The Sound Technicians

"Nice and appealing. Energy with good melodic changes throughout.
"Reset" has great potential for cross market appeal." - Billboard 2010

"Nice and appealing. Energy with good melodic changes throughout. "Reset" has great potential for cross market appeal." - Billboard

Full source: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/23589/

Canadian foursome The Sound Technicians are a refreshing, alternative band hitting the North American music scene and making quite the splash as they continue to impress young audiences throughout their Canadian soil and win new fans in the U.S. with their new release entitled, Reset.

Their music is a mix of punk minimalism with the heavily melodic chord structures of surf rock. In the case of “Looking at You,” the band is reminiscent of The Pixies, without the harsh abrasive edge. Comparisons deliver the same off beat style, but not the dark, depressive subject matter that the The Pixies’ were best known for. “Looking At You” is more about flirting, and the bar scene. The song is catchy pop anthem, perfect for a sing along.

“The Sun” is an energetic ode to the potential dangers in letting success go to one’s head, with the metaphor that if you look to closely or remain unprotected, you will get burned. There is a definite jump in parts of the song, where the lead singer uses his vocal prowess to speak about these potential dangers. The song is not directly similar to The Cars’ “Let’s Go,” but lends an apparent similarity with breaks in the bridge and other leads that reactivate the old new wave vibe of the late 1970s.

All thumbs up for this zany Ottawa based band that play Los Angeles at The Whiskey A Go Go as they are nominated at the 2009 LA Music Awards for Best International Showcase of The Year. The band is well on their way as they offer a wonderfully energetic, fresh, open performance ready to entertain.

“Reset,” the current single release is grabbing much attention and can be found at www.soundorbit.com/thesoundtechnicians

- The Epoch Times NYC

"Great set of powerhouse guitar-driven energy combined with hook-filled melodies. Sonic Youth meets Big Star. Magnificent!" - exclaim

RE: The Sound Technicians single Looking at You. “Great performance, good
lyrical structure - well written. Song carries strong appeal!” - Billboard, 2011

"Beyond the accolades and trophies, The Sound Technicians are a listening experience that merits your attention. ... tight, sinewy, creative arrangements rock; their output delivers on the promise." - The Music Zeitgeist

The bass is amazing in this song. Tasty and driving. Drummer is impressive. Not a bad tune.
- Garageband.com

Wanting to make as big a splash as they could, The Sound Technicians set up a group promo shot in the bottom of bass player Pete Ling’s backyard pool. “People asked me if we photoshopped the
picture together until they see the scuba tanks and understand that we essentially built a stage at the bottom of my pool to get the shot,” says Ling, who’s day job is as vice-president of business development for The Pythian Group.

The guy knows how business works, and what this band of Mensa-level musicos need to do to reach the top.
“If we are going to succeed, we have to put as much creative energy into our marketing and business plan as we do our music.“ Ling says. “We are a marketing machine, but if you don’t have the material to back it up, you’re toast.”
And so far, the plan is working beautifully.

Not surprisingly, that photo which was taken by Ottawa’s Spyglass Photo has been drawing a lot of attention, garnering more than a million hits on their Facebook page alone, and creating a buzz about their relaunch at Zaphod’s this Saturday. There they’ll
unveil their new debut album.
But don’t rush out to your local CD store. This high-tech quartet will be marketing their music appropriately enough exclusively online via mp3 at iTunes, Amazon.com, eMusic, Rhapsody, CD Baby and Napster.

“We’ve embraced every opportunity to use whatever platform is available,“ the father of three boasts. “It’s a simple formula. The indie bands that are doing well are the ones that work hard and market themselves well and develop their presence. It’s beautifully viral.”

Before Ling and his computer techie bandmates Leigh Uttley and Shawn Ogston had kids and interesting careers, they played
as Cookie, a local power trio.
Ten years later, the musical bug is still biting. Ling met the band’s newest member, guitarist Matt Owen, in 2007 while building a recording studio in his basement with the band’s drummer Uttley, who also happens to be a contractor.

