Novillero

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Novillero

Background information
Origin Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Genre(s) Indie rock, pop
Years active 1999–present
Label(s) Mint
Website novillero.net
Members
Dave Berthiaume
Grant Johnson
Rod Slaughter
Sean Stevens
Jack Jonasson
Former members
Rusty Matyas

Novillero is a Canadian indie pop band formed in 1999 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Their musical style has been dubbed "mod-pop".[1][2]

Novillero formed in 1999 out of the ashes of Winnipeg lounge pop darlings Transonic, picking up Rod Slaughter (Duotang), Dave Berthiaume (Bulletproof Nothing), and Rusty Matyas (The Waking Eyes) along the way.[3] This lineup released The Brindleford Follies on Endearing Records, toured moderately in support of its release, and then ground to a halt early in 2002.

After nearly a year apart, Slaughter, Stevens, Berthiaume and Matyas reunited to play a one-off show with new songs. The music then was heading in a new direction, relying less on spacey psychedelia and more on keyboard-driven pop hooks while retaining enough of their mod influence to bridge the gap. They added Grant Johnson when Matyas scaled back his input to focus on The Waking Eyes (who had just signed a record deal with Arnold Lanni's new label Coalition Records). Jack Jonasson, formerly of the Paperbacks, began playing live shows as a vocalist and instrumentalist formally in 2007.

The Globe and Mail's music critic hailed the band's 2005 show at the Winnipeg Folk Festival as one of the best Canadian rock concerts of the year.[4][5]

Novillero has been featured on numerous TV shows including Monk[6] and Eureka. They played themselves at a Music Festival,[7] interacting with Mr. Monk in the Episode entitled Mr. Monk Goes to a Rock Concert (season 5, episode 8). They were seen playing both "The Laissez-Faire System" and "Gaining Ground/Losing Sight". In season 1, episode 6 of Eureka the band can be heard playing a cover of Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction". In season 2, episode 10 "The Art of Carrying On", a track off of Aim Right For The Holes In Their Lives was featured.

According to an update from the band on their facebook their next album will not be entitled "Left Hook" as was erroneously reported by the CBC. According to the CBC Radio 3 blog the album will be released on June 10, 2008. The band has been playing material from the new album at live shows through Decembers. Tracks include Plastic Flag, Shadow Box, Lost Possibilities, and Life in Parenthesis; of which Lost Possibilities and Plastic Flag can be found on their MySpace.

Contents

[edit] Members

  • Rod Slaughter – vocals and keys
  • Sean Stevens – guitars
  • Dave Berthiaume – drums and vocals
  • Grant Johnson – bass and vocals
  • Jack Jonasson – instrumentalist and vocalist

[edit] Discography

[edit] References

  1. ^ Collins, Leah. "Music à la mod", Vue Weekly, 2005-08-11. Retrieved on 2008-05-02. 
  2. ^ McDonald, Neil. "Novillero Aim Right for Ontario, NYC", Soul Shine, 2005-09-06. Retrieved on 2008-05-02. 
  3. ^ Sperounes, Sandra. "Winnipeg's Novillero getting noticed, finally", Edmonton Journal, 2005-08-12, p. G4. 
  4. ^ Everett-Green, Robert. "Riffing off the cubicles they hate. Winnipeg's Novillero is poised for great things by singing about the mundane world of work", The Globe and Mail, 2005-08-16, p. R3. 
  5. ^ Everett-Green, Robert. "The cream of a bountiful crop", The Globe and Mail, 2005-12-30, p. R31. 
  6. ^ "Jay-Z and Beyonce boycotts, Novillero on Monk, and TIMAs return", Chart, 2006-06-22. 
  7. ^ LeBlanc, Larry (2006-07-15). "Winnipeg: Cold, Isolated and Happening". Billboard 118 (28). New York: BPI Communications. 

[edit] External links

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