Of Gentlemen and Cowards

After watching Of Gentlemen and Cowards at the Hideout during Indie Week 2013 on Wednesday, it’s not hard to see how the Hamilton, Ont.-based band landed a gig on the Late Show with David Letterman. The foursome are insanely exciting and fun to watch on stage.

They’re a rock band, through and through, with the pop sensibilities that make them wholly entertaining. Simon Edwards’ vocals are soft and deep, and pair well with Christian Fedele’s echoey guitar. Josh Dawson’s throbbing bass and Jake Warren’s rolling symbols round out the group’s classic sound.

‘Save Me’, the track they played on Letterman, featured a slower, deeper side to the band, while ‘The Grey’, from their newest EP titled Little Cracks, Little Light, offers a peek into the band’s versatility. The song mixes light reggae influences with casual indie rock playing.

‘Song For You’, however, was the band’s greatest crowd-pleaser. Sensible riffs, steady drums and catchy lyrics made for a happily swaying audience.

For more on Of Gentlemen and Cowards, visit ofgentlemenandcowards.com.

And be sure to check out our Facebook photo gallery from their performance! - Olivia D'orazo

Despite the rather dramatic band name and 7″ title referencing an area in England, listeners shouldn’t expect something heavy. They should actually expect the opposite; Of Gentlemen & Cowards play some seriously fun pop-rock that is most definitely “summer music.”

Their first release, the Warminster 7″, features two songs that have an equal chance of resulting in grooving, swaying, and maybe even some singalongs.

The first track, “One of Those Days,” has a simple premise: the day where everything goes wrong, from stepping on something to sharp to accidentally brushing one’s hair with a toothbrush, slipping and falling on ice, and so much more. The accompanying music, with the intermittent harmonica alongside the staple guitar/bass/drums combo, prevents the song from being depressing and instead has a more “embrace life” kind of feel.

“Paper Planes” (no relation to the MIA song) is a song that is sure to get stuck in heads for a while. It starts with the Hamilton Children’s Choir, which it employs later, and also the wonderful indie-pop staple that is the xylophone. The guitar chords from lead singer Simon Edwards are just as warm as the previous song, this time accompanied by lyrics of slightly better times. The aforementioned Hamilton’s Children’s choir makes the last part of the song the real standout, for a nice burst of happiness.

The band is currently working on an album, but this 7″ release should keep finds tided over for the time being.

Top Track: “Paper Planes”

Rating: Strong Hoot (Good) - Michael Thomas

They did it.

Local band Of Gentlemen and Cowards just got word they will perform on the Late Show with David Letterman in September.

The band, comprised of Mac students Josh Dawson, Simon Edwards, Christian Fedele and Jake Warren, beat out groups from across North America to win an online contest to perform on Letterman’s show.

“It’s quite a feeling,” said lead singer and guitarist Edwards. “It hasn’t fully set in yet … I don’t know if it ever gets better than this.”

For three weeks, OGC competed against 22 other bands for votes in an online poll. Voting ended last week, but the bandmates were notified of their win Monday afternoon.

“We’re on top of the world right now,” said Edwards. “I still can’t believe it.” - The Hamilton Spectator

There’s a lot to be said for hometown pride. Most bands know it: people at home are our biggest supporters and they’ll talk about us ‘til the cows come home. Home and fan support drive us forward, and whether our achievements are big or small we know the fans will be there to cheer us on. With the entire city of Hamilton, Ontario and McMaster University behind them, Of Gentlemen and Cowards has huge things in the works and an incredible future on the horizon. If you haven’t heard of these guys yet you will soon: the four-piece just won a spot on the Late Show with David Letterman and will be broadcast to millions on Monday, September 17, a gig of a lifetime for most bands and a definite dream come true. A fabulous intro to the band and a record we’re all talking about is their new 7” single, Warminster.

Released in August 2012, Warminster gives a great taste of the band’s sound and possibilities. Like most singles, this one’s not long enough – but that’s a definite good sign. It’s a major tease, and the torture of wanting more is painful at best. They’ve given us eight great minutes of catchy pop-rock, an energetic and fun display of talent and audience-friendly songwriting. They know exactly how to create music that will take them places, putting together a sound that fits on mainstream radio while also finding a home in the collections of audiophiles and music snobs alike.

They’ve been described as alt-folk-pop in their sound: using harmonicas, a children’s choir, and great guitar solos, as well as solid vocals and some bluesy riffs, Of Gentlemen and Cowards might be compared to bands like The Decemberists, Third Eye Blind, Foo Fighters or John Mellencamp. It’s possible to associate them with The Arkells as well, but this is an urge to be resisted. Throw together catchy melodies, uncomplicated lyrics and pieces of folk, pop and rock and we’ve got something to admire.

