Long Range Hustle

Long Range Hustle was the standout performance of the afternoon. They graced the stage, in stocking feet, grounded and ready to shine.
From the first note there was an instant connection; everyone in the crowd stopping their conversations and moving forward until the crowd was so thick that you simply could not wade through it. They charmed the audience with enchanting harmonies, catchy indie-rock
melodies and dazzling keys. Many a person went home a newly minted fan of Long Range Hustle. - Lifted Frequencies

Waterloo/Toronto based folk rockers Long Range Hustle took The Horseshoe Tavern by storm Thursday night. The five-piece indie rock group played an energetic show that had the venue filling up with fans in no time. Drawn by the band’s driving rhythms and infectious charisma, Long Range Hustle’s set had the crowd enthusiastically dancing and chanting along all night. Their tight harmonies, heartwarming melodies, and impressive musicianship made for an unforgettable show. We have all the photos from the exciting evening! - Canadian Beats

A few weeks ago, we had the honour of premiering a new EP from Long Range Hustle, a really exciting indie rock/alternative rock out of Waterloo. The EP was called From Seedlings to Saplings…Continued – if that name seems familiar to you, it’s because it’s an EP that features 3 bonus tracks from last year’s sophomore effort, From Seedlings to Saplings.

Don’t let the fact that the 3 songs on this EP are b-sides fool you: these songs are the real deal. Perhaps that’s why you can now purchase a deluxe version of From Seedlings to Saplings that includes the full slate of songs. The EP kicks off with “Thunder”, which is a rolling, full-on rock jam that brings to mind a more indie-rock version of Dave Matthews Band. It segues into “Hipster Love”, which pairs piano-led verses with explosive harmony-laden and driving choruses, not to mention an excellent vocal hook in “All you’ve got to give is hipster love”. If that hasn’t convinced you yet, there’s a really, really, really, excellent bridge in the song at about 2:45 that eventually works in some violin. The last track on the EP is “Riot Gear”, and in tandem with its name, is the track that’s probably the closest to modern alternative rock.

Long Range Hustle sounds like a band you want to see live – their energy, even on record, is infectious. The instrumentation is impressive, straying from the guitar-drums-bass formula to incorporate violin and piano in every hook-laden song. So, what I’m trying to say is check ’em out as soon as you can. The band’s got two tour dates planned right now, with a stop in Ottawa on March 18 at the Rainbow Bistro and another set in Waterloo on April 30.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Independent

Must-Listen Tracks: “Hipster Love” - Confront Magazine

If you enjoyed Long Range Hustle’s 2015 full-length album, From Seedlings To Saplings, then we’ve got some exciting news for you! The band’s releasing a brand new EP today, called From Seedling To Saplings…Continued – featuring three of the excellent cuts that didn’t make it onto the album the last time around. Combining driving rhythms and harmonies, these new songs continue the diverse, layered indie rock that defines the band’s sound.

CONFRONT is very excited to bring you an exclusive premiere of the upcoming EP, and we spoke to the band’s vocalist/guitarist/violinist Paul Brogee to get his thoughts on the release, why Owen Pallett would be his dream collaborator, and more!

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CONFRONT: Can you walk us through what the recording process was like for this record?

Paul Brogee: We recorded From Seedlings To Saplings over the course of 8 days at Escarpment Sound Studio near Guelph. The studio is built inside an old barn, and boasts a few bedrooms and a kitchen. We effectively moved in for the duration of our session, and the routine went something like this: wake up at 7, breakfast, start recording by 9, go hard until midnight, watch old movies until 3am, repeat. It was extraordinarily exhausting, but a thrilling ride. Living at the studio gave us an unparalleled sense of focus and purpose. Upon leaving Escarpment, we had tracked 16 songs – too many for a single record. We narrowed it down to 13 which became From Seedlings To Saplings, and now we’re finally releasing the last 3 songs from those sessions.

CONFRONT: What song off the new EP are you most excited to play live?

Paul Brogee: “Thunder” is a really driving catchy rock tune. It’s a song we wrote fairly early on, and since releasing FSTS we haven’t had an opportunity to play it live. For the people who have followed us for a few years, I think they’ll get a kick out of seeing how the song has evolved and matured since those early days.

CONFRONT: What was the most challenging song to either write or record on the new EP?

Paul Brogee: “Riot Gear” was an interesting one in this regard. The song itself is undoubtedly our most aggressive and chaotic composition. The original iteration had an entirely different chorus melody, but in pre-production we decided it didn’t quite hold the ear, so we threw it out entirely and wrote a new chorus. I believe it’s the only song in which we entirely re-wrote something leading in to the studio session.

