 |
| The Breaks |
T-Mak World coverage of Canadian Music Week 2013 is centralized here – your one stop guide for rock at this year’s festival.
March 13 2013 – Canadian Music Week 2013 (CMW) is almost here and we can’t wait for hundreds of bands to invade the bars and clubs of our fair city as part of the festival’s Canadian Music Fest program. Admittedly the names are slightly confusing but Canadian Music Week is the master name of the festival that is composed of a film program (Canadian Music Week Film Fest), a comedy program (Canadian International Comedy Fest), a conference, awards shows, a trade show and a kick ass music festival called Canadian Music Fest that runs between March 19-24 2013.
In 2012, T-Mak World initiated extensive coverage of Canadian Music Fest and we saw a total of 34 bands/artists and interviewed the following 10 bands as part of our Emerging Artist Spotlight series:
Beta from Puebla, Mexico (Alternative,Grunge,Rock)
Breaching Vista from Kitchener, Ontario (Alternative,Pop,Rock)
Floor Thirteen from Winnipeg, Manitoba (Alternative,Rock)
Grain from Edmonton, Alberta (Blues,Classic Rock,Rock)
In My Coma from Toronto, Ontario (Alternative,Progressive,Rock )
Last Bullet from Toronto, Ontario (Classic Rock,Rock)
Matt Groopie and The Bandits from Thornhill, Ontario (Blues, Classic Rock, Psychedelic Rock )
One Bad Son from Vancouver, B.C. (Rock)
Louder Than Love from Vancouver, B.C. (Rock)
TimeGiant from Toronto, Ontario (Rock)
Our wrap up article from 2012 is here and we are excited to be back in 2013 and to add even more bands to our Emerging Artist Spotlight Series. Today we focus on a band from Toronto and their CMF profile reads:
The Breaks came together in the fall of 2010. These three experienced musicians decided to start a kick-ass Rock n’ Roll band. Rooted deeply in classic influences – The Breaks take Blues, Folk, Rhythm and Blues, and Country into Rock n’ Roll’s 21st century. While The Breaks are active in the studio they focus as much energy as possible on playing live. In the past year, they have performed at storied venues across Toronto, such as The Horseshoe Tavern, The Opera House, and The Cadillac Lounge.
In 2012, the Breaks released their debut LP entitled “In Meetings”. They took this album on tour to the east coast in the summer of 2012. The tour ranged from a three hour set at Montreal’s “Brutopia” to an unplugged banjo-infused set in the backwoods at a Northern Quebec trailer park.
Here is what they had to say to us:
1. Hey The Breaks, thanks for taking the time out to talk to us. Let’s start off with the obligatory introductions. Who’s in the band and what instrument does everyone rock?
The Breaks:
Alex Beraldo – Guitar, harmonica, vocals
Darcy Waffle – Bass Guitar
Jeff Hughes – Drums
2. How about the history of the band, when did you get started and how did it happen?
The Breaks: We’ve been buddies since Grade 1, that’s a good place to start but probably too early. In the fall of 2010 after having played in assorted bands together and apart, including a 6-piece live hip-hop band, we played our first show together as The Breaks even though we hadn’t fully decided on a name yet. Al was set to play a solo showcase for the Harris Institute at The Cadillac Lounge, (which is actually where we’re playing CMW this year) but was getting tired of playing solo acoustic sets, so he asked Waffle and Hughes to help him out with the rhythm section, and The Breaks were formed. It’s more fun playing in a band; you can be louder and turn a lot more heads at a bar with the full sound, than you can playing a solo acoustic set.
3. Who are some of your musical influences?
The Breaks: It’s hard to answer that question without sounding super cliché but here goes: The Rolling Stones, Sublime, Muddy, Buddy, Howling Wolf, Robert Johnson, all that bluesy stuff, Bob Dylan, The Band, Johnny Cash, Townes Van Zandt, Chuck Berry, and of course The Beatles… we were really involved in the hip hop scene for most of our early twenties so it’s hard not to include that as well.. We dug underground hip-hop big time, stuff like Souls of Mischief, A Tribe Called Quest, People Under The Stairs. Whether or not that comes through in our sound, it’s probably worth mentioning.
4. Congratulations on being selected to play at Canadian Music Festival, what does the opportunity mean to you?
The Breaks: Thanks! I think it means that we’re doing something right at least. It’s a great opportunity and a lot of fun.
5. When and where is your CMF gig? And more importantly, why should a music fan come and see your show instead of all the other choices available to them at that time?
The Breaks: We’re playing Thursday March 21st at 9:00 pm at The Cadillac Lounge. People should come see us because we play a kind of music that just can’t be bad. Ya know? If you just take a few chords, a nice catchy melody, a solid beat, and splatter blues juice all over it, it’s just great f**n music… Also we’re on at 9 so you’ll still be able to catch a bunch of other bands later.
 |
| The Breaks |
6. What’s it like being on stage? Do you get nervous or are you thriving on the adrenaline (or somewhere in between)?
The Breaks: We’re never really nervous, sometimes playing brand new material for the first time can be somewhat nerve-racking, but you definitely thrive off the adrenaline, that’s what it’s all about.
Its more the logistics of getting the show set up and making it a success that can be stressful, when it comes to the actual performance, we’re typically cool as a whistle.
7. What does 2013 hold for you?
The Breaks: We’re excited to be releasing our sophomore album in May. It’s called “Honey Bees” and it’s a big step forward from a songwriting and musicianship standpoint. It was recorded in a legit studio, which is a first for us. We’ve always been DIY guys until now. We’ll be playing regularly in Toronto and touring the new album in the summer.
8. Imagine that you were asked to be the opener for any band’s world tour (both current and historical). Which band and tour would be your dream opening gig.
The Breaks: Playing the Chitlin Circuit with The Band back when they were Ronnie and the Hawks would be badass.
 |
| The Breaks |
9. How important is the performer/audience connection? Can you rock a show as hard for 10 people as if you could playing an 80,000 person festival?
The Breaks: We always try to bring it no matter what the crowd is like. That being said, there’s nothing like feeding off the energy of a packed house.
10. Where can people get your music/CD, is it being sold anywhere?
The Breaks: You can download our debut album “In Meetings” for FREE at themsthebreaks.com It’s also available on iTunes. Our new album will also be available on iTunes as well as for download on the website. You can also check out two teasers from our new album on the CMW Artist Page here
11. At the end of 2012 we published our picks for top 10 albums of 2012. Lists like those are always a reflection of personal tastes so if you were making the list what are some albums you would you have had on it?
The Breaks: The Sheepdogs self titled, Ol Savannah “Underneath the Old Red Barn”, Kendrick Lamar “Good Kid Maad City”, The Broadview Band “Love is Gone Away”
 |
| The Breaks |
12. Any closing remarks for our readers?
The Breaks: If you like to dance to rock n’ roll and drink to blues, we love to get the floor moving. Pretty girls and whisky shots are what make us tick. Book the next day off work when you come out to one of our shows.
Thanks so much to The Breaks. We hope that you can see them live. They are playing Cadillac Lounge on March 21st at 9pm.
The band’s website is http://themsthebreaks.com/ and as you would expect they are on twitter twitter.com/breaksband and facebook.com/themsthebreaks. In the meantime check out their video below from YouTube.
 |
| Get the T-Mak World Toolbar to get all the info you need |
