Piece Of Mind

Rock and roll has made its way to London!

Meet Piece of Mind, a four-piece rock band made up of two Music Industry Arts students and their long-time friends. The whole journey started with Mykel Penney (lead guitar/vocals) and Brandon Stadnyk (lead vocals/rhythm guitar) way back in their preschool days. Throughout elementary school, they met Liam Hills (bass/vocals) and Evan MacHattie (drums) and in 2008, Piece of Mind was born. Although the band originally formed with different members, the current lineup is more than enough to rock the socks off of anyone who cares to listen, and even those who don’t.

When asked what their band’s sound is, Penney and Stadnyk described it as “Modern rock with catchy pop melodies,” and a live show that is “loud, tight and energetic.” If you’re looking for a good time, a Piece of Mind show is the perfect place to be. Some of the band’s influences include Alter Bridge, Monster Truck, Shinedown, Alice in Chains and Guns N’ Roses, and let’s be honest, who doesn’t like a little GNR every now and then?

Looking at all of these bands, you have to wonder, how does a band like this come up with a name like “Piece of Mind”? Well, after speaking to Penney and Stadnyk, it is clear that there is much more to the name than just a rock image. “The name is actually part of a line in an Avenged Sevenfold song, except they say ‘peace of mind.’” The creative spin comes from the idea that music is essentially a “piece” of a musician’s mind, and when listening to these rockers, that’s exactly what you’ll hear.

The boys are currently working on an EP, which will include multiple original songs as well as a rockin’ Beatles cover. If you want to hear more from these Ontario rockers, can check them out at facebook.com/pieceofmindrocks or on Twitter @pieceofmind3. The band will also be playing various shows throughout London and Toronto throughout the year, so Like their Facebook page and keep in the loop because this is one band that you do not want to miss out on. - Kelsi Smirlies

Piece of Mind is a heavy rock band based out of Ontario, made up of young men with a passion for music. I’m sure you’re thinking the same thing as everyone else on the planet… “Great… another wannabe rock band. This is gonna suck.” Yeah, maybe not!

These guys really know what they’re doing and I have to say this is the most professional-sounding album that I’ve heard from an unsigned band…ever. Not only are the actual recordings phenomenal, but the performance is unreal for young men in their late teens and early 20s.

The album consists of 8 full length tracks that were produced and recorded by the band themselves. The songs are as follows:

1. Inner Piece

2. Again

3. Elaine

4. Closer

5. Ornathoid

6. Alibi

7. Low

8. Voices

The best thing about this group of hard-rockers is that they’re kind of like Alice in Chains. With AIC being one of their main influences, you’d think this would be a bad thing but for the first time, I don’t think it is. The guys managed to capture the talent of Alice in Chains, with a younger, fresher, outlook on life and rock n’ roll itself. Another point: if you look at a photo of the band, they look NOTHING like how they sound. Obviously, they’ve got a rock n’ roller for a guitarist (Mykel Penney) with his long hair and wicked licks, but when I hear the vocals on these tracks, I do NOT picture frontman Brandon Stadnyk. I was floored when I heard the vocal cords on this kid!

Now, this band has received some press on a smaller scale, but I think it’s about time they were heard world-wide. There are millions of wannabe rock bands in the world nowadays but very few of them have the chops that these guys have.

If you wanna hear for yourself, you can find the album now at the group’s Bandcamp page: http://pieceofmindrocks.bandcamp.com/album/inner-piece

Or, you can see them live and get a physical copy! - My Freakin Ears!