CONFRONT: If you could have any artist guest on your next record, who would it be and why?

Paul Brogee: We’re all big fans of Owen Pallett – who is one of the most talented and innovative musicians on the Canadian scene these days. It would certainly be a treat to have him along for a session. I suppose this is less of a “guest artist,” but we’ve also been not-so-secret admirers of Tony Doogan for years. He’s produced some of the best albums of the past decade, and having him produce a record with us would be the proverbial dream.

CONFRONT: What are some of your non-musical influences?

Paul Brogee: Good literature strides tightly in step with good music. The impact of writers such as Mark Danielewski, Tom Robbins, Jose Saramago, and Mikhail Bulgakov can all be felt to varying degrees in the lyrics of From Seedlings To Saplings. - Confront Magazine

After a series of lineup changes and a five-year wait between albums, the career of Toronto rock band Long Range Hustle is finally in full bloom.

The band's second album "From Seedlings to Saplings" was released this March and is the follow up to their 2010 debut "In Case of Fire." As the band's vocalist, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist (and current graduate student at the University of Waterloo) Paul Brogee explained, the album's title was a nod to the band's steady growth between releases.

"We like to dig through all the lyrics in the songs and find maybe a hidden line that we think sums up the aesthetic of the record," he said. "And so on the first song on the album ("Her Majesty (I, II)"), that line 'From seedlings to saplings' shows up and we thought that that was kind of a nice hidden gem that also I guess signified us. The band went through a lot of changes immediately prior to and during the making of the album, with new personnel and writing an awful lot of new material that was branching out into various different styles, so that really is a good expression of how the band grew over the course of making a record."

Brogee grew up in Stirling, Ont., near Kingston, and teamed up with keyboardist and vocalist Jay Foster, who hails from the neighbouring village of Tweed, to form the band while the pair was still in high school. In the period between the group's 2010 debut and the release of "From Seedlings to Saplings," the band endured numerous lineup changes but are now settled on a core of Brogee, Foster, drummer AJ Fisico, guitarist Josh Weiss and the most recent addition, Brogee's brother Mike on bass. Brogee said the new lineup is already a cohesive unit, and that the new material they're writing for their next album is "a step beyond" the music on "From Seedlings to Saplings."

"We're all really, really proud of that record but the interesting thing about it is that the songs on the record, they were written over an enormous time span. We released our first album in 2010 and then this one in 2015, and the band itself is really an entirely different organism at this point. And so I think the stuff that we've been writing now, we've started writing with the same group of people that actually recorded "From Seedlings to Saplings" and so I think the music is becoming a little more focused, the songs fit together very nicely and I think we're starting to get to a point where we're really comfortable with each other's styles and able to really play off one another," he said.

The lyrics on "From Seedlings to Saplings" are far from your average rock and roll subject matter or rhyming scheme (sample line: "Is that something we can know a priori?" from the song "Someday I'll Know (III, IV)"). Brogee said both he and Foster write the lyrics and take inspiration from bands like Hey Rosetta!, Wintersleep and Dan Mangan, who, he said, "really put a premium on having meaningful songs rather than just talking about sex, drugs and rock and roll, necessarily."

Added Brogee: "We tend to take a very long time to write. I'll kind of come up with a general idea for a song or for a concept that I want to explore a little bit but then spend months, sometimes a year, tweaking a word here or looking for a particular way to say something, and it sometimes takes a very long time to really piece together the puzzle of the lyrics that best describe the feeling that we're pushing for."

The band is currently working on a video for the song "Paddle Away," and will be appearing with pals The Royal Streets and Ivory Hours at Starlight in Waterloo on Thursday, Dec. 3 as part of the former's "Holiday Classic" show, which doubles as a fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society. Brogee said the band immediately accepted an invite to perform at the show.

"We jumped at that because we love the people playing, and why would you not support a good cause like that," he said. "It's a real easy thing to promote and try to get people out to because of how worthwhile the cause is, let alone the fact that you're playing with some really, really fantastic musicians." - The Waterloo Record

Canadian rock band Long Range Hustle is reinventing progressive rock with swirling, shimmering songs akin to Wintersleep or The Antlers, and heavy psychedelic in-your-face instrumentation reminiscent of Dave Matthews Band and Of Montreal. On their sophomore record, From Seedlings To Saplings…, the band churns out thirteen wildly different but all equally accomplished tracks.

