The Schminks

The Ottawa Valley has done its bit, so now it is all up to The Schminks.

The Pembroke band, consisting of Devin Young, Andrew Dole, Jason Costello, Jed Hermitte and Damon Crigger - has been taking part in the Breaking Bands competition, a province-wide search for emerging talent sponsored by Big Music Fest, which hosts the main one being held in Kitchener this summer as part of their rock festival, and The Scene Magazine's Breaking Bands Competition in Toronto, a separate event.

Thanks to a vigorous online voting campaign, which was part of the contest, The Schminks won a place in Friday's finals, being held at The Hideout in Toronto. A final battle of the bands between the local fivesome and six GTA bands will determine which group will head to Kitchener for the main event in July.

Young said he and the band were just blown away by the show of support, which had The Schminks top the list with 2,293 votes, more than three times as many as the second place band, which registered only 746.

"This is so much more than we could have expected," he said, admitting to being overwhelmed by the response.

Dole said none of them expected to comer as far as they have, and attributes that success to the support they have been getting locally.

"All these bands from the city, and we thought we were the underdogs," he said. "Then, these nobodies from nowhere tripled the votes of second place. It really makes me proud to be from the Valley."

To even get this far, the band has been facing an uphill battle. Only together for the past six months, The Schminks were chosen as one of the top 35 bands out of 10,000 applicants to compete in the Breaking Bands Toronto competition, and are the only group which isn't from Toronto.

"For a band which has been together for literally six months, we're flying," Young said.

Dole said they are guppies swimming with sharks, and are holding their own.

"Guppies with big teeth," he added.

The Schminks are scheduled to play at 11:20 p.m., the second last band to hit the stage, and then it will be all up to the judging. One of those evaluating their performance will be Zack Werner of Canadian Idol fame.

"To play in front of him will be really something," Dole said.

No matter the outcome, the members of The Schminks are excited just to have gotten as far as they have, and are enjoying the spotlight which has come with being part of Breaking Bands Toronto.

Their presence in the contest has made a splash in the Ottawa area. On Wednesday, The Schminks were featured on Ottawa's Live 88.5, which played their original song "All I Know," and the group is booked solid through to August, with more gigs planned. They are also playing Sabstock, which runs July 3-5, 2015.

Those wanting to know more about the band can check out The Schminks Facebook Page or The Schminks Reverberation Page at http://www.reverbnation.com/theschminks.

Stephen Uhler is a Daily Observer multimedia journalist - Stephen Uhler

he Schminks are still riding high after what has been an eventful summer so far.

The Pembroke band, consisting of Devin Young, Andrew Dole, Jason Costello, Jed Hermitte and Damon Crigger, will be playing at the city's waterfront amphitheatre Friday, July 17 at 7 p.m.

Young said it has been a wild time, first with taking part in the Breaking Bands competition in June, then hitting the stage at Sabstock for the first time ever July 4.

Thanks to a vigorous online voting campaign, which they won handily thanks to the overwhelming support of the Ottawa Valley, The Schminks won a place in the finals, held at The Hideout in Toronto. A final battle of the bands between the local fivesome and six GTA bands will determined which group headed to Kitchener for the main event in July.

"We were runner up in Breaking Bands Toronto," he said, missing out by only a single point from the front runner The Rathburns. That band went on to win the main contest in Kitchener.

"We had an incredible night sharing the stage with some killer bands in the Breaking Bands Toronto finals," Young said, thanking everyone from Darrell Shelley of contest sponsor The Scene Magazine, to the judges, and to everyone else who worked so hard to make this event happen. He said the band thanks everyone who followed them on this journey and for showing them more love and support they could have ever imagined.

"We are more grateful then words can say for each and every one of you," Young said.

While at the contest, he said the band gave a CD of some of their songs to one of the judges, Ian D'Sa, who is the founding member and guitarist for Billy Talent.

"I know he has the CD, and I'm dying to find out what he thinks," he said.

The Schminks have been busy playing shows with bands from Toronto, Kingston and Ottawa, and are booking tour dates into the fall.

"We're going into the studio to continue work on the album, and we just filmed a music video that should be out next month," Young said.

Fans of The Schminks can stay updated by checking out www.reverbnation.com/theschminks and Facebook page The Schminks.

Stephen Uhler is a Daily Observer multimedia journalist - Stephen Uhler

Next Saturday night is a time to Rock the 'Stache.

