The SSRIs

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So band bios are a strange thing. Especially bios for bands few have heard of, that were written in third person as if the band already has a definitive biographer or are being featured on VH1. We don’t want to come off as narcissists but we figured that it’s sometimes nice to get some information about a band from the band. So here’s our bio, or rather, here’s our bio introduction and below is our bio.We are a band from Vancouver, BC who make music predominantly with guitars, keyboards, drums and voices. We first started playing in late 2006 with our first line up of Elliot, Joseph and Jon. All of us had been in a band before called life without water (http://www.myspace.com/lifewithoutwater). We were tired of playing sub par pop punk and wanted to move on to something a little more experimental, so we formed The SSRIs. Before our first gig, we released a three song demo EP that is now included in the Prescribing The SSRIs album available on this site.In 2007, we played in CITR's Shindig Festival, a battle of the bands at the Railway Club in downtown Vancouver. After three rounds of shows, we came in second place (Fanshaw came in first. The Petroleum By-Products came in third, http://www.myspace.com/petroleumbyproduct). Shindig has a reputation for having the band that places first break up shortly after winning. Fanshaw broke up and luckily, since we placed second, we only had a member quit. Jon Holisko left the band to pursue other projects (one of which you can check out here: http://www.myspace.com/theeasybrothers). Before Jon left, we had started recording some of our songs, which we then finished with Jon and released after he had quit. This is our Prescribing The SSRIs EP.Having no drummer led the remaining two of us (Elliot and Joe) to play as duo. We wrote a new set of songs in a week and began playing a slightly looser, more noisy version of the SSRIs. During this period, we started jamming causally with our long time good friend Tommy Milburn. Eventually, Tommy joined us on drums and we were back to our trio. We ditched most of the duo songs and original trio songs and started writing new material. With Tommy, we found our collaborative strength. We were very much a unit. We were all not just band members, but very close friends. We wrote and recorded a solid five song EP in four months (which you can also download from this site, Teems EP). Our last show with Tommy was our unofficial digital release of that EP.On July 1st of 2008, Tommy passed away very suddenly due to a severe head injury from an accident two days before. This put a stop to the band and our lives. We miss Tommy incredibly. We want him back.After three and a half months of hiatus, we have decided to continue playing. Anthony (drummer from the Boogie Monster, who are great! http://www.myspace.com/boogiemonsterband) joined the band. A month later, Aaron (bass player from too many bands to list, but the rub are one such band and are great! http://www.myspace.com/rubbingtherub) joined our band finally adding a fourth member and some bass to the project. Despite the loss of Tommy, we are really happy and excited to have both Aaron and Anthony with us.Since we started, we have played regularly on radio stations such as CITR, CO-OP and CJSF. We have played many shows with many bands, including The Doers, The Most Serene Republic, DD/MM/YYYY, The Rebel Spell, Bella, The Rub, Colby Sparks, GR82000, Zechimechi, and We Just Stole A Car. We are planning a large tour for the summer of 2009.For those who like quotes from reputable sources:From The Georgia Straight"This Vancouver three-piece, [offer] better living through not chemistry, but experimental post-hardcore jazz rock. The three tracks on their debut EP prove that the SSRIs are more than capable of holding their own in this most borderline of genres... the SSRIs might be a dependency worth having."From Only Magazine:"These kids are a great addition to Vancouver music. They’ve digested their influences well, seamlessly combining post-hardcore, free jazz, and pop into a impressive first release."From Some Guy On The Street"Dude! I like your band!"