Though Long Range Hustle is primarily a rock band, influences of classical, 60s, and folk music are apparent, as each song is a separate genre masked by rocking rhythms. Opening track “Her Majesty (I, II)” is a sweeping, twinkling celebration teeming with gorgeous violin work and Rush-esque vocals while “Up And Up” is a catchy, percussion-based sing-along. “Snow Song” is an unexpected gem on the album, a soft, pretty lyrical masterpiece with lead vocalist Paul Brogee gently singing “Makes me wish for the days/We were too young to understand/The snow that’s falling down/Is a beginning and not an end”, aided by echoing harmonies.

From Seedlings To Saplings… is evidence of Long Range Hustle’s incomprehensible versatility. The band’s repertoire stretches to and from musical genres that don’t even exist; with unique vocals, sparkling and stabbing percussion, thick instrumentation, poignant songwriting, and a creative energy that buzzes with fervor, From Seedlings To Saplings… proves that the members of Long Range Hustle are not making a name for themselves; they already have and intend to continue earning their position as a top experimental band in Canada right now.

Check out Buzz Artist’s interview with Long Range Hustle right here and connect with the band on Facebook and their website:

Buzz Artist: First, can you please tell Buzz Artist a little about yourselves and your music?
Long Range Hustle: We’re a Canadian band based out of Toronto and Waterloo, Ontario. The band started playing together while we were students at the Universities of Waterloo and Toronto. We pull inspiration from bands like Hey Rosetta, Arcade Fire, and Said The Whale. In short, we play rock music that is heavily coloured by our backgrounds in folk, classical, and jazz. We also put a lot of focus on meaningful lyricism.

BA: What is the music scene like in Canada and how does it inhibit or advance your own music?
LRH: As far as the music being produced in this country is concerned, I think Canada easily holds its own against any other place in the world. You could listen to nothing but Canadian artists and be happily satiated by the quality and variety of what you hear. It makes for a vibrant scene where just about any kind of musical fusion is happening somewhere.
The hardest part of playing in Canada is the size of the country and the relative scarcity of populated areas. If you’re going to tour across the country, you’ll have to pass through vast regions that contain very few people. We’re lucky enough to live in the most heavily populated part of Canada, and even then we roll over the odometer pretty quickly.

BA: What was the production process like for From Seedlings To Saplings…?
LRH: Recording From Seedlings to Saplings… was a pretty grueling process. We spent six months in a process of demoing and tweaking all the songs. Some of them stayed pretty much the same, while others underwent rather drastic transformations. Eventually, we ended up at Escarpment Studios, where Canadian legend Stompin’ Tom Connors did most of his recording. For 8 days our schedule ran like this: Wake up at 7, make breakfast and set-up; Record from 9AM to Midnight; eat dinner and watch old rock’n’roll documentaries; go to sleep at 3am. Repeat x8. We effectively survived on just Kraft Dinner and adrenaline for a week.

BA: What is the songwriting process like? Is it a collaborative effort?
LRH: Typically when we jam, someone will come up with a little riff or chord sequence they think is cool. Then people jump in on their own instrument and we just improvise for a while. Sometimes you end up with some interesting musical interactions that really stick in people’s heads. Eventually you notice that a few different musical ideas might suit each other and you start running them back-to-back. It’s a slow process, but a lot of fun while it’s going on. When the song starts to flesh out a bit more, Jay and I will start writing lyrics and vocal melodies.

BA: What advantages and disadvantages are there when playing live gigs and touring?
LRH: The advantages? Playing music to a crowd is probably the most fun you can legally have. Disadvantages? There are a lot of people who think playing music and partying go hand-in-hand. But in reality, our after-show routine is usually about tearing gear down, squaring up with the club/promoter, loading up gear, and finding somewhere to crash. It’s pretty rare we get to actually let loose after a concert.
BA: Who are your biggest inspirations, both musically and personally?
LRH: As a band, we take after Hey Rosetta! and Said The Whale. But I think we all have our own personal inspirations – The Tragically Hip, The National, Queen, Zeppelin, Dave Matthews, etc.
I think Greg Graffin is an inspirational figure worth mentioning. His influence on punk-rock is obviously notable, but the fact that he has concurrently pursued such a successful career in academia is an amazing feat.

BA: If you could collaborate with one musician, who would it be and why?
LRH: If I had to pick someone with whom to work on a new record, it would be Tony Doogan – hands down. That Scottish genius has produced some of my favourite records of all time, like Welcome to the Night Sky [by Wintersleep], Hello Hum [also by Wintersleep], and Seeds [by Hey Rosetta!].
If it’s someone to jam and write with, then Owen Pallett. He’s one of the most talented musicians in the Canadian scene and has one of the most unique musical styles I can think of. In Conflict was an absolute masterpiece of an album.

