The long slog...

So long 2010! And what a long ride you've been...

Highlight of the year is definitely recording the best material Charge of the Light Brigade has done, our debut full-length record The Defiant Ones. It's been a long arduous process, and we switched drummers as recording drew to a close, but the end result is shaping up just fine. There's some great tracks coming, from opening rocker "Last Door Down" to the rolling pop swing of "All You Are To Me" to the epic pomp of closer title-track "The Defiant Ones". We've revisited the material from our first EP We Haven't Been Properly Introduced, and those tracks have bigger cojones now, some real hairy mojo. In a good way! We've even dug further back in the vault, polishing up earlier Sneyd pieces "Wheels Come Off" and "The Real Heart". Marc Koecher's production is superb as ever, really rich and complex, and Jason and Zack did wonderful work on bass and drums. My own writing continues to develop, along with that fragile instrument people call a voice. All in all, it's a great mess o' tunes.

Beyond that, getting out our first EP and going out with a newly revitalized band (twice) was a great feeling. Jason joining the band made a huge difference for getting back in the live world, and his half-cocked jocularity, steady playing and mad range of vocals have added a lot of great dimension to the band live.

The lowlight was definitely the great drummer hunt in the summer. Zack Mykula, a long-time stalwart playing with me, decided to move on to focus on some new projects he was getting going, just as we were finishing up the tracks for The Defiant Ones. Talk about hard to replace! Zack's a superb drummer, and an original thinker behind the kit. And wonderfully stoic and dry, one of the city's true curmudgeony best. We auditioned a good bunch of guys as replacements, and boooooyyyyy was it tough finding anyone even remotely in the same ballpark. We did meet a few really great guys, but it ain't easy when you're looking for the right combination of technical skill, hard-hitting, and someone on the same wavelength to top it off. You know, those alt-rock-prog-pop sophisticated-creative-but-restrained guys don't exactly grow on trees. After many auditions and a few near-hits, we finally lucked into playing with Owen Tennyson, the drummer for Toronto new wavers Blue Peter. Owen's worked out fantastically, bringing his own panache and outgoing style to the band.

Can't wait to get the album out, and get on with the scads of work that entails! But fuck, it's waaaay better than waiting around mixing. Sometimes, the recording process can be a huge grind, and it's easy to lose sight of what you're trying to achieve. But the beast is done, the beast lives! More details about the release coming up real soon.

Happy New Year, and bring the good times. Charge!!

Feeding the muse....

Charge of the Light Brigade is very close to finishing up our debut full-length album The Defiant Ones. This has been a long time in the works, over a year of recording, mixing, reworking and recording again. It's the first full-length release I've put out since 2007's Luke Sneyd solo album All of Us Cities.

I think it's be the best thing we've done. The album's sounding great. Marc Koecher's production is superb and we've really kicked the mixes up a notch in terms of sheer oomph and fullsome sound. Zack Mykula's drums are spectacular, and it's a great send-off for his time with the band. Jason Eagan's bass and vocals have added another melodic dimension, anchoring and driving the music. You can really hear everyone's contributions. And the songs are pretty damn fine, too.

To help us wrap up the record, we're enlisting the help of our fans. We've teamed up with FeedTheMuse.net, a cool site that enables bands and fans to come together and help realize a band's vision, whether that's an album, video, tour or virtual music pleasure centre. We figured we'd stick with the album for now.

We're raising money to cover the costs of recording, mastering and publicity for The Defiant Ones. There's a bunch of cool ways for people to take part. Yes, we're raising cash. In return, people get perks from digital downloads to CDs to free shows. We'll even play in your very own living room, if you want to kick in a hefty dose of lucre (plane tickets extra). Payment can be done directly from a credit card (if you're a U.S. resident), or via PayPal (which also takes credit cards) for any supporters regardless of location.

We'll be posting some exclusive videos and song samples at FeedtheMuse.net for fans and supporters to check out in advance of the album's release.

All in all it's a very cool way to help artists achieve their goals. Check it out at http://www.feedthemuse.net/chargeband and see what it's all about. We'd be thrilled to have you along for the ride!

