Music
Press
“…Green Go whip up a similarly ecstatic groove, but without the help of machines. The Guelph quintet fronted by Ferenc Stenton and Jess Tollefson — belie their MySpace tracks with a robust sound and a firm grasp on how to work a breakdown. And drummer Adam Scott handily dispenses accelerated disco beats that could rival anything generated by a computer. In fact, isn’t there a Johnny Cash song about a beat-driving man named John Henry competing with a machine to lay drum tracks? (Oh right, steel-driving man.)� - Exclaim
Green Go is about to become ubiquitous. Just when you think you're past the whole shouty/jerky dance-rock thing, along comes a band like Guelph's Green Go who tweaks it just enough to prick up your ears again. Pretty sure the CD-R my friend Lauren "No Shame" Schreiber handed to me some weeks back is a debut album entitled Borders due for release in May, but the galvanizing contents suggest there's plenty of Total Live Destruction for all to enjoy in the interim. Darting funk fretwork and synth-driven anxiousness to keep the adrenaline up throughout, but these co-ed cats really start cooking when they betray a bit of a prog fetish and suspend their frantic calls to arms in a spacier shimmer. - Toronto Star
Green Go play enthusiastic party jams designed to wring every last drop of sweat out of gathered revelers. At their best their heavy bass fuzz and disco drums have a way of circumventing the brain to communicate directly with the spinal column. More than one attendee of a Green Go concert has thought themselves to be standing perfectly still only to look down and find their body contorted into patterns of witless dance-floor abandon. 89/100 - Chart Attack
The five-piece doesn’t put on that jaded, been-there-done-that attitude so common in the hipster dance scene... Green Go are all about an exuberantly cheerful live presence, captured perfectly on their debut album, Borders - Now Magazine
"Green Go's music is all about dancing your ass off and letting loose, yet their electro sound doesn't involve the aid of computer magic. Rather, it utilizes bass, drums, synths and vocals to create a unique and sweaty, fun sound." - Soundproof Magazine
"Guelph's Green Go somehow sidestep the dozens of deadly traps that similar bands fall into on a debut album, with dexterity and dynamics that make them more than a one-note wonder."
- Guelph Mercury
"From wowing unsuspecting houseparty goers, to putting out their debut record ‘Borders', this Guelph 5-piece has come a long way in a short amount of time... Their recordings evolved from a DIY self-titled EP to a great sounding, indie-punk banger in next week’s release ‘Borders'. And I’m seeing their name everywhere." - Indie Music Filter
"'Borders' is a grand parade of energy that remains constant throughout the course of the album. In You Know You Want It, they literally shout the command "Don’t hold your breath! Dance ’til your death!" and honestly, the album leaves me with no other option but to do just that." - It's Not the Band I Hate, It's Their Fans
Borders, which was was recorded and mixed by Ryan Mills, is like a crayon box full of wacky colours mixed with sweat, confetti and spilt drinks. It's also one hell of a dance experience. - Chart Magazine
So let’s say all you’ve ever wanted in life is to dance. Maybe it’s not some crazy 1950’s Dirty Dancing time-of-your-life kinda dream, but instead you’re hoping for a sweaty, shaking, messy party. In that case, you’ve probably already got Green Go’s album memorized and overheating your music player of choice. - muchmusic
Discography
Green Go - Borders (Pheromone, April 2009)
Green Go - "Ghosts of the Future EP" (Independent, October 2008)
Green Go - s/t EP (Burnt Oak Records, 2007)
"Borders" radio charts
#1 CIUT - Toronto
#1 CFRU - Guelph
#1 CFUR - Prince George
#1 CHRW - London
#4 CISM - Montreal
#6 CHUO - Ottawa
#10 CKDU - Halifax
#10 CFMU - Hamilton
#14 CJSR - Edmonton
#16 CIOI - Hamilton
#17 CITR - Vancouver
#20 CKUT - Montreal
#21 CFUV - Victoria
#22 CJSW - Calgary
#17 - EARSHOT Top 50
#3 CBC RADIO 3 top 30
Photos
Bio
THE WORLD’S MOST LIKEABLE HOMEWRECKERS INVITE YOU TO BRING A CHANGE OF CLOTHES
From the basement house parties of arts-drenched town Guelph, Ontario comes a unique 10-handed mash-up of synths, drums, bass and guitar. Green Go is a girl/boy-fronted machine that runs on the fuel that is hot, sweaty dancing.
Green Go began with the day-glo love-at-first-sight encounter between co-ed front-team Ferenc ‘Fez’ Stenton and Jessica Tollefsen. When 'he' caught 'she' performing one night with former outfit Spy Machine 16, the fated, instant connection was as much a visual crush as it was musical. Two birds of paradise drawn to each other’s glowing personalities; Jess’s light-up keyboard proving the perfect counterpart to Fez’s neon orange shorts. It was a rare meeting of the minds between two ex-conservatory pianists escaping together into the world of tantalizing electronic pop.
Three short months, several smokin’ tracks and multiple costume changes later, the pair snagged their rock steady rhythm section – the now
defunct Spy Machine’s bassist Kyle Squance and skin-tight drummers Mark Andrade and Adam Scott.
This fated combination soon landed Green Go a deal with Pheromone Records, and before the ink was dry, Green Go was putting on the finishing touches on invitations to the CD release party for their long-awaited sonic heart-stopper “Borders.”
It wasn't long until Green Go outgrew their neighborhood hero status and garnered a reputation among tastemakers far beyond their hometown for burning up stages. 2009 has already seen them winning crowds and sharing bills with like minded party bringers and international sensations Thunderheist, Think About Life, Fischerspooner, Woodhands, You Say Party! We Say Die!, Shout Out Out Out, and others. They've played festivals Osheaga, Festival D'Ete, Hillside, and others, and have rocked the campuses of Ottawa U, Mt Royal, Grant McEwen, UBC, U of Guelph, and Brock University.
Though the stages and the audiences have expanded exponentially with every performance, Green Go refuses to abandon the turf that they tear up best: sweaty, dirty house shows. Rooms keep getting bigger, but that euphoric community spirit that launched the quintet continues to permeate every facet of their work. When the band released their stop-gap remix EP to satisfy fans pre-full length release (featuring tracks from contemporary Canadian success stories Born Ruffians, Rural Alberta Advantage, Gentleman Reg, Women and The D’Urbervilles), it read not as strategic marketing tool showcasing their remixing prowess, but as an earnest tribute to their peers - a love letter to everyone who ever crammed themselves into a dark basement or garage to support the then-fledgling band.
Out this past spring, "Borders" is a propulsive mash-up of electro-rock, post-punk, and funky grooves, hitting a fine balance between ballad-like ambience and illuminating extended jams, and continually pushing the boundaries with an electrifying power. With songs that range from the ecstatically joyous to positively libidinous, “Borders” is the soundtrack to your best Saturday night: an unparalleled transcendent dance explosion that takes you from pre-drinking at your best friend's house to tearin’ it up on the dance floor, to kinky fun in the coat room and that 4am plate of dinner nachos- all before you can say, “I can’t believe it’s Sunday.”
Walk of Shame not included.
Links