BA: What are your long-term and short-term goals as a band?
LRH: Our short-term goals are all about travelling and playing in new places. We’d like to head out to the East Coast soon, and maybe even break into the United States. Basically just get our new record in to as many hands as possible!
Long-term, we’re already starting to think about our next record. Preparation is key to any endeavour’s success, so we’re hoping that by starting now we can set ourselves up to create another album we can be proud of.

BA: What has been your most memorable moment in your musical career so far?
LRH: We’ve played more than a few shows with unexpected twists, but one of my favourites was a house concert we played in downtown Toronto. The concert got pretty rowdy, and about halfway through our set, the police show up. These two cops walk through the door, and everyone in the house goes dead quiet. They sidle up to our makeshift stage and, after what felt like an ageless pause, shout “Sounds great! Let’s keep it going!” We looked at each other for a moment, and then kicked in to the next song to a rather raucous response. The cops stayed for the rest of the show, and then drove several of the particularly drunk people back to their homes. It was certainly not how we expected the evening to go down when they walked in the door!

Buzz Artist: Finally, what’s next for Long Range Hustle?
Long Range Hustle: Right now we’re starting to look at booking up our Fall and Winter, and broaden our touring scope a little bit. Beyond that, just passing From Seedlings to Saplings… on to everyone that we meet! - BuzzArtist

It all started in CHEM 120, commented Paul Brogee, vocalist, guitarist, and violinist of Long Range Hustle, a local Waterloo-based indie band.

The origins of the group started with Brogee and Jay Foster, vocalist and pianist, back in high school. They both decided to attend the University of Waterloo, where Brogee became lab partners with the former drummer of the group, Mike Duboff. The three then “decided to orchestrate a dorm-room jam,” and Duboff brought guitarist Josh Weiss. These four lads were the original lineup of Long Range Hustle and the beginning of an ongoing six-year music career.

Currently, the band consists of Weiss, Foster, Brogee, his brother Mike Brogee as bassist, and AJ Fisico on drums. Due to issues with new commitments, some members have left, but the origins of the group, according to Paul Brogee, “still trace back to [Foster], [Weiss], and I meeting in UWP in the fall of first year.”

Listening to Long Range Hustle’s newest album From Seedlings to Saplings… (FSTS), released March 2015, it is easy to hear all the different styles the group brings together.

“We draw on our varied backgrounds as individuals,” Brogee commented when asked about what inspired their style of music. “Some of us were brought up on folk and blues, while others were classically trained, and we have at least one metal-head in the band.” The band likes to weave their musical history together into their new song, which is very apparent listening to FSTS.

The song “Sour Milk” is an upbeat, pop-esque song with catchy piano playing. “Coyotes,” meanwhile, has heavier drums, guitar, and bass, and sounds rather sorrowful. “Engine Parts” showcases a beautiful violin solo before any singing, making it the most orchestral song out of the whole album. All in all, however, Brogee stated, “it’s still indie-rock.”

“We try to balance aspects of pop-music with elements that are more structurally complex and interesting,” he said.

When I first heard Long Range Hustle, I immediately thought of two other indie bands, Fleet Foxes and The Rural Alberta Advantage. Neither is exactly like Long Range Hustle, but they all share that indescribable sound that is indie folk music: beautiful, heartbroken vocals, passionate pianos, and stunning violins. It is impossible to describe indie folk music in a couple of sentences, but Long Range Hustle is a hidden gem in the genre.

Despite Waterloo having a large number of young people, students rarely spend their weekends going to see local bands.

“The concept of going to see independent live music isn’t really part of the mainstream social culture in the student body,” Brogee said.

When asked if there is a great band scene in the KW area, Brogee said yes, there is a warm musical and artistic community, with many great groups originating here (Patrons of Science, Safe as Houses, and Dan Howler to name a few).

Regardless of the student support, Long Range Hustle strives forward. According to Brogee, “many of the musicians and artists that do come up through UW are very resilient and driven,” and thus the community will remain strong and ambitious.

Long Range Hustle is a good band and makes good music. FSTS is a great piece of work, with fantastic songs that I recommend to anyone who likes indie/folk music. The band is currently touring and had a show March 12 at Maxwells in Waterloo. Their music is available on iTunes and streaming on their website. - Imprint

By Alex Payne on June 23, 2014
Last night I was hopping from venue to venue, which is my favourite way to spend NXNE. I also love discovering a brand new band, and thanks to a good friend I was able to do just that! I caught Long Range Hustle at Magpie last night, and was beyond impressed. It was also extra awesome, because the set I caught was fully acoustic, and what’s more fun than that?