This time around, the musicians have made the musical shift to high-energy power pop. “Think of the Pixies, Sloan, and TV on
the Radio.” Ling says.”We want to make music that people want to listen to twice.”
“I’m a big believer in the power of the pop hook and a memorable chorus. The challenge is getting the pop song without making it cheesy. We de-cheese the songs in the studio, putting them through a series of lenses, beginning with the musician’s lens, then the fans’ lens, the producers lens and even the critic’s lens.”
“It works, and we are very happy with the results.”

It’s all part of the band’s master plan.
denis.armstrong@sunmedia.ca
- Denis Armstrong - Sun Media

"Playing crunchy power-pop...call them a braintrust..." - Fateema Sayani, Ottawa Citizen

"We love these guys...they walk the walk, and are one of our most requested artists."
- RadioUgly.com (DJ Max)

A sonic frolic down PowerPop lane. "
- Access Magazine - Access Magazine

"Crunching guitars, over catchy tuneage. "
- Southam News - Southam News

"Clever, Amps on 11, singing about things that have yet gone untouched."
- CBC Radio - CBC Radio

"... Not Coming Home, their Ridiculously catchy tune..."
Arts Section Cover Feature, titled "The Boys on th Bus". - Ottawa Citizen - Norm Provencher

"The dynamic Canadian band, The Sound Technicians, is bringing the noise to the music industry with their fun and entertaining melodic sound. What is making the band especially appealing,, is the band's ability to draw fans into their world with a sound that easily sets them above the rest."
-Isaac Davis Jr.

From Interview with The Sound Technicians:
http://www.juniorscave.com/TheSoundTechnicians.html

In this recent interview with Pete Ling, bassist & lead singer of The Sound Technicians, Pete elaborates on what fans new and old can expect from the band
and what the band has to offer to the music industry. Enjoy!
-Isaac Davis Jr.
http://www.juniorscave.com/TheSoundTechnicians.html

Isaac: What was the best part of 2009 for you musically?
Pete: We've had a pretty busy year so far, but launching our self titled album in April '09 was a blast. We're pretty humbled by the response and reach it has given us, particularly into indie/new music radio markets such as New York, Boston, Austin and L.A.

Isaac: What do you feel was your biggest accomplishment for 2009?
Pete: It's a bit abstract, but I think this year we've transitioned from a local/regional band, to a much wider fan-base. We're no longer the only ones, jumping around saying: 'hey look at us!'. We've rapidly built a national following, and have street teams propagating that we exist. It's a pretty neat thing to put out an indie release and have people from all parts of the globe actually take the time to write a quick note to say that they like your stuff, and what you are doing--and then tell their friends. Every band you interview here on Junior's Cave is working their tails off to try and make something like that happen.

Isaac: Describe the music scene in Ottawa, Canada.
Pete: Ottawa has been somewhat of a cyclical music sleeper-cell this past decade.
Folks who were prominent or active in the Ottawa scene in the mid-to-late 90's, seem to be taking a crack at it again. There's always something cool churning around The Ottawa area, and its one hell of an eclectic mix ranging from pockets of uber-cool people writing great songs, to shitty wing-night bands, whose crowd are their same group of friends night after night. On the complete opposite end of that spectrum are the many regional acts from this part of Canada, have been exported to the states, from Alanis to Avril Lavigne to the Barenaked Ladies, etc.

Isaac: What has been the best venue to perform at and why?
Pete: In Ottawa, Zaphod Beeblebrox has always felt like home to us. The owner, Eugene Haslam has known us since we were kids, and has given us the opportunity to be a supporting act for everyone from Cracker to Tripping Daisy, to Dread Zeppelin. Best sound guy on dry land (Tom Stewart) works there. Most professional guy in the business. Elsewhere, The Horseshoe and The Opera House are faves, for their history, sound and crew.

Isaac: Elaborate a little about whom were your biggest influences are from and why?
Pete: Everyday life. I know this sounds boring but I have done a significant amount of travel, and have a ridiculous amount of funny stories, observations and tales to tell. You know, what do you do when some guy driving a taxi in Arizona, almost plows into you then open his widow & waves--and the guy looks just like Freddie Fender? Or some crazy bitches walking like they have mattress springs in their shoes in Palo Alto? You write a song. It's quite possible that I've written more songs on a plane, than any un-signed artist in history. Destination: Loserville.

