The Reason (band)

The Reason
Performing at the 2011 Burlington Sound of Music festival
Performing at the 2011 Burlington Sound of Music festival
Background information
OriginHamilton, Ontario, Canada
GenresIndie rock
Rock
Post-hardcore (Earlier)
Years active2003 (2003) – present
LabelsSmallman
Anthem
MembersAdam White
James Nelan
Ronson Armstrong
Serge Sargento
Past membersSean Palmer
Erik Mikalauskas
Joe "Juice" Demars
Cam Bordignon
Jeremy Widerman
Steve Kiely
Mike Caputo
Christopher Swinney

The Reason is a Canadian rock band, formed by Adam White and James Nelan in 2003 in Hamilton, Ontario.

History

Adam White (vocals) and James "Cubby" Nelan (guitar) formed The Reason in late 2003 after the passing of their punk rock band, Sewing With Nancie. Eventually adding Erik Mikalauskas (guitar), Cam Bordignon (drums; who replaced original drummer Joe Demars) and Sean Palmer (bass), The Reason began to write songs and immediately released their first EP - Problems Associated With Running. The band replaced Mikalauskas with Jeremy Widerman on guitar shortly afterwards, and went on tour. They soon signed to Smallman Records & Management after the label witnessed the band performing a concert. In the 12 months that followed they played over 200 shows across Canada and the northern USA, and quickly developed poise well beyond their short existence.

They released their first full-length album, Ravenna, on Smallman Records in 2004, which helped them join tours with Alexisonfire, Boys Night Out, Murphy's Law, No Use for A Name and Strung Out, and shows at CMW, Wakefest, Edgefest, and Wakestock. The album combined aggressive pop with punk that triggered comparisons to Grade[citation needed] and early Get Up Kids[citation needed]. According to Chart Magazine, The Reason had "sharpened their attack, tightened up arrangements and honed their harmonies to precision-drilled perfection"[1]

In 2005, The Reason replaced Sean Palmer with Ronson Armstrong on bass and started work on their next release, patiently writing and recording songs over the next two years. They attracted the attention of Juno-winning producer Gavin Brown (Billy Talent, Three Days Grace, Thornley), who agreed to work with The Reason "as a labour of love"[citation needed] after hearing the demo. With Brown's help, The Reason's album, Things Couldn't Be Better, was released March 20, 2007.[2]

Adam White.
Adam White in August, 2011.

At the end of September 2008, the band announced via myspace that drummer Cam Bordignon had left the band during the writing process for Fools, their upcoming record. The split was amicable and it was also announced that close friend Steve Kiely was to replace Cam as the new permanent drummer for The Reason.

The band recorded Fools at Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville, North Carolina in November 2008. The month-long experience had a rejuvenating effect on the band, partly because of the great locale and partly because of the work of producer Steven Haigler (The Pixies, Brand New, Clutch). Haigler played a pivotal role in developing the band's new sound, which steered away from its previous heavier style.

In 2010, the band parted ways with Smallman and are now managed by SRO/Anthem (Rush, Thornley). They also said goodbye to guitarist Jeremy Widerman who went on to be a founding member of the band Monster Truck, who was replaced by Michael Caputo.

Fools was released on August 24, 2010, as the band begun a cross-Canada tour.

By 2012, The Reason were back in the studio working on their fourth studio release with Canadian producer Howard Redekopp (Mother Mother, Tegan & Sara, The New Pornographers). A Facebook update on June 26 stated, "Our new record is nearly done being mixed. More news to come!".

Near the end of 2012, the band released the first single off their 2013 EP release called "Drive Me Home". The song was the iTunes "Free Single of the Week" for the week of January 14, 2013. The band's new EP Hollow Tree was released on January 15, 2013. The EP contains 6 songs, including the single "Drive Me Home".

Band members

  • Adam White – lead vocals, guitar (2003–present)
  • James Nelan – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (2003–present)
  • Ronson Armstrong – bass, backing vocals (2005–present)
  • Serge Sargento – drums (2013–present)
Former members
  • Sean Palmer – bass (2003–2005)
  • Erik Mikalauskas – guitar (2003–2004)
  • Joe "Juice" Demars – drums (2003–2004)
  • Cam Bordignon – drums (2004–2008)
  • Jeremy Widerman – guitar (2004–2010)
  • Steve Kiely – drums (2009-2011)
  • Mike Caputo – guitar (2009–2012)
  • Christopher Swinney – Aux Guitar, Tour Manager (2004)
Session members
  • Christopher Henry- Drums; Hollow Tree e.p. (2013)

Discography

EPs

  • Problems Associated with Running (2003)
  • Hollow Tree (2013)
    • Produced, Mixed, & Engineered by Howard Redekopp
    • Track Listing
      1. Drive Me Home
      2. Those Days Are Dead
      3. Don't Fail Me
      4. Just So You Know
      5. Grow up
      6. Over Now

Albums

Singles

Year Title Chart Positions Album
CAN
Rock

[3]
2005 "150" - Ravenna
2007 "This Is Just the Beginning" - Things Couldn't Be Better
"All I Ever Wanted" -
"We're So Beyond This" -
2010 "The Longest Highway Home" 3 Fools
2011 "Where Do We Go from Here" -
2012 "Drive Me Home" 11 Hollow Tree EP
2013 "Those Days Are Dead" 9

Music videos

Year Title Album Director
2005 "150" Ravenna Marc Ricciardelli
2007 "This Is Just the Beginning" Things Couldn't Be Better Sean Michael Turrell
"All I Ever Wanted"
"We're So Beyond This"
2010 "The Longest Highway Home" Fools Micha Dahan
2011 "Where Do We Go from Here"

Trivia

  • Their official video for "We're So Beyond This" features Sara Quin of Tegan and Sara, who contributed vocals to the song.

Interviews

See also

References

  1. ^ Review of the album "Ravenna" by Steve English of Chart magazine, Sept 14, 2004[usurped] Last retrieved Apr 2, 2009
  2. ^ Things Couldn't Be Better at Allmusic
  3. ^ "Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-14.