These guys are incredibly talented: not only did they rock some insane piano skills, but singer Paul Brogee also just casually busted out a violin and played it like a champ. The further into their set, the more and more impressed I became. I was also blown away by their incredible covers of Death Cab For Cutie’s ‘What Sarah Said’, and Weezer’s ‘Say It Ain’t So’ – which just so happen to be two of my favourite songs. Long Range Hustle is a group of true performers, so next time they’re rocking it in Toronto, you’re going to want to be there. - My City Gossip

11 April 2014 / by Emily Joveski (author)
We caught the Toronto-based group, Long Range Hustle, performing at Ryerson's Studio A last week as part of Wired City Music Festival. The talented five-piece was one of five bands performing at three different venues last Thursday, 12 December, including other local yokels, Bruce Peninsula, ColinResponse, Union Duke, KC Roberts & the Live Revolution. As if coordinating 5 different acts at venues across the city wasn't enough of a challenge, the Wired City team - all Ryerson Radio and Television Arts students - were livestreaming the whole thing online, with all the performances projected on screens at the other venues.

RTA Student Aven Hoffarth served as production manager for Wired City. "I think the reaction to the livestream concept was great," she says. "Ticket holders at the venues were able to see the performances that were happening across the city. People were also able to socialize while watching the projected performances and enjoying the music" Over 350 people attended the live shows, while Wired City's online livestream garnered more than 850 simultaneous viewers.

"Working with my fellow classmates for Wired City was amazing!" says Hoffarth. "We juggled with school and work schedules as we did planning and testing but managed to all find time to work together."

Despite the success of the event, the students are unsure whether or not they'll do it all again next year. "We're all graduating this year, so this discussion still needs to happen," says Hoffarth.

You can still get in touch with the Wired City team via their website, via facebook, or tweet @Wired_City.

Long Range Hustle consists of singer/guitarist/violinist Paul Brogee, singer/pianist Jay Foster, guitarist Josh Weiss, bassist Kyle Johnston, and percussionist AJ Fisico. They're independently-released debut LP, In Case of Fire is available on iTunes. The band is working on their second full-length album, set to be released in Spring 2014. In the meantime, look out for their 3-song EP, due later this month. - The Scope at Ryerson

Having listened to many students trying to jam together in a band, I got a pleasant surprise when I was given the album In Case of fire to review. I assumed, quite wrongly, that they were just a group of people bashing away, trying to sound like other bands. As soon as I heard the first minute of the album, however, I realized that this was different. There is no doubt that Long Range Hustle take their music seriously.
Originally a three-piece band formed in Stirling, Ontario, Long Range Hustle grew from humble beginnings in a basement to becoming a fully-fledged professional band. The original line-up reformed when members Paul Brogee (lead singer) and Jay Foster (piano, organ, synth and glockenspiel) moved to the University of Waterloo. They met Mike Duboff (drummer) by coincidence, discussing music in the chemistry labs. Then through a mutual friend they met Josh Weiss, a guitarist, and Ben Ridder, a bassist, and so LRH was born.
In the past, the band has been likened to Hey Rosetta and the Arkells. Early influences included The Beatles and Led Zeppelin. Brogee and Foster claim to have been once obsessed with Wintersleep. Brogee says he also knows every lyric and sound The Tragically Hip has ever done.
Curious about the name, I asked the guys where it originated from. “It started as a kind of saying or joke from before university, effectively, the idea was that if you keep losing at something over and over again, your justification is to keep doing it. You are thinking way in advance of the long term goals not the short term losses, so it's been and is a long range hustle.” says Brogee.
When asked why they decided to start the band, Josh summed it up saying: “Music is the best. It's our life. It makes you feel like nothing else can.” Any music lover would agree with this statement.
Among the depth and range of sounds on the album, it's difficult to categorize what genre of music LRH are. The band explained they would classify themselves as alternative/indie rock but this is such a broad genre. Brogee, “It's tough and awkward to pigeon hole ourselves within a label, some bands would claim they don't have a genre and are transcendent, LRH hates these bands.”
According to Ridder, other bands just have one sound and their songs all sound the same, but LRH has a wide variety of songs and can cover many different genres if they want.”
With the countless number of alternative bands on the market today, LRH is surely a breath of fresh air. It is evident that this debut album is a culmination of years of hard work and refinement.
The opening track “Freedom of Distance” comprises of indie rock guitar with a luscious piano arrangement complemented by Brogee’s rich, soulful voice. As the album progresses, they experiment with different themes, “Phineas” is reminiscent of Kings of Leon but with a funkier depth. This song is based on the famous psychological case study of Phineas Gage, who survived a horrific accident in which an iron rod punctured and went straight through his skull; but had a drastic change in his personality. Other historical influences include the fall of the Berlin Wall and the explorer Cortés.
The album proves these boys can play hard yet still have the ability to create a warm, delicious ambience. I got the impression that certain tracks would fit nicely on a film soundtrack as each song seems to have been composed with genuine emotion and real life experience. The lyrics are intelligent and have depth. The electronic effects have a Pink Floyd/Coldplay vibe in the background but isn’t a predominant sound that overshadows the dreamy guitar riffs.
Another interesting feature on the album is the classical instruments that complement the standard guitar, bass and drums. Each song is accompanied by a chorus of trumpets, violin, organ, and the glockenspiel.
“Even though the music we play is far from being classical, it's always good to have that kind of background and mind set while making music,” Brogee said of where the band gets their inspiration from.
Last week the band performed at The BombShelter, which has been one of their favourite places so far on their journey. They caused such a storm that the audience offered their shoes to them on stage. Surreal for the boys with so many shoes on the stage, but definitely rock and roll.
When asked about releasing a single into the mainstream market, the band had a definitive first choice.
“From the record we would choose maybe `Unremarkable' because it's the easiest song to play and the most accessible,” the band said. “It's quick, simple and catchy. The other songs are a little more complicated and in-depth, but that's a song you can quickly latch on to.”
“Unremarkable” includes the lyrics “Every day we put in the hours;” from first sampling of the album, this is obvious, even a monkey would recognise their talent and effort.
From their inception in their early days, the band explains how their music has evolved.
“Paul wrote a lot of s - Imprint, Waterloo

