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http://www.petenema.com/article.php?story=woodward_company-08
WOODWARD COMPANY @ THE HORSESHOE TAVERN
by: Pete Nema
One thing I really like about the music community in Toronto is the support musicians give to each other. I will often see members of bands in the audience for other bands, supporting their friends or there just because music is their life. Before Woodward Company took the stage, I ran into Tim Oxford who plays drums for the Arkells. It turns out he was there because he is long-time friends with two of the members of Woodward Company, and was involved in the recording of their new, but not quite ready for release, EP.
Even though the EP isn't ready for release yet, the band brought a full box of freshly home-burned CDs, carefully wrapped in paper bags that had a silver spray-painted 'W" on them, and offered them for free to everyone in attendance, handing out about 70 CDs that night. The band is working on cover art and liner notes now, and the official EP release will be a little later in the year.
The show itself was really well attended. Although the crowd kept a safe distance from the stage for first band, that area filled in for Woodward Company, with one uber-fan dancing and rocking along to every song of the seven song set, with others joining in here and there. The performance showed some good promise, with a variety of potential influences; I heard hints of bands like Nerf Herder in the vocals, and The Who and Phish in the music, the latter possibly explaining why they tended to drift a little too far into jamming territory every now and then. At least two songs of the set were instrumental only, no vocals.
The band is going on a brief hiatus starting now, but then in March sometime they plan on touring Southern Ontario and into Quebec, after which they plan on holding the real CD release party back in Toronto. - PeteNema.com
Discography
-High Hills EP (OUT NOW!)
-"Our Friend Comes To..." Single
-Digital download EP
Photos
Bio
Long before the days where available funds were spent on stomp boxes and skins, before weekends were spent dripping heavy sweat on the stage floors of the Drake Hotel, Horseshoe Tavern, and Lee's Palace, before basements were converted to house phenomenal musical operations, there was something missing.
On Sundays, William would walk to the town farmer's market in search of something specific. His impeccable sense of smell could lead him there in the dark, or in some half-dazed stupor. And on each Sunday, William would walk back to his home in the forest empty-handed and still un-sure as to what he was looking for in the first place. This went on for eleven years. Spencer, always intrigued by the secrets of others, would spend most of his free time spying on passers-by from various shrubs and bushes. Sometimes he got so caught up in the act of actively listening to the whispers of others, that when nobody was around, he was often seen sticking pebbles and leaves into his ears. He was certain they would tell him something. Jeffrey was always jumping. From a very early age, he would shock his relatives and neighbours alike by hurtling over refrigerator boxes and whole televisions. Eventually his biggest feat was to pummel directly over his mother's bungalow, bounce off his backyard trampoline, and jump into the deep river that separated the house from the dark forest. He only did this once. Noah, deep in deciding his numerous scientific hypotheses, was always making noises. He would carry around the shells of a walnut in his lab-coat pocket and tap them together to help him think. He would rub the food off his chin and continue doing so long after the food had fallen away, because he liked the sound of it. One day his obsession took over, he started tapping the walnut shells while blinking his eyes and he didn't stop. He started walking without knowing where he was going.
And one day they all came together. William decided instead of going to the farmer's market, he would change his weekly routine and walk in the opposite direction-- deeper into the forest-- in hopes of finding what he sought. Spencer had his head to the ground and swore he heard a piece of grass remark, "The reason we never talk to you is because we're timid here. Go to the woods." Jeffrey, after making it over the bungalow and onto the trampoline, found himself looking down onto the river from much higher than anticipated and landed much further away from his home than he expected. And Noah, obsessed with the taps emitting from his walnut shells, walked and walked until he found himself deep in a dark place he'd never thought to come to in his life.
Will found a chewed up tree stump, sat down and started playing guitar. Spencer listened to the rocks and bushes and started repeating what he heard. Jeffrey began imitating the noise of his jumping and bouncing by picking up a bass. And Noah kept banging and tapping on his walnut, until one day he got a proper drum-set.
The Woodward Company now tours urban and rural areas, offering to show the world to itself by relating stories that are humorous and serious, insightful and non-sequitur. The melodies, hooks, and epic crescendos of Woodward Company make listeners realize that they aren't passive spectators in the game of life, but that they are the very individuals who will change the world forever.
FOR BOOKING INQUIRIES, ETC. : : : WOODWARDBAND@GMAIL.COM
myspace.com/woodwardcompany - woodwardcompany.ca - www.youtube.com/woodwardband
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