Head of the Herd have recently finished their 3rd, and most ambitious album to date.  Recorded in 4 countries, with producers chosen to match the songs that needed their particular touch, this album makes a statement that Head of the Herd doesn’t take the easy road.  “Whatever is best for the song, is the path we take.  Too many bands mess up their records by doing what’s easy, cheap, and expected of them.  We knew these songs were special, and would go to any lengths to get that across.”

After months of writing, they went to the southern border of Georgia, USA to work with Mr. Mark Neill, the man who produced “Brothers” by The Black Keys, an album that Neu and Clay bonded over during the genesis of the band.  Clay stated, “Brothers was a record that pushed me to become a musician. It was a record we listened to obsessively when it came out and in many ways inspired the direction of our own band. So, to be able to journey down to the southern USA and work with the man who produced that record was an honour and I'll never forget the experience. Mark forced us to think about the songs in ways we never imagined and by doing so brought out the best in them.”  The first single "Live For Love" came from the deep south in an old ballet studio where  Mark Neill makes his magic.

The next step was hopping on a plane across the Atlantic to the countryside of England and Wales to work with Ian Davenport, notable for his work with Band of Skulls and Radiohead’s Phil Selway.   The band’s singer Neu recalls, “We were awestuck by that place.  The history of Rockfield studios is baffling.  Oasis made “What’s the Story” there.  ‘Nuff said you’d think.  And then we’re tracking drums on the OK Computer kit while I play the piano used on Bohemian Rhapsody.  At one point, I was on the keys and saw my reflection in the black finish.  I realized that Freddy Mercury saw his face staring back on the same piano.  It floored me emotionally, and honestly, I messed up the take instantly!  You walk into a room like that, with history like that, and you know it’s been worth the trip.  Ian elevated those songs in a big way.”

The band then travelled home to Vancouver, BC to wrap up the record.  Following the success of their last album, they knew the combination of Gggarth Richardson, Ben Kaplan, and H.O.T.H. was a force to be reckoned with.  A session at The Farm Studios with those fellas, and a final session produced by the band’s singer Neu Mannas, complete Head of the Herd’s 3rd album “Birds on the Roof.”
On the band's sophomore record, aiming to harness the energy of their live show, they highlighted the beastly, melodic, storytelling prowess that is Head of the Herd. They created the album in two sessions. The first with one of rock’s most sought after producers Gggarth Richardson, the man behind Rage Against the Machine’s chart topping debut, Biffy Clyro’s 2013 UK #1 album “Opposites” and countless in between. The second session was produced by Rick Jackett & James Black from the multi-platinum group Finger Eleven. The album is named after the first single, a duet with Jasmin Parkin from Mother Mother titled “By This Time Tomorrow.” The song has been used by the NHL & Hockey Night in Canada for a playoff montage, and hit #1 on the national rock charts. The singles that followed, "Ain't My day" & "We Could Get Together," both went top 20 nationally, and the latter was used several times during the 2014 NHL playoffs. They've also been recipients of a Canadian Radio Music Award for Best New Rock Group.
The band was created over a trip to Boise, Idaho to watch a college football game. Hours spent showing each other demos on the drive and cowboy boots full of whiskey flasks at the game, led to a fuzzy yet memorable weekend that marked the genesis of the band.
Head of the Herd is proud to unveil their 3rd LP, “Birds On The Roof,” available in stores and online through Universal Music Canada.

- See more at: http://www.headoftheherdmusic.com

You can try and find a gutsier, harder working, more determined bunch than Toronto’s Poor Young Things. But even if you succeed, it’s doubtful you’ll also find one as clearly positioned for greatness. 

Just two years after collectively relocating from Thunder Bay, the pop-rock quintet has issued a massive, sweat-soaked, insanely confident debut, The Heart. The Head. The End. Not only that, they’ve picked up a record deal, marquee management, a Sirius XM Emerging Artist of the Year nomination and a swelling fan base.  Few can make something as tough as pursuing a dream look so dang easy. 

“Oh man, we are so lucky,” confirms singer/guitarist Matt Fratpietro on behalf of his cohorts. “Touring across Canada is so hard. And there are lots of bands that do that for years and years and don’t get the breaks we’ve had. 

“We came here and were signed within a year to a small, very supportive label, Bumstead Productions. I mean, obviously we sold our souls to the devil,” Fratpietro howls. “But still. What a deal we got!”

