A rock song about how North Americans are lazy and spoiled has garnered local rock band, Harlot, a coveted finalist spot in Supernova's Battle of the Bands.
"The song, The Same, is a classic cliché about what's going on around the world, the homelessness and poverty and how lazy our generation can be," said vocalist Roddy Mac. "It's also about how much we have here in Canada."
Richmond's Erik Peters, one of the founding members of the indie rock band (with fellow Richmondite Wes Sped) went on to say: "Winning would mean a three month consultation with S.L. Feldman and Associates (B.C.'s top music booking agency), so we are exceedingly excited," said No wonder these generation Y'ers are keyed up.
S.L. Feldman and Associates represent superstars such as Michael Bublé, Bryan Adams, Diana Krall, David Usher, Nelly Furtado, The Tragically Hip, and Our Lady Peace.
Formed a year ago, Harlot consists of Peters on bass, Sped on guitar, Roddy Mac, vocals and on drums Trevor Wilson of Ladner. Although the band is still in its infancy, its members (who range in age from 21 to 23) have all been inspired at an early age.
Sped has been teaching guitar since he was 17. He was classically trained in jazz at Vancouver Community College.
"I've been playing the guitar for 12 years," he added.
Peters, a Richmond secondary graduate and a University of B.C. student majoring in history, still trains with a professional bassist and practices one to two hours daily.
Mac, whose dad was a professional musician, has honed his artistic talent first at the age of four tickling the ivories before picking up the saxophone at eight.
"I started singing around six and have been teaching singing lessons for the last two years," said Mac, adding he's been compared to a "male Tracy Chapman (An American singer/songwriter)."
The hometown boys, Sped and Peters, said they believe Harlot is a finalist because "we have great chemistry on stage, our shows have lots of energy and we come together as musicians who are serious and committed to the band."
Peters added: "More than 110 people came out to see us perform at the Biltmore the night we won the show. We also won another show at the Roxy- that was our first major gig."
In order to strengthen its sound and stage presence, the band is booking as many gigs as it can.
"The industry has changed so much and people aren't buying CDs much any more," said Mac, adding their first gig was at Richmond's Pumphouse.
"The only way for a band like ours to increase our fan base is to get out there and get on stage as much as possible.
"We also have to rely on the viral market, social media."
With the upcoming Battle of the Bands competition, the guys are rehearsing at least three times a week for sessions running two hours.
So far, Harlot has penned eight original songs and plans on writing new material this year, with the hopes of putting out a CD in the near future.
The final Supernova Battle of the Bands happens on Thursday, Jan. 19 at Vancouver's Biltmore Cabaret. It pits Harlot against 11 other top independent bands for the ultimate prize - a chance to work with top music booking agents.
For more information about Harlot, visit www. myspace.com/harlot.band. For more information about Supernova and its Battle of the Bands, visit www.supernova.com.