Of Gentlemen and Cowards is a band you need to listen to. And guess what: you can! Warminster is available for free (yes – free!) on the band’s website. Check them out now while you can and follow them on Facebook and Twitter. The Letterman show is just a stop on their trip to fame, and Hamilton is behind them every step of the way. - Indie403

When I first heard about Of Gentlemen and Cowards, to be perfectly honest my first thought was to Of Monsters and Men. But no comparison can be made (even though I’m sure the boys would love to be talked about in the same sentence as the Icelandic superstars). OGC are a relatively young band both in how long they’ve been together and their individual age. They’re approaching their 3 year anniversary (in fact their Facebook page was created three years ago yesterday) and in that short amount of time have already accomplished a ton.

They’ve embraced both the future and the past in terms of releasing their music. In physical form, their music is only available on 7 inch vinyl records, otherwise their music is available digitally. With the exception of their demo/EP released in April 2011, they’ve only released “singles” in a-side/b-side format. While they do have a large repertoire of originals and covers for their fun live shows, they’ve decided to focus their recording time on putting out two incredible tracks at a time, instead of rushing through 5 or even 10.

Their first 7 inch, Warminster was released in August of 2012, not too long after the band took the stage in Burlington, Ontario for the Burlington Sound of Music Festival opening up for Arkells and Born Ruffians and not long before the boys played on television in front of millions of people. But more on that later, let’s talk about the tracks from Warminster.

“One of Those Days” starts off with a catchy harmonica riff, a feel good vibe, and relateable lyrics about those days when nothing seems to be going right, and things seem to just get progressively worse. But it’s not a depressing song at all, in fact it’s uplifting because it reminds you that we all have those days when everything seems to be going wrong, and chances are things aren’t as bad as you think.



“Paper Planes” originally appeared on OGC’s demo, and is that song that you’ll be singing to yourself for weeks. This is the song that got me hooked on Of Gentlemen and Cowards. For Warminster, they added the Hamilton Children’s Choir and it just made the song that much better. The harmonies are great and mesh really well with the vibe of the song.

This is a feel good EP, even the cover art supports that. This is your sit under a tree with the sun up above in a nearly cloud-less sky hanging out with a bunch of friends, laughing and hanging out.

Little Cracks, Little Light is a much more serious and mature EP. Released this past summer, you can tell the band’s sound is changing, in leaps and bounds.

“Song For You”, which also originally appeared on the demo, got a bit of a makeover just like “Paper Planes”. As for the maturity, you can hear it not just in the lyrics and the melody but the entire tone of the song, even the pacing is different and the vocals are smoother. Immediately this EP gains my respect. This song is beautiful and romantic, without being overly cheesy.

“The Grey” is different than almost all of OGC’s repertoire. It’s the only song who’s title isn’t mentioned in the lyrics. The content of the song is a social commentary. It’s heavier, it’s edgy and definitely more on the rock side than the pop side. This is a band who have now been together almost three years, they’re challenging each other, they’re comfortable and they’re ready for the world.

Okay, so I mentioned earlier that OGC performed in front of millions of people. Well they did…on television. Over the summer of 2012, they submitted their song “Save Me” to be a part of a movie called “We Made This Movie” which was made by David Letterman’s production company. From what I understand, there were four scenes they could submit their song to, 4 bands were ultimately chosen, including OGC. All 4 bands that were chosen as well as the 20 runner’s up were then put in a “fan voting” contest held by Redbull Soundstage where the winner would perform on the Late Show with David Letterman. Of Gentlemen and Cowards were one of 4 Canadian bands. The contest ran two weeks, and for the first week they sat in the top spot, un-challenged, and in the second week they flip-flopped between first and second place. Not only did McMaster University, where all 4 members attended school at the time, put their entire support behind them, but it seemed like the entire city of Hamilton threw their support behind this young band, and it paid off. In September of 2012, they ditched class for a few days to go to New York City and perform in front of David Letterman and the millions of viewers watching all over North America.

You can watch their performance of “Save Me”, below:

As we near the end of 2013, I can say with confidence. This is a band to watch for in 2014.

Find them on: Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. - Marc

Sound 5/5

Great beat! Perfect way to start the set. First song was bouncy and fun. Very danceable! I loved it! All of their music made me want to dance and cheer for more! Acoustic on the last song was intense and was like pure ear seduction.

Performance 5/5

Often bands lose the audience when transitioning into their next song, but this band kept the beat and they all look like they are having a great time. The audience mirrored their enthusiasm.

Professionalism 5/5

These guys are pros! They look like they were born playing and this is all second nature to them. Nothing is better than seeing a band look nerve free. These Gentlemen played their set with confidence. Nothing cowardly about them.

Aesthetic 5 /5

Aside from spectacular stage presence, they are beautiful to look at. They all rock their individual styles giving that authentic “All about the music” feel. They didn’t need any props or gimmicks. Quality is quality and they brought their A game.

Authenticity 5/5

They are what I like to call an all loving band. They kind of remind me of a modern Matchbox Twenty. Their lyrics were whole hearted and touching. I think this band has some amazing talent and I think their about to blow up on the scene. Check them out.

Total: 25 /25

Final Grade: 100%

Andrea Holz is a Toronto-based award winning writer, actress, comedian and coffee master. - Andrea Holz