not your regular run o' the mill band. They're comprised of four best friends who are always hanging out and getting up to no good. They are a band first, but also love to cook, play with dogs and go bowling. Just two releases deep (with their 2010 EP "Bears" and their 2012 LP "Land Of Fear And Shame") Ashleys have no intention of slowing. The band is currently building material for their sophomore release, coming later on in 2013.

If you have any inquiries for Ashleys (or think you got what it takes to take them on in a game of bowling - you don't) you can always send them an e-mail at weareashleys@hotmail.com.