13 Stitches

13 STITCHES are part of a large Canadian underground metal scene which dwells in downtown Hamilton, ON. They bring many different types of metal music together to create another branch in the tree of rock and continue to evolve their own rendition of the genre they call metal. Unlike half the bands that begin and fail quickly over a summer, 13 Stitches has remained a group even through the most difficult times when work schedules are time consuming, money is next to nothing and a member leaves the band. This is their story… Dan Gaylard (guitar, vocals) and Mike Denham (Drums) started their first band, Thorn, back in 1996 when they were 15 years old with the influence of Nirvana and Green Day. By 2001, members had come and gone only to send Thorn into the inevitable end which so many bands face every year. With heavy music such as Marilyn Manson and Korn now influencing Dan, he decided to start a different kind of group with high school buddy Lee Nedich (guitar, vocals) who was into heavy bands such as Cannibal Corpse and Cryptopsy. Their idea was to combine their talents with Kevin Spearing (bass, vocals), also a long time high school friend, to see what they could come up with. They recorded their sounds with the help of a drum machine and sent the demo to Mike who was interested in hearing what they created. Curious, Mike got together with the others and had a jam session with them in the basement of Lee’s home, which would pave an interesting road to their independently released self-titled demo, 13 Stitches.The bands name is a combination of the unlucky number 13 from various horror movies the group enjoys and the stitches Mike suffered when he broke his leg before the band could play any shows. Through out 2002 year, 13 Stitches started to cultivate a following, which gained strength with the release of their self-titled demo. Many shows were played on small stages such as The Casbah and Transit Hall. The unexpected demand for the band lead them to record their first full-length album that was released in March of 2003 titled ReAnimate The Skinn. Rerecording heavy distorted tracks from the demo such as Judgment Day, Hatchets and The Uglies, they included mellow and soft songs like The Enigma and Higher Plain to the 13 track CD. “Our songs could be considered the soundtrack to our own horror movie” Dan mentions in an earlier interview. “I’ve created my own serial killer based on the movies I’ve seen and started writing a story which ended up becoming the lyrics to our songs.”The year became a busy one for 13 Stitches starting with their ReAnimate The Skinn release at The Casbah. They moved on to play shows at Corktown, Star Club and Home Nightclub, and opened up for experienced bands such as Slaves on Dope and various veteran indie Hamilton based bands. Nearing the end of the year and into 2004, the band played countless shows at the A.F.B. club and started working on new material. They ended up only practicing once in a while during the summer months and shows had stopped being booked because money became tight and equipment was deteriorating fast. Soon Mike had busted his cymbals and had no money or time because of work as well as having his first-born child, while Kevin, Dan and Lee picked up more shifts at work. When a couple of hours could be freed up between everyone, they would practice the new stuff Dan had recorded with his equipment long and hard. Finally after several months of frustrating situations, 13 Stitches had finally recorded their 2nd full-length independent album, Evil Never Dies, to finish the 13 Stitches’ horror soundtrack series.Unfortunately, after the CD release for E.N.D. in November 2005, 13 Stitches lost Lee Nedich in January of 2006. The album will now be recognized as a mile stone for the new trio band and their ability to over come the trials and tribulations that most indie bands fall ill to and parish from. Ironically, the new album’s title can best describe the real reason they can over come this powerful curse.