[Exposure]: The Rough Boys - Canada's Hardcore Rebels

The Rough Boys was formed by Tom Gervais(Vocals/Bass), Alex “Crazy Licks” Bernier(Guitar), and Sam Greenland(Drums) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in May 2009 and made their first live appearance at a pub called Lola in Kensington Market on the 9th of that month. Originally, the band started off as a casual Friday night jam between friends, but after the initial performance they began a relentless rehearsal schedule and a sound was carved out of their respective influences. As described by The Lonely Vagabond of Exclaim Magazine, the sound is, “A collision of soul-scorching hard rock with speed-fueled thrash metal. This is music that’s loud, dirty, raw, and played at a breakneck pace. Just think Motorhead crashing head-on with Slayer.” It is described by the band with far less eloquence as “Cut-Throat Hogtown Rock N’ Roll.”
The Rough Boys perform regularly in Toronto and have played on some of the city’s most notable stages: The Hard Rock Café(Yonge and Dundas), Lee’s Palace, The Opera House, The Bovine Sex Club, The Mod Club and have opened for Irish Folk-Punk band The Mahones at the Dakota Tavern in late 2010. Out of town dates have included Montreal(Café Chaos, Piranha Bar), Ottawa(Bassline Pub), Burlington(The Legendary Red Rooster) and regular performances at the Atria Bar & Grill in Oshawa Ontario.
The band has recorded two albums: “Showin’ Teeth LP(May 2010, recorded at Telejet Studios)” and the “Spithead EP(April 2011, recorded at Boombox Sound).” The Rough Boys are presently working on a full length follow up to the “Spithead EP”, coming soon!!!


Q. So whats everyones name and where is everyone from:
A. I (Tom Gervais, Bass & Vox) was born in Alliston, Ontario. Alex Bernier (Guitar) was born in Toronto. Sam Greenland(Drums) was born in Paris, France. All of us born within months of each other in 1987 and we all grew up in downtown Toronto.

Q. Where does everyone reside now:
A. All three of us live blocks from each other in west Toronto.

Q. So how long have you guys been together:
A. The band officially got together on May 9th 2009, though the three of us had been jamming regularly since we were teenagers.

Q. How did you all meet:
A. We all met as kindergarteners at Gabrielle Roy, french public school in Toronto. We’ve been friends all our lives…for as long as we can remember and I think that this accounts for how well we work together as band mates. The chemistry is there.

Q. Is there a strong, underground music scene in Canada, the world doesn’t know about?
A. Yes! There are so many awesome independent rock bands all over the country, especially in big cities like Montreal and Toronto. Everything from Indie Rock to Hardcore and everything in between. Bands that come to mind are Parks and Rec, The Plaster Babies, Black Absinthe… but there are so many great bands. Anywhere you are, any night of the week you can just drop by a venue and hear awesome music to fit any taste. It’s a shame, but I think that Canada tends to be overlooked musically by the rest of the world despite all the big names that have come out in recent years.

Q. How did you come about the groups name:
A. Long before we started the band Alex lived in a rooming house downtown and shared the place with 5 or 6 other people. We partied there ALL the time and his irritated room mates started calling us and our group of friends The Rough Boys… Why or to what end I don’t know. They were all real artsy people so maybe they thought us a little “rough” around the edges, lol. Anyway years later we were trying out suitable band names when someone mentioned that old nick name and it stuck.

Q. Where have you played, foreign and domestic:
A. We’ve played dozens of venues all over Toronto from dive bars to the Opera House, Lee’s Palace, The Hard Rock Cafe, The Mod Club, the Rivoli…We’ve played in Montreal three times so far, twice at Cafe Chaos and once at the Piranha Bar. We’ve played in Ottawa twice and we play in Oshawa regularly at a place called The Atria Bar and Grill(probably one of our favorite spots…they love heavy metal in Oshawa!!) We’ve played no foreign gigs to date but we can’t wait for the opportunity. Hint Hint!!!!

Q. What big names have you played with or for:
A. As far as big names, the only one we’ve played with is The Mahones. We opened for them at Dakota Tavern in December 2010 in Toronto.

Q. Are you aspiring for a record deal or would you like to remain indie:
A. We’d like to get a record deal as long as we wouldn’t have to drastically change our sound and become more main stream in order to get one.

Q. How many songs have you under your belt:
A. We’ve written roughly 40-50 songs since we got together, maybe more. To be honest I can’t remember all of them…the set list changes constantly as our sound evolves.

Q. who does the writing or is it a collaboration:
A. It’s a collaboration. I’ll write the basic song(e.i. riffs, chord changes, verses, chorus etc) at home and then the three of us get together in our studio and beat the crap out the tune, add bridges and solo and that kind of stuff until we’re satisfied.

Q. When are you releasing an album:
A. We’ll be releasing a full length album early next year. We plan on hitting the studio in December.

Q. If you guys could play for anyone and anywhere in the world, who and where would it be:
A. To the wild crowds at the Rock In Rio Festival in Brazil. Watching videos from those concerts blows my mind every time.

Q. What advice would you give young aspiring bands:
A. Work on your music: There’s not one successful band out there that only got together once a week. Practice! Practice! Practice! And also, competence before confidence. There’s nothing worse than seeing a dude all dressed up and dancing around on stage when he can’t even play his instrument.

Q. Is there anything you would like to add:
A. “Rock N’ Roll will never die!”

Q. Do you have any shout outs to give:
A. Shout outs to Dominic Whelan and Steve Evans! Great friends and musical mentors to all of us!

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