Homage To The Weekend

Ah, The Weekend. This is one of the bands that started me on my trek to finding great independent music right in my own locality. Hailing from London, Ontario, The Weekend have a gift for melody and a knack for creating the perfect pop song.

Their first self-titled CD came out in July 2000 and it immediately reeled me in. Since the invention of the compact disc, it has been harder to find what I would call the perfect album. I'll rant about that another time. However, this debut is indeed perfect! 10 songs-10 hits. There is not a dud here. At the time, the band consisted of school buddies Andrea Wasse and Lorien Jones. The dynamic these two had together is something I have never seen before and likely will never see again. Along with keyboardist Link Cushman and then-drummer Ben Playford, The Weekend were an absolute delight to see live. I have very pleasant memories of seeing the band in those days...in particular, I think of the complete giddiness in their composure as they opened for their heroes, Weezer at the Molson Amphitheatre. I listened to this CD non-stop for over a year, and to this day it still brings a smile to my face. Sadly it's no longer available anywhere, but if you ever see it kicking around somewhere in your local CD store, I strongly urge you to pick it up. Like I said, it's perfect.

Listen to "The Single" from this first CD in the media player to the right, track 3. (You may want to turn the volume down a touch on your computer, it's kinda loud.)

Since then, the band has only continued to get better, and to rise to more and more success. There have been many lineup changes through the years but the current band consists of Andrea, Link, Ryan Ford on guitar, Jason Pierce on guitar and Dave Braumberger on bass. Their songs have been featured in movies and TV shows, Andrea Wasse has developed into a very impressive songwriter and the group has enjoyed success in areas like Australia, Japan and Indonesia. The band is currently on a bit of a hiatus, but side projects like Neverending White Lights and DefANGEL have been keeping them busy until their triumphant return. In the meantime, they've been offering some of the tracks from their last brilliant CD 'Beatbox My Heartbeat' for free on their myspace page. Feel free to download them below.

Downloads:
Kick Myself mp3
Temporary Insanity mp3
There Goes My Heart mp3

And you can purchase 'Beatbox My Heartbeat' and other Weekend CD's here.