Solving the ConunDrum

Last night we had our first rehearsal with drummer Owen Tennyson, who's taking over behind the kit for departed wunderkind Zack Mykula. Owen's a whiz. He's played with Blue Peter and countless others, got a million stories and such an effusive guy. Really looking forward to doing the next show with him.

Running through our set for Friday with Owen, it really hit me how important a top-notch drummer is to a band. Zack's very creative in his approach, fusing an almost jazz sensibility with a hard-rock style. And Owen's superb, settling into a brand new (for him) nine-song set with confidence and aplomb.

The other thing about our three-month quest to find a replacement for Zack is it's shown me that our songs are surprisingly tough for a lot of people. They're hardly the most technical stuff out there, but there's a lot of structure. Amazing how many musicians aren't interested in structure. "There's a lot of parts," one guy would mumble, before crashing through the condensed epic-osity of "Young Love" like a bulldozer stuck in first gear. But to me all of our songs are very organic. Just listening to "Young Love", you don't notice the myriad time-shifts taking place. I've always love bands that can do that, like Pink Floyd's "Money" or the Beatles "Good Morning" or Them Crooked Vultures, where the song's time is complicated, but it just flows.

It's great to find another drummer who gets that. The stories about The Police infighting on tour are pretty hilarious, too.

IndieSolo Band of the Day - September 22nd

Charge of the Light Brigade is the featured band tomorrow, Wednesday, September 22nd, at IndieSolo.com. Like us, you know the band's great. But there's a lot of people that don't. So on Wednesday, pop over to IndieSolo, vote for the band, add your comments and download our free tracks. It'll give us a boost in the annual rankings as people surf the site in the weeks to come. Thanks for the support!

Live at Lee's Palace, Friday, October 1st

Charge of the Light Brigade is going to be playing Lee's Palace Friday, October 1st. Really looking forward to this show. Sitting in with us on drums will be Owen Tennyson (no relation to "Charge of the Light Brigade" poet Lord Alfred), long-time drummer for Toronto legends Blue Peter.

Also on the bill are Militis Rue, Reckless Disposition and This Mad Desire. Doors are at 9pm, and cover's $8 in advance, $10 at the door. Pick up five tickets ahead of time, and get 'em even cheaper, for $7 each. Advance tickets will be held at the door for you under your name.

Get tickets now - email us at info@cotlb.com with how many you want, and we'll arrange it pronto. You'll get a payment notice from PayPal, but you won't need a PayPal account, just a credit card for the secure transaction.

We're plugging hard to finish up the recording of our debut full-length, so this is probably the last Toronto gig of the year for us. Don't miss it, brigadoons!

Press Watch

In case you didn't catch them on Twitter or Facebook, there were a couple of good reviews/interviews for Charge of the Light Brigade last week.

Chicago/New York music blog Consequence of Sound touted the band's debut EP We Haven't Been Properly Introduced, calling the band's sound "familiar yet experimental, different and polished." There were a couple of good in-depth interviews with yours truly, too, in Vancouver's The Delete Bin and at Georgia online mag Junior's Cave. I get to talk about the band's influences, our writing and recording process and the plight of freedom for the independent artist. Check 'em out.

"Young Love" Live is Live

The video of "Young Love" from Charge of the Light Brigade's release gig at the Rivoli is online now. Thanks to Juan Montalvo for shooting and editing this puppy.



The gig itself was a good vibe, with local outfit Bella Clava and New York's Midnight Spin joining us for a night of spit and polish rockness. Best moments were the tit-for-tat covers, with COTLB delivering their brooding take on Springsteen's "Atlantic City" later followed by Midnight Spin's feisty and rambunctious cover of Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World".

There's some great live shots of the show, too, from Juan Montalvo and Allison Janzen, at our Facebook Fan Page.

We're back in the studio now, blasting through the last few tracks to finish for our full-length, The Defiant Ones.  The album is shaping up to be a pretty grand slab of rock'n'roll, much bigger in scope than the small stage of our debut EP We Haven't Been Properly Introduced. Can't wait to drop this one on you guys, some time this fall!