EMC Entertainment - The new disc In Case of Fire, by Long Range Hustle, was launched recently at a standing room only concert at the Organic Underground despite the fact that only two of the band's four members were in attendance.

Originally made up entirely of young Hastings County musicians, Long Range Hustle met with some early successes before going through a few changes when its membership headed in different directions to pursue their university studies. And now original members Paul Brogee of Stirling and Jay Foster of Tweed have joined forces with a pair of Winnipeg musicians, Mike Duboff and Josh Weiss, who all found common musical ground while attending the University of Waterloo. They plan to reunite in the fall when school resumes.

The new disc is a laudable effort featuring a dozen original songs, all penned by Brogee and Foster with strong support from guitarist Weiss and percussionist Duboff

And while the full band was a province apart when the disc was released, Long Range Hustle has plans for another launch in Waterloo in the fall. And so far, Brogee says, the response has been excellent. "This was a scaled down version," he says of the Belleville release party, but it also offered a strong sense of the band's collective efforts.

There are no ditties here. It's pretty complicated stuff that shows off both the individual creativity of the band members as well as the strong musical connection they share. There are hints of influence from bands like The Tragically Hip and others but there is more often something fresh and unfamiliar to the sound and the stories. And there's some pretty heavy subject matter here.

Theology, self-evaluation, trauma and isolation are common themes in the writing and there is nearly always a mystical quality to both the stories and the music. Phineas, written jointly by Foster and Brogee, is just one example as it tells the strange but true story of railway worker Phineas Gage who survived massive head injuries when a metre-long tamping iron was launched up through his skull and out the top of his head. Gage, who was awake and aware immediately after the accident, became a psychological case study. And afterward, as the song reports, was never without "his cold metal companion."

Not your standard top 40 subject matter, but there's nothing formulaic anywhere on the disc either. Long Range Hustle don't appear to be out there trying to copy some musical heavyweight with a similar sound. It's not a rock album, it's not pop or gospel and it's not the blues. Instead, it's a little bit of all that and then some. Its members take elements from different musical styles to craft something that in many ways falls between the categorical cracks. Brogee admits the band's sound has evolved as its members have matured resulting in a sound that's difficult to nail down. But it certainly is music. And among those whose influence is recognized in the liner notes are former members Sean Lewis and Don Lucas who helped get Long Range Hustle off the ground.

In Case of Fire is available at Sam's in the Quinte Mall or online at longrangehustle.com - EMC

