zoey's closet

Holler is holding a fundraiser to attend Canadian Music Week in Toronto.
As winner of the recent Extreme Band Slam, hosted by local radio station 104.9 The Wolf, Holler has set its sights on putting together the funds to get to Canadian Music Week in Toronto where the band will compete for more than $50,000 in cash, prizes, instruments, gear and studio time.
Holler beat out the best of the best in Saskatchewan, but the regional prize package does not cover airfare and accommodations, so a live fundraiser will take place Friday night at The Distrikt.
"Regina is a supportive city," says lead singer Trish Evans. "If people like what they saw and heard during the Band Slam, I hope they'll come out and see us at The Distrikt.
"It all helps. We've got a travel budget of about $4,000 for the band to get to Toronto and back. It would be difficult to do it ourselves without sponsors and without the fundraiser.
"We've been working hard already and people need to know that we're not going to be blowing the money on partying, coke and hookers," she adds, laughing. "In addition to the show, we're going to have a 50-50 draw, raffles and prizes. Every penny will go towards getting us there."
Despite the excitement of being part of Canadian Music Week, guitarist Brad Taylor says the experience of playing with some great bands, meeting people and playing in front of the large crowds at Casino Regina has already overshadowed the competitive aspect.
"We were happy to win and we're looking forward to competing and doing Regina proud in Toronto, but we've never looked at music as a competition, per se," Taylor says. "It was as much fun as it was nerve-wracking.
"For us it was about the camaraderie, watching other bands and playing on the big stage. We met Stillseed through the Band Slam and now they've become friends and they're playing with us...To me, things like that are what it's all about."
Evans and Taylor are actually new in the Queen City. A need for a steady and skilled rhythm section resulted in the pair's recent move to Regina from southern Alberta. They have hooked up with Tayor's cousin, Tyler (drums), and bassist Mike Schurko.
The quartet is building on the atmospheric hard rock that Evans and Taylor first established on the 2004 debut, A Little Piece of Quiet, which was recorded in Vancouver.
The group is often compared to Evanescence, on album, but opinions often change on a concert stage.
"The Evanescence comparison got tiresome really quickly," Evans says. "It was annoying because the comparison is really just a female singing with a hard-edge band.
"I know there (are) not a lot of female-fronted hard rock bands out there-maybe Avril Lavigne and stuff like that0so I guess there's not a whole lot of reference points. I don't know. I just sing like...me. It took me a while to feel comfortable, but there are worse things than drawing comparisons to successful bands with successful ideas."
With its lineup now solid as a rock, the band's goals are to get to the next level by touring and rehearsing as much as possible.
"It's entertainment-that's the business we're in," says Taylor.
"But it's also our passion. We want people to enjoy it and be entertained, whether it's by the music, a message they can relate to, the grooves they like or the heaviness of the notes.
"The greatest compliment that we get on the most consistent basis is that everyone seems to like different elements of the band. That's extremely gratifying to us."
Both Taylor and Evans are feeling comfortable and confident with the live show in preparation for the band's showcase in Toronto next weekend.
"I think we've always been first and foremost a live band," Evans says. "That's when we're at our best. We're proud of the record, but most people who come to see us feel that the live show is at least twice what the record is.
"Musically we're very solid, my voice has improved a lot since we recorded the album and the drummer that we have now is 10 times the drummer that we had on the record.
"It's an interactive show, it's a high energy show and it's never boring."
For more information on Holler, log on to www.hollerband.com
- Leader Post Regina

Last week I received an e-mail from Gary Russell of 94X FM in Prince George, B.C. about a Vancouver indie band called Holler. The band's single 'On and On' has been a hit at 94X, recently climbing into the station's top ten. They're also doing well at retail with their independently released album "A Little Piece of Quiet'. "I had a call about them from Boston by the same dude from Hollywood Records that broke - pardon the pun - Breaking Benjamin" Russell says. In his words, Holler are "solid CanCon that blends perfectly with the Amy Lee Goth Rock sound that's big right now." In fact, it isn't just Canada that's warming up to Holler's sound; Edge FM in Seattle is also playing On and On and the track is one of their most requested songs. You might want to check out Holler before they blow up. - Canadian Music

Though they're still a relatively new band, Holler has a lot to show for itself. A full-length, independently released album and chart-topping succes in major market like Seattle and Vancouver, they can add finalist in the Wolf's X-Treme Band Slam to the list.
"We just dropped off the demo to The Wolf and they liked what they heard," said bassist Mike Schurko. "that's the way it worked. You send in a demo and bio. The Wolf reviewed them and picked 12 different bands to compete on three separate nights. I think they had something like 100 demos that they went through in one day. The top band from each night went to the finals."
While the submission process seemed relatively easy, the actual competition wasn't as forgiving.
"We wer given 25 minutes so we were able to squeeze in about five songs. There wan't much room for talkin," said guitarist Brad Taylor. "The finals in Toronto should be even more intense. We're given 20 minuts [to play] in Toronto so we've chosen four songa and have already had to edit one down to make it tighter. We're sitting at 19-and-a-half minutes. Maybe we'll have enough time to say 'Hey, we're Holler from Regina' between songs."
The short set-time isn't the only thing that the band has to overcome. Stnading in ther way of the $50,000 worth of cash and prozes - which includes tons of gear, time at a recording studio and a three month contract with a label that will help pay for touring and promotion - are bands from all over Canada that also have their eyes on being crowned the reigning champs of Canadian independent music.
"We've done some research on the web to check out our competition. It's sttiff competition, but it wil be a good competition," said Taylor.
It's hard to believe that a band, which is rounded out by vocalist Trish Evans and drummer Tyler Taylor, with so much success actually started off without a full-time rhythm section.
"We didn't really have a band put together at the time so we called some people and had them play for us," said Taylor. "We went through a couple of rhythm sections over a period of time and none of them worked out. I knew that my cousin Tyler was drumming so I gave him a shout and he hooked us up with Mike. It;s been all good since then."
It seens as if Holler has a ton going for them. Don't, however, just write them off as an Evanescence sound-alike.
"It was bitter [being compare to them] at first." said Taylor. "we really didn't like it. It's tough when you have to put your focus on not sounding like another band. There aren't a lot of female fronted rock bands out there so the immediate comparision is Evanescence. We're not punk-pop so we can't be related to Avril Lavigne. We play hard-rock muic."
"However, to be compared to a multi-platinum selling band isn't a bad thing." added Schurko. "there are worse things to be compared to. People will say this or that before they really hear us but after they see the live show their opinions are changed." - The Carillon Regina

I have not seen a band lately that has created more buzz in such a short period of time. In the last 3 week's alone they have outsold Nickelback, Eminem, The Black Eyed Peas, System of a Down and many more big name artist's. People will drive from all over the city to our store in the north end just to purchase their cd and rave about how good they are, and how they are looking forward to their upcoming concert at the Distrikt. I have no doubt in my mind that Holler is going to be making a lot of noise in the music industry for along time to come.

Travis Wagg
Manager of CD Plus Northgate Mall Regina, Sask.
- Travis Wagg

Holler was the 2006 X-treme band Slam Winners at Casino Regina Show Lounge January 25th 2006. Their sound and stage presents won the crowd over. "Trish Owns the Stage"!! Her presence is astonishing. The Band is very tight and If you didn't know you'd think they have been at this for years!!! These guys are very professional and are great to work with.

Gina Resler
104.9 The Wolf Promotions
- Ginia Resler

"There's two kinds of music, the good and bad. The Wolf
plays the good kind and we are happy to add Holler to our
Play List!""

-Steve Huber
Program Director for 104.9 FM The Wolf

- Steve Huber