Kidding aside, The Heart. The Head. The End. could not have emerged if Poor Young Things – high school pals Fratpietro, guitarists Michael Kondakow and Dave Grant, bassist Scott Burke and drummer Konrad Commisso - had elected to play it safe.
 
“It’s scary to leave your hometown,” Fratpietro admits of the big move south in November 2010. “We had been playing together for about three years at that point in some incarnation or another.  The five of us all agreed to move together, which made it a bit easier though we are all living in the same house now which is… cozy. I mean, we see each other every day.”

That friction is part of what drives the propulsive The Heart. The Head. The End. Equal parts grit and groove, fun and fury, the record is a crisply rendered snapshot of five guys who’ve crisscrossed the country playing anywhere they could to anyone who’d listen just for the privilege of being there, logging 100-plus shows last year alone.

“This record is a reflection of getting older and thinking about that. We are all going to be 27 this year,” Fratpietro says, adding that yes, they’re aware of the infamous 27 Club curse and no, they’re not planning to join though they have had some close calls on the highway.
Fratpietro continues: “’Sign of the Times’” (the album’s scorching first single) is based on what the world is like today. But the over-arching theme is experiences we’ve had – on the road, relationship-y things. There are also songs on there about having a good time and meeting people. ‘Revolver’ is one of those.”

‘Revolver’ is also an example of just how essential Toronto producer/engineer Jon Drew is to Poor Young Things’ lightning-in-a-bottle sound. 
“Originally, the chorus of that song just had me singing ‘revolver.’ Jon suggested we should get a gang of people and blow it up to the next level. So we got (East Coast singer/songwriter and Bumstead label-mate) Tim Chaisson’s cousin and bassist Koady Chaisson and drummer Nat Lamoureux into the studio one night, had a couple of drinks and just sang our hearts out.

“Plus Jon has an ear for percussion,” Fratpietro says of Drew, whose sterling production dossier includes albums by Fucked Up, Tokyo Police Club, Alexisonfire and Matt Mays as well as Poor Young Things’ 2012 EP, Let It Sleep. “And we happen to have a drummer who is as solid and hard-hitting as you can get.”

The new record’s spit-shine polish – it’s melodic but unfussy and clearly made by flesh-and-blood people playing actual instruments together - reflects the swift, organic manner in which it was written and recorded. 

“We toured until the end of summer 2012, then practiced for a while, wrote the songs, went in and did half the record, went on a month-long tour with Tim  Chaisson across Canada in late-fall of 2012, then came back and recorded the other half of the album,” Fratpietro explains.
“We had a chance to play those new songs across the country and that’s where you get to the meat of it. Also, that tour impacted the vocals because when I came back my voice was destroyed. But it sounds awesome on the album and much closer to how we are live.

“I write most of the lyrics,” Fratpietro says, “and usually we’ll get the songs down first and the lyrics will come later. We don’t really demo because we don’t have anything to demo with,” he laughs. “But that’s how we are; we just jam and jam and jam until the song is right. Let’s call it the natural way. But we do capture the vibe of togetherness.”

Asked to cite a song that seemed to write itself, Fratpietro name-checks ‘Black Lightning,’ one of several tracks on the record with a chorus so hooky it double-dog dares you not to holler along. Like ‘Revolver,’ it also features backing vocals by Koady Chaisson and Nat Lamoureux as does ‘Sign of the Times,’ ‘Dress It Up’ and ‘Transformer.’

“‘Black Lightning’ only took a couple of days. And that was typical of most songs on this album. We were actually very surprised how easily everything came out when we finally sat down together. Everything went where we wanted it to go. I honestly can’t think of a song we had to struggle with.”
With the obliging hand of fate pressed firmly on their backs, what now for Poor Young Things? “I really just hope the album does well, that we’re on the road for most of the year and get to go to the States a lot,” Fratpietro says. “I hope people can listen to it and see a little bit of themselves in it.  

“The thing is, we’re a hard-working, 24/7 rock-and-roll band. There are no gimmicks and there are no tricks. We go out there and we play. The shows are fun and they’re real. We’re real. There’s nothing fake about it.”

Independent record label since 2001, home to Adam Baldwin, Fortunate Ones, Matt Andersen, Matt Mays, and Villages.

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