The Treble

Drinking whiskey from a can in a night club parking lot, a house party that saw the sunrise, and an unexpected trip to LA – bands’ beginnings have been had in no stranger way. For The Treble, road trips and late night parties led to arena shows and cross-Canada tours – sometimes no plan is the best plan. Formed in 2008, The Treble have been slowly carving out their place in the Canadian music scene with engaging songs, a passionate live show, and drive to give back to the community through their up all night fundraiser "24 Shows in 24 Hours". With a dark, casual, and confident alt-rock sound, The Treble mix strong melodies and anthemic harmonies with lyrics about friendship, travel and staving off the real world. Songs from their first two independent EPs garnered radio airplay, and saw the band do several cross country tours and play multiple international events. Having recently completed their first full length album with producer Rob Wells (Tyler Shaw, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber), the unreleased album caught industry’s attention and led to a recording contract with Cadence Music. The album, entitled Modernaires is available now. "For us, Modernaires was about painting a picture. Each song is a moment in a larger story," says lead singer Mark Brusegard. "We grew up surrounded by lots of creative types each pursuing their own kind of endeavor. Music was always our way of being a fly on the wall. We got to watch all of these stories unfold, and then tell them at every show. We write a lot about taking risks. Whether that means travelling, pursuing your art, or starting a new life chapter, for most people, the first step is the hardest part." This is probably best illustrated in the debut single 'Wherever You Go'. With a past paced, stadium sized sound, ‘Wherever You Go’ is about pushing each other to the limit, and going farther than you ever have. "Whenever we have doubts, I always think about what I wish I could hear in those moments, what would keep us going and pushing through, for us, ‘Wherever You Go’ is that message." The song is accompanied by a lyric video, made up of thousands of photographs from light painting artists around the world using *Pixelstick technology. The video was the brainchild of bass player Patrick Hansen who had seen the product used for an intro to Saturday Night Live. "When I saw how it worked, I thought it would be perfect for a lyric video. It wasn't until I started editing the footage that I realized I would need all the help I could get." says Hansen. He later stumbled upon a Facebook group of Pixelstick artists from around the world, who would each contribute by painting a small set of lyrics in their various cities. "When people started sending back footage we were amazed at how much thought and care they had taken painting the words of our song." The band was particularly moved when they received a section filmed at the Berlin Wall, in front of a quote that read "Many small people, who in many small places do many small things that can alter the face of the world." The band also pays tribute to the live music scene in Canada with the song 'Highwater'. "I think having played so many shows with so many different bands, we were inspired by how many stories there are," recalls Brusegard. "We were driving to a show in London (ON) a few years back and checking out some of the bands we were going to play with. We heard this song and it was easily one of the best songs we all had heard. Once we got to the venue, we were all chatting before the show, I mentioned the song to the other act, and how much it has inspired me. Their singer thanked me, but told me about how their sound had changed, and that they didn't play it anymore. I was floored. I think that was when it sunk in that there is an absolute ocean of music out there that exists, that we may never get the chance to hear. That's what inspired Highwater. It's about all the bands out there sharing all of their songs and all their stories, the ones we love, the ones we can barely recall and the ones we may never even hear." The Treble originally formed in an unlikely circumstance when a late night of having fun turned into an early morning of songwriting. "We found ourselves in a room at this party playing music together, something we'd never all done before," says Brusegard. "When we realized everyone had left the party and we were still writing songs, that's when we knew we had something special." The band, then consisting of Mark Brusegard (vocals), Graeme Woods (guitar), and Colin McTavish (keys) played acoustic shows for a year before recording their first EP Shaking Hands and Taking Names. Intending to release an acoustic album, producer Chris Burke-Gaffney (Chantal Kreviazuk, McMaster & James) quickly convinced them to go for a bigger sound. Before the album was finished the band had recruited old friend Patrick Hansen (bass), and newcomer Dana Jerlo (drums). "It clicked right away. They provided the push, drive and energy we needed to take things to another level, both musically and emotionally. We went from being friends to band mates to brothers." Along the way, The Treble have also used their sound and message to give back to the community by being involved in multiple charitable events. Most notably, in 2011, The Treble initiated their first of what would eventually be an annual tradition known as "24 Shows in 24 Hours”. Partnering with local businesses, the band would perform a short set each hour at a different establishment throughout the city, each of which was exchanged for a charitable donation. The event has since been held four times even branching out to Toronto in 2014, and has raised over $15,000. The Treble are an alt-rock band from Winnipeg, Canada. Our debut album "Modernaires" is now available: cadencemusic.lnk.to/thetreblemodernaires