Having listened to many students trying to jam together in a band, I got a pleasant surprise when I was given the album In Case of fire to review. I assumed, quite wrongly, that they were just a group of people bashing away, trying to sound like other bands. As soon as I heard the first minute of the album, however, I realized that this was different. There is no doubt that Long Range Hustle take their music seriously.
Originally a three-piece band formed in Stirling, Ontario, Long Range Hustle grew from humble beginnings in a basement to becoming a fully-fledged professional band. The original line-up reformed when members Paul Brogee (lead singer) and Jay Foster (piano, organ, synth and glockenspiel) moved to the University of Waterloo. They met Mike Duboff (drummer) by coincidence, discussing music in the chemistry labs. Then through a mutual friend they met Josh Weiss, a guitarist, and Ben Ridder, a bassist, and so LRH was born.
In the past, the band has been likened to Hey Rosetta and the Arkells. Early influences included The Beatles and Led Zeppelin. Brogee and Foster claim to have been once obsessed with Wintersleep. Brogee says he also knows every lyric and sound The Tragically Hip has ever done.
Curious about the name, I asked the guys where it originated from. “It started as a kind of saying or joke from before university, effectively, the idea was that if you keep losing at something over and over again, your justification is to keep doing it. You are thinking way in advance of the long term goals not the short term losses, so it's been and is a long range hustle.” says Brogee.
When asked why they decided to start the band, Josh summed it up saying: “Music is the best. It's our life. It makes you feel like nothing else can.” Any music lover would agree with this statement.
Among the depth and range of sounds on the album, it's difficult to categorize what genre of music LRH are. The band explained they would classify themselves as alternative/indie rock but this is such a broad genre. Brogee, “It's tough and awkward to pigeon hole ourselves within a label, some bands would claim they don't have a genre and are transcendent, LRH hates these bands.”
According to Ridder, other bands just have one sound and their songs all sound the same, but LRH has a wide variety of songs and can cover many different genres if they want.”
With the countless number of alternative bands on the market today, LRH is surely a breath of fresh air. It is evident that this debut album is a culmination of years of hard work and refinement.
The opening track “Freedom of Distance” comprises of indie rock guitar with a luscious piano arrangement complemented by Brogee’s rich, soulful voice. As the album progresses, they experiment with different themes, “Phineas” is reminiscent of Kings of Leon but with a funkier depth. This song is based on the famous psychological case study of Phineas Gage, who survived a horrific accident in which an iron rod punctured and went straight through his skull; but had a drastic change in his personality. Other historical influences include the fall of the Berlin Wall and the explorer Cortés.
The album proves these boys can play hard yet still have the ability to create a warm, delicious ambience. I got the impression that certain tracks would fit nicely on a film soundtrack as each song seems to have been composed with genuine emotion and real life experience. The lyrics are intelligent and have depth. The electronic effects have a Pink Floyd/Coldplay vibe in the background but isn’t a predominant sound that overshadows the dreamy guitar riffs.
Another interesting feature on the album is the classical instruments that complement the standard guitar, bass and drums. Each song is accompanied by a chorus of trumpets, violin, organ, and the glockenspiel.
“Even though the music we play is far from being classical, it's always good to have that kind of background and mind set while making music,” Brogee said of where the band gets their inspiration from.
Last week the band performed at The BombShelter, which has been one of their favourite places so far on their journey. They caused such a storm that the audience offered their shoes to them on stage. Surreal for the boys with so many shoes on the stage, but definitely rock and roll.
When asked about releasing a single into the mainstream market, the band had a definitive first choice.
“From the record we would choose maybe `Unremarkable' because it's the easiest song to play and the most accessible,” the band said. “It's quick, simple and catchy. The other songs are a little more complicated and in-depth, but that's a song you can quickly latch on to.”
“Unremarkable” includes the lyrics “Every day we put in the hours;” from first sampling of the album, this is obvious, even a monkey would recognise their talent and effort.
From their inception in their early days, the band explains how their music has evolved.
“Paul wrote a lot of s - Imprint, Waterloo

By Richard Turtle
Belleville – Paul Brogee is a young man with a very open mind.
He studies theoretical physics at the University of Waterloo. And, he says after his first year out of high school, it’s gone well. He neglects to mention it was a year that included his being named the first recipient of the Luke Santi Memorial Award for Student Achievement, an award offered nationally by the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.
And he sings. He is a regular performer and top finisher in the Stirling Festival of Sacred Praise held annually at St. Paul’s United Church in Stirling. And he plays guitar and piano and fiddle and … he writes songs. And along with his band Long Range Hustle, who got together in time for a pair of Stirling SK8 Park fund-raising concerts, Brogee just played his first gig at the famed Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto.
So the music side of things has been more of the same.
Brogee, who grew up in Stirling, appeared at the Organic Underground last weekend for a solo show that left a crowd of about 50 wishing the night could have been a whole lot longer. Mixing popular covers with his own material he joked throughout the set about behavioural oddities like his little blue books and the notes and arrows that he needed so desperately to keep him on track.
And then came Stand By Me.
The erstwhile musical scientist explained to his audience that this particular experiment might not work as he’d never taken it very seriously. “This is just something I did in my room,” he says. Using a “looper,” which records small sections of audio and plays them back in a continuing sequence, he sang the lead vocal and accompanied himself in a creatively stirring a cappella version of the Ben E. King hit, that was later recorded by John Lennon, and made it sound strangely new.
Pretty good experiment.
And then there were Brogee’s own songs that suggested a writer far his senior. And he admits with a smile that most of those songs are sad. As a singer/songwriter, he makes it all seem effortless and very, very real whether one of the first songs he’d written or the one he finished scribbling in a little blue book during the sound check.
And there is some sort of science to it.
Brogee will spend the summer working at Quin-Mo-Lac camp, he says, with plans to return to Waterloo in the fall. But he admits there are no absolutes. Music has a lot of appeal right now, he says. - EMC - Belleville

