Worst Pop Band Ever
Aug 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 @ 5:30 Pm
Chris Gale - Saxophone
Dafydd Hughes - Keys
Drew Birston - Bass
Tim Shia - Drums
No Reservations
$10 Cover Charge
The Worst Pop Band Ever
With influences ranging from Wayne Shorter to Deerhoof to J Dilla, The Worst Pop Band Ever is a Toronto based group that tries to combine a love of improvisational jazz and indie pop. Individually, the members of the WPBE have worked with a who's who of Canadian and international musicians, from Feist to the Shuffle Demons, but together, whether it be blending acoustic bass with turntables or analog synths with the saxophone, the WPBE sets out to twist and bend both originals and covers, straddling genres and butting heads with expectation. Often compared to Medeski Martin Wood or the Bad Plus, the boys like to think of themselves as the ugly love child of Radiohead and Miles Davis.
Since forming in 2005, they have shared stages/ toured with the likes of the Bad Plus, Happy Apple, Jeff Parker, Rich Brown, Rich Underhill, Kelly Jefferson and Elizabeth Shepherd.
They have played festivals and clubs throughout North America including the TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival, NXNE, the Wreckhouse Jazz Festival (St. John’s, NL), the Ottawa Jazz Festival on Canada Day, IAJE, as well as filling notable venues/clubs like the Rex (Toronto), Schuba's (Chicago), Le Garage (Winnipeg), Yardbird Suite (Edmonton), Bassment (Saskatoon) and the Beat Niq (Calgary), the NAC (Ottawa), and The Cellar (Vancouver). They were recently referred to as a "highlight" of the 2012 TD Canada Trust Jazz festival in Toronto.
The band has just released it's latest EP, "Sometimes Things Go Wrong (and other songs we shouldn't play)". It was recorded live in Vancouver on their last tour while promoting their last album,"Dost Thou Believeth in Science" (2009). Like their first album, “Thanks for Coming Out”(2006), Dost thou received critical acclaim from traditional and online media such as the Toronto Star, Wholenote Magazine, Something Else! (jazz.com), FFWD, and All About Jazz.Com (including being the featured download of the day). The album has received national and international radio rotation, reaching # 1 on the CIUT Charts in Toronto, #28 on the overall Canadian College Radio Charts (Earshot) and was featured on CBC Radio 3.
Their music has also been used for film and videos for the United Nations, Teletoon, CBC and the National Film Board - including the NFB's video tribute to dancer, Peggy Baker at the Governor General Awards. They were shortlisted as part of Toronto's NOW Magazine and the Harbourfront Centre's "Soundclash" competition and were showcased in the June 2012 issue of Canadian Musician.