The Broomhandles were an eclectic group of fellows that called themselves a band. The Broomhandles were formed in early 2004 by guitarist Nick Laugher and former bassist Luke Hulme. With the discovery of vocalist and guitarist Alexandre Bergeron and drummer Nick Bruhm, the band was off to a rocky start. The Broomhandles started off merely as a melodic punkrock band with no real passion, depth or substance. Before playing a single show, the band decided to record a demo to get them better known. Unprepared and unpracticed, they recorded a sloppy, boring and out of tune mess called "Why Not Just Call It "The Broomhandles" ?". Even though it was well received by their fans, it was complete garbage. The band progressed, eventually learning to play their instruments and keep time without Alexandre yelling count-ins. The boys eventually recorded the solid punk rock EP known as You Can't Handle The Truth. This EP showcased the band's new and tighter sound. The Broomhandles were now on the fast-track to being local sweethearts.
As the year passed and the boys matured more, they found themselves discontent with punk rock and the limiting, box-like feeling of genres. They found punk was becoming stale, boring, it wasn't epic and it wasn't moving... it was empty.
Around this time, problems with bassist Luke Hulme forced the band to part ways with him. With Luke gone, the band found a replacement in former Scallywag bassist Sandy Schembri. At this point, the boys had been listening to a lot of Radiohead, The Flaming Lips, Controller.Controller, YES, The Who, Matisyahu, Islands and countless other odd bands. With Sandy, the boys approached a new direction... a music resting on the foundations of punk/ska, but with more depth and emotion, with more substance and feeling. Writing concept songs about life and experiences, the boys found themselves composing epic melodies using diverse chord progessions and avante garde ideas.
After the release of their debut album, a concept album about the songwriting process and everyday life entitle Karma Had It Coming, bassist Sandy Schembri parted ways with the boys to pursue work in Calgary.
Nick Laugher assumed bass duties and the Broomhandles became a 3-piece. Moving even further away from their punk roots, the band have started experimenting with brave new ideas, sounds and concepts. Drawing inspiration from every walk of life, The Broomhandles created a sound that was seperate from labels and the confining definition of a genre. The last half of 2006 and the first half of 2007 served as a period of learning. Although things were fairly bleak, with the band only practicing once or twice a month, and the performance of the band growing sloppy and unorganized, the ideas and concepts formed in this time created a whole new perspective and a definitive sound.Sandy returned in the Summer of 2007 and the band reunited for a balls to the wall gig at the Lunenburg Opera House (where they recorded their first album) with top acts Two Hours Traffic and Slowcoaster. After that, the boys decided that their style had taken a dramatic turn and that the name would have to change, they didn't feel like "The Broomhandles" anymore.
The next months that followed were a long, painful and depressing process of trying to write new material and keep a crumbling band together. In the end, the differences were too great and the struggle too much and in April of 2008, The Broomhandles met their demise.It was four years of the best times in the world... sketchy gigs, late nights, long days, throats raw, sweat and blood, tears and smiles, drugs and alcohol, parties and friends. We loved every minute of it and we loved you, our loyal fans for being there and supporting us every step of the way. We will never forget it.As for current plans, Alexandre, Nick Laugher and Sandy are going on to form a new Alternative/Progressive/Psychadelic act dubbed "The Satellite Coast" and Nick Bruhm banded together with mutual friend Mike Brunelle to found the Progressive Metal band Stolen Generation.
MyGen
Profile Generator