When I visited my friend in Waterloo in October, he took me to check out his friends jam in their room. Those friends ended up being the rock ensemble Long Range Hustle (minus their drummer). From what I can remember - I was a little, how shall I say this…under the weather - but I was definitely impressed. I’m not under the weather now, and their demo Freedom of Distance is evidence that you can make good judgements while you’re “under the weather.”

The demo starts with “If You’re New,” which is tied for the strongest of the five tracks with closer “I’m Not A Well.” The three middle tracks are solid as well, but the strong intro and outtro to the demo really help Long Range Hustle leap into that “not just another band” category.

The band is made up of guitarist/vocalist Paul Brogee, bassist/vocalist Sean Lewis and keyboardist/vocalist Jay Foster. If you know any of these cool dudes, make sure to ask them for a demo. It’s worth it, and will probably be worth more than you got it for some day. They have a bright future ahead of themselves if they drop out of school and take the momentum from their demo into a full-length.

Check them out on MySpace, but be advised that the tracks don’t sound nearly as good as the actual demo! (that’s MySpace streaming for you).


Note: for the actual article, follow: http://themusicalfinger.wordpress.com/2008/11/04/band-profile-long-range-hustle/ - The Musical Finger (Logan Broger)

When I visited my friend in Waterloo in October, he took me to check out his friends jam in their room. Those friends ended up being the rock ensemble Long Range Hustle (minus their drummer). From what I can remember - I was a little, how shall I say this…under the weather - but I was definitely impressed. I’m not under the weather now, and their demo Freedom of Distance is evidence that you can make good judgements while you’re “under the weather.”

The demo starts with “If You’re New,” which is tied for the strongest of the five tracks with closer “I’m Not A Well.” The three middle tracks are solid as well, but the strong intro and outtro to the demo really help Long Range Hustle leap into that “not just another band” category.

The band is made up of guitarist/vocalist Paul Brogee, bassist/vocalist Sean Lewis and keyboardist/vocalist Jay Foster. If you know any of these cool dudes, make sure to ask them for a demo. It’s worth it, and will probably be worth more than you got it for some day. They have a bright future ahead of themselves if they drop out of school and take the momentum from their demo into a full-length.

Check them out on MySpace, but be advised that the tracks don’t sound nearly as good as the actual demo! (that’s MySpace streaming for you).


Note: for the actual article, follow: http://themusicalfinger.wordpress.com/2008/11/04/band-profile-long-range-hustle/ - The Musical Finger (Logan Broger)

By: Richard Turtle

"...intellegent and progressive... creative and reflective..."

"...the band Long Range Hustle... shot out of the starting blocks and left quite an impression."

"...the experimental rock quartet made its way to Oshawa for the Supernova sponsored battle of the bands, walking away with a first-place finish in the regional Band on the Run competition, and qualifying for the upcoming provincial showdown to be held May 11."

for full text see
http://www.shieldmedia.ca/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=9641&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1944&hn=shieldmedia&he=.ca - The Stirling Shield

By: Richard Turtle

"...intellegent and progressive... creative and reflective..."

"...the band Long Range Hustle... shot out of the starting blocks and left quite an impression."

"...the experimental rock quartet made its way to Oshawa for the Supernova sponsored battle of the bands, walking away with a first-place finish in the regional Band on the Run competition, and qualifying for the upcoming provincial showdown to be held May 11."

for full text see
http://www.shieldmedia.ca/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=9641&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1944&hn=shieldmedia&he=.ca - The Stirling Shield

By: Sebastion Dowd

Stirling - Local band Long Range Hustle made an important step forward in their musical careers last Friday.
Travelling to Oshawa, the experimental rock quartet produced a first place showing at the qualifying round Band on the Run series.
The event featured 15 competing bands from across Ontario, and included a performance by headlining act, Rides Again.
Judged on technical ability, songwriting, stage presence, and crowd response, Long Range Hustle stood out as a tight and original sounding group.
The band is now set to go back to Oshawa for the Band on the Run finals, May 11. - The Community Press