On the evening of Nov. 28, local bands and performers will be gathering at Santa Fe Grill and Bar on 185 Prince Street to once again take the fight to men's cancers when they perform in Rock the 'Stache, a concert in support of the Movember Foundation.

Devin Young, host and organizer, said they are planning for a fun night to raise money for a serious cause. Pembroke bands The Schminks and Murder By The Lake Band will be joined by Kingston acts Listen Up Kid, Rae Corcoran and rapper Indie, and Ottawa's Stereo Wash Out.

“This is going to be wild,” he said. The venue is a little tighter than last year's debut event, which was held at the Best Western, but he said that will make it all the more fun.

Besides the performances, which get underway at 7 p.m. and last to midnight, there will be a lip sync contest, then an open jam session to close things out. In between there will be games, contests, draws for door prizes – including box seat tickets to a Senators game, which includes all refreshments and VIP treatment – arm wrestling demonstrations, and a contest to judge who has the best, or worst, moustache.

“We have a judge who has a keen, trained eye,” Young said.

There will also be 200 fake moustaches given out at the door for those who don't want to feel left out, and lots more giveaways, including gift certificates from Madameek, a new sponsor of Rock the 'Stache.

“We wanted everyone to go home with something,” he said.

The event, though it is meant to be a fun evening, does tackle a serious matter.

The Movember Foundation is the leading global organization committed to changing the face of men's health. Movember challenges men to grow moustaches during the month of Movember (the month formerly known as November) to spark conversation and raise funds for prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health. The Movember Foundation aims to increase awareness and support for men's health by educating men about the health risks they face and raising vital funds for support programs.

Young's father was diagnosed with prostate cancer five years ago and last year his uncle has been diagnosed as well. He said early detection is important because it increases the chances of catching an aggressive form of cancer before it spreads, one of the messages of Movember.

Doors open for Rock the 'Stache at 6:30 pm, with the music starting 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 apiece and are available at Bob's Music, Santa Fe and Madameek. - Stephen Uhler

The Schminks have hit the ground running, as they have a busy 2016 planned.

Pembroke's alternative rock band started the year by doing up their second music video for their latest single “Here We Go,” which has had 2,000 hits so far on Youtube since they unleashed it online Feb. 23. This follows their debut video “Anti-Hero,” released in 2015.

Devin Young, guitarist and lead vocalist, said doing the video has been the best part of the year so far. He said they did it on a friend's farm, who also supplied them a car to blow up as part of the video shoot. The band is already planning their third video.

“Not sure how we're going to top that, but we're going to try,” he said.

The band – consisting of Young, Jason Costello on lead guitar, Andrew Dole on the drums), Jed Hermitte on rhythm guitar, and Damon Criger on the bass – has been working on their first full album, which will contain between 10 to 12 songs, a follow up to their self titled EP of a half dozen songs which was released last year.

Young said they have been spending much of the winter in studio, recording at Half String Studios, which is owned by their band mate Criger, who serves as the group's producer.

“We're really in the beginning stages of working on that,” he said. The band doesn't have a release date yet, but are working hard to ensure this album will be their best work yet.

“We want it to be perfect,” Young said, stressing they are doing everything independently.

“We want to keep making music the way we want to, uncensored and untouched,” he stressed.

The Schminks are still riding high after last year's eventful summer, first with taking part in the Breaking Bands competition in June, then hitting the stage at Sabstock for the first time ever July 4.

In the Breaking Bands competition, thanks to a vigorous online voting campaign, which they won handily thanks to the overwhelming support of the Ottawa Valley, The Schminks won a place in the finals of Breaking Bands Toronto, held at The Hideout, and finished as a runner up, missing out by only a single point from the front runner The Rathburns. That band went on to win the main contest in Kitchener.

Young said they hope to book this spring and summer solid with gigs. The band will be playing shows in Kingston on March 25th and 26th and in April.

Locally, The Schminks will hit the Cobden Legion April 16 and the Lasso Saloon in Pembroke April 30, as well as appear at the Pembroke Waterfront on July 23.

“We're hoping to do Sabstock again this year, and we're trying to get to Deep River's Summerfest as well,” Young said. Other summer dates to be announced include shows in Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, and Kitchener.

“We're hoping our fans will spread the word, by sharing our music video, and liking our Facebook page,” he said, or by checking out Reverbnation.

Their debut EP is available for free download at www.reverbnation.com/theschminks. - Stephen Uhler