SOMETIMES WHY
Flying just under the mainstream radar, this Toronto trio has been honing their craft on their own terms since 1998.
It's rare these days that a band is able to stick together for 10 years in order to truly refine their sound and build a diverse body of work that stands up to the test of time, but Sometimes Why has managed to do just that in true DIY fashion.
Jason Thomson (drums, lead vocals), John Pogue (guitars, vox) and Rob Kucinski (bass, vox) all finance the band themselves and answer to no one. There are no external forces determining their sound or style which is the ideal situation for a band to push the musical envelope. Sometimes Why's catalogue documents the raw energy and progression of a band that's been free to find their true sound, all the while recording tight performance after tight performance and growing as a band in the studio. Persistence is an integral part of the Sometimes Why plan.
Their records are true album experiences. The songs have a quality to them that clearly is the bands own, with no two songs being hammered out of the same formulaic press even though it's guitars, bass and drums with the occasional keyboard thrown into the mix. There is a consistent and recognizable style to their sound that is enriched further by the bands live performances.
Sometimes Why has four releases to date. Their self released EP Memorandum in 2000, the To:All Loose Ends LP in 2002 (Engineer Records UK/USA), the Keepsake LP in 2004 (Engineer Records UK/USA) and The KCMO Sessions in 2008 (Engineer Records UK/USA). Their 2005 video for Bitter Pills has been in rotation at Much Loud for over three years now.
The band has played numerous shows at Toronto's best live music venues over the years, including successful showcases at NXNE in 2005 and 2008. They were selected for The Steam Whistle Indie Club at 102.1 The Edge in 2006 and played a couple of Dave Bookman New Music Nights at the legendary Horseshoe Tavern the same year.
Having a distribution deal with Engineer Records in the UK and USA, the band has focused extensively on building their American fan base with several tours to the US midwest and Eastern sea board, playing shows from Kansas City to Chicago and New York to Boston.
Over the past two years Pogue has pulled double duty playing guitar on Kindling/Warner band Dearly Beloved's first two albums, "You Are The Jaguar" (2006) and "Repo, Repo, Repo" (2008). He toured across Canada twice with DB in 2006 and 2007, all the while continuing to record and play shows with his original project Sometimes Why.
With Repo in the can, Sometimes Why is back at it. The band is currently writing songs for their next full length. There are plans to play shows and work on another video, while beginning pre-pro for the bands fifth release, an as yet untitled full length effort.
Look for Sometimes Why to be playing near you sometime soon. Catch them while they're still under the radar and you'll actually be able to see the Jay Thomson phenomena. He's a singing drummer yo!
Get this video and more at MySpace.com
