Music
Press
Album Review by Craig Dubecki. - Velvet Rope Magazine
The Brixton boys (Nick & Chris Iden) + Christian Reichard gathered their love for and abilities in music together to form Grounds for Divorce two years ago. It has finally culminated to their self-titled release which took Maxwell’s by storm on Saturday, which they self produced. Linette made her way to the venue to catch the airwaves of these dude’s rockin’ hearts bouncing off the walls. - Velvet Rope Magazine
Nick Iden, lead singer/guitarist for Grounds For Divorce, has been in the rock ’n’ roll business for a long time. Ten years ago, he was the frontman of Nikki Fixx & The Rock Show — a band whose psychedelic touchstones and panoramic soundscapes gave Iden plenty of room to flex his chops as a player, a singer, and a budding recording engineer. More recently, Iden’s focus has shifted into music production, as he’s steadily built his Brixton Music audio agency’s brand. He’s been enjoying himself behind the scenes and has come a long way as both a writer and engineer, but Iden is more than ready to return to the stage — and to the real blood and guts of rock ’n’ roll.
“Grounds For Divorce is a power-trio (and we’re) rock ’n’ roll to the core,” Iden tells me. “We’re all session musicians and a couple of years ago, Christian (Reichard, drummer) and I started jamming in the studio in the time between lessons, and started coming up with some songs. Then Chris (Iden) came in as a bass player. Pretty simple, actually.”
Iden and Reichard’s dedication to their teaching and their studio work unfortunately left them little time to pursue their own music. Once free moments were found, the songs flowed quickly and easily and, with a little prompting, Grounds For Divorce soon discovered they had written an entire album’s worth of music.
“It’s great being around music all day with creative people,” Iden says, “but it can get frustrating working on other projects, (so) it’s nice to work on your own. Being mainly around songwriters helps (to) develop perspectives and great ideas; it’s a cool thing to be around. You work with some of the great projects in the area and you really want them to succeed, (but) it kind of makes you wish you were working on yours.
“The album process was pretty laid back, as we had had the whole studio at Brixton Music at our disposal. We had a lot written before we even decided to do the album. The pressure got to us a bit more when we received a Waterloo Arts Council Grant and had someone to deliver to.”
Grounds For Divorce’s self-titled debut certainly won’t disappoint their investors at the Waterloo Arts Council. The gnarled riffs and swirling Leslie speakers on Sold Out are a pure anthem-rock foundation for Iden’s steady croon. His voice shines brightest both on Never The Same, a synth-driven chugger, and on 30 Years, a fragile acoustic lament that recalls City & Colour at their prettiest. Crystalline production (thanks in no small part to The Whitehouse’s Ian Smith, who mixed the album) give the tunes a radio-ready bounce and pop, a quality not lost on Iden.
“Diamond and double-diamond. Platinum and then double-platinum,” Iden gushes optimistically, as he explains his hopes for the album’s success. “We want to use this album to rock the festival scene for the next little while. We want to play the music for a while and record again. We are all pretty comfortable (playing) live, so we want to get out and get some fans; see how they like the project.”
It’s never been difficult for Iden to get his music to the fans. Thanks to his savvy use of social media (including the contest that actually got the band their name), and wisely networking with musicians and fans alike, an audience already exists for Grounds For Divorce. Now Iden and co. just have to take the music out to those fans.
“We’re always doing some promotion,” Iden says. “We love getting our fans involved. We’re going to be shooting some videos soon, and we’ll be inviting some of our fans to be in it. After that, we’ll be playing a bit of Where’s Waldo with some pictures for some great prizes. You’ll have to follow us to find out more.” - The Record
Discography
SINGLE: Sold Out
2nd SINGLE: Never The Same
SPECIAL ACOUSTIC RELEASE: 30 Years
ALBUM: Grounds For Divorce
1. Sold Out
2. Monday
3. Out Of My Head
4. Kick Me Loose
5. The Story Ends
6. 30 Years
7. Never The Same
8. Wasted
9. Out The Door
UNRELEASED:
1. The End
2. I Tried
Photos
Bio
Balls to the Walls Rock n' Roll at its finest.
Founded in Kitchener, ON, in 2010, Grounds For Divorce is brothers Nick and Chris Iden, and longtime friend Christian Reichard.
In 2008, two of the three band mates came together when Nick Iden launched the Kitchener based audio agency, Brixton Music. Nick hired drummer Christian Richard as a session player and teacher for the studio.
In between recording sessions, Nick and Christian would often times find themselves jamming and unintentionally writing songs. Completing the trio is Chris Iden, a local bassist and vocalist who rounded out and completed the final sound of Grounds For Divorce.
Grounds For Divorce just stormed onto the scene with their launch of their debut self-titled album July 2012. It is produced by Nick Iden at Brixton Music and mixed by Ian Smith at EMI/The Whitehouse. Grounds For Divorce was also the recipient of the 2011 Waterloo Arts Council Grant.
The result is a straight to the point, “guitars plugged directly into overdriven amps” and “heavy drums not relying on guide tracks”.
Not to be tied down to one sound, the band draws influences from legendary rock bands such as the Foo Fighters, Big Sugar, Big Wreck, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Sloan, Presidents of the United States of America, Lynard Skynard and The Trews.
Links