Isaac: Let's talk about what you feel you will bring to the music industry?
Pete: Thundering guitars, immaturity, and a sense of cockiness & wit--that would make our moms either really proud, or really embarrassed. Contrary to popular belief, The Sound Technicians are 4 introverted guys, who, when together, unload a kind of stupidity and noise that actually comes together as melodic, radio-friendly Powerpop. It's a freaking auditory circus, and our audiences respond kindly :) Our guitarists Matt and Og, have voices like angels on helium or hookah, depending on the song. I have a friend who refers to us as ear-vitamins. So maybe that's it: "The Sound Techies bring an auditory circus of ear vitamins to the music industry..."

Isaac: If you had an opportunity to work with one artist or group, who would it be and why?
Pete: Group? The Pixies. Did I stutter? No, wait... Yes. Definitely The Pixies. Because they are The Pi... Well, you know...
So you left the question open a bit, so let me add an Artist.
We'd love to work with Aldo Nova.
Geesh, I can't find the guy. Montreal? L.A.? Monaco? I found Waldo, where in the high-heavens is Aldo Caporuscio? You know, I wrote a song dedicated to his leather pants, his writing craft and his longevity behind the scenes. That guy has penned so many hits for so many artists; what I wouldn't give, to kill an afternoon with him over a few dozen pints. If anyone finds him, please send him our way.

Isaac: How would you describe your music to others?
Pete: I really don't like describing it, because many of our songs are very different from one another--yet have some sort of constant variable to the sound (maybe it's the vocals, maybe its Woofer on the tubs).
I jokingly offer money back guarantees (and then tell them to suck it--if they don't like it, and come to collect), but I don't know... We played a few dates with a band that I really dig -- from Holland called Venus Flytrap. They thought we sounded a bit like Weezer, The Pixies, and something they referred to as "noise-pop" (except it came out like: "veesher, da pic-sheesh and noishe-pop"). I'm lost as to whether we fit in Alt, Rock, Indie, or Pop… so we just put it out there and keep our heads down.

Isaac: What type of feedback have you received from fans about your music?
Pete: People fascinate me. I mean, maybe I'm a dick (OK, I AM), but I've never gone out of my way to actually write-in and compliment some band for having a good song. But these people really DO exist, and are, in the truest sense, fans.
I'm both puzzled and giddy at the fact that they can relate to one or more of our songs and actually retain & interpret the words in their own way. I actually get it when big-name artists start to talk about 'loving their fans'. I thought they were all full of shit, but people are universally affected by music, and when they write in, sounding like a Casey Casem letter… it affects you.

Isaac: Where can fans locate you at online?
Pete: We've whored the Net quite effectively, from Facebook, MySpace, ReverbNation and Sonicbids to nearly every prominent place one can take it out (without getting arrested), including ringtones... Our home base though, is www.thesoundtechnicians.com. We have hundreds of monkeys banging away at hundreds of typewriters, to ensure our online presence is felt and that our albums on iTunes, Amazon, Napster, Rhapsody and eMusic are heard.

Isaac: What can fans expect from you in the next five years?
Pete: Well... here's some cheese: "It's about the music, maaan!" We hope to land a reasonable recording or publishing deal of some sort, to simply help us put out (and distribute) more albums, to a wider audience. We have a lot of material, and while being "indie" sounds cool and all, it's the shits… and greatly consuming of time and energy. We still hold a lot of value in what a Major label can do, and we're under no illusion as to what they are, or can do if they are on your side. We need an established machine to feed into.
Oh yeah. Between the four of us, we may pass a stone or two in the next five years. If that happens, we'll likely do it live, online, just to one-up everybody…

Isaac: Time for some shout outs to your family, friends, and fans…
Pete: At the risk of sounding like Dorothy at the end of the Wizard of Oz, our family, friends, and fans deserve great thanks. A big double chest-tap & a peace sign, if you will…. If I could bake them all a Bundt cake, I would.
Really, we're just getting out of the gate… but we know where home is, and where our bread is buttered.

Isaac: Final words?…
Pete: "Don't hate me for who I am, but who I'm trying to be". -Supo Pedo.
- Junior's Cave Online Magazine