Endurance ( Rock Band )

Endurance holds the distinction of having been both 'The Youngest Band to have ever played Massey Hall, Toronto' (November 17th 2010), and the only band to have ever appeared on the CBC's Dragons Den (Canada) on October 31st 2012. Endurance was formed in Victoria, B.C., Canada in May 2009 when brothers Brett and Blake Smith-Daniels first decided they would like to start a band of their own. Very soon after the decision to start a group, the opportunity of a lifetime presented itself to the brothers, when they received an invitation to perform at a national charity concert in support of S.O.S Children's Villages, in Canada's most historic venue Massey Hall in Toronto! Initially the idea was to have the boys perform as backing musicians for a singer, or another band, but unsatisfied, the boys set out to flesh out the band, then a duo, into a full lineup, with a view toward featuring in the show as an act of their own. In January of 2010, the first full lineup was formed, it was a 5 piece group consisting of Brett Smith-Daniels on Lead Guitar/Vocals, Blake Smith-Daniels on Piano/Organ/Vocals, and school friends Michael Tessier on Drums, Angus Watt on rhythm guitar/backing vocals, and Elliot Rogers on Bass. The newly formed group practiced hard, performed at open mic nights and schools, and gradually got tighter in the ten months before the show, during the months practicing, Brothers Brett and Blake ran into the Canadian band Nickelback, while on a weekend holiday at Poets Cove Resort on Pender Island. On November 17th 2010, Endurance became the youngest band to have ever played Massey Hall, Toronto, with the oldest member being 14, and the youngest member being just 10. Shortly after the Massey Hall performance, Brett and Blake headed on a road trip with their family down to California where they were staying for Christmas. Brett, insistent on taking his guitar, used this time to write new material for the group, and with a little bit of luck, the brothers managed to play some gigs while on the road. The world famous Rainbow Bar and Grill on Sunset Strip (where they ran into Zakk Wydle of Black Label Society), and The Hard Rock Cafe Hollywood, were among the venues that they managed to guest at. They still have an open invitation to play the world famous Whiskey A Go Go, as word spread fast after a 5 hour long jam at the Rainbow. Upon their return to Victoria, the brothers were saddened to find that their band-mates Angus Watt, and Elliot Rogers, had lost interest in playing in the group anymore, and Endurance's future was questioned. By sheer luck, drummer Michael Tessier had made friends with another local bassist Stanley Sarosiak, who had recently moved to the area. Stanley almost immediately joined the band as their new bassist. The band continued performing as a 4 piece for several weeks, until a thirst for a fuller sound resulted in the hiring of rhythm guitarist Dougie Bedell in May of 2011. The band gigged around Victoria and the local area over the summer of 2011, but no real progress seemed to be being made. In September of 2011, the Smith-Daniels brothers once again headed down to California, this time to see a double billed concert featuring blues legend's BB King, and Buddy Guy. By a stroke of luck, the boys got talking to Marty Salmon (Keyboard player for Buddy Guy) before the concert began, and managed to get backstage and meet Buddy Guy, they thought they'd had enough luck for one night, and then later in the evening, they also met BB King, when he invited the audience to come and chat after the show! During the trip down to California, Brett, once again insistent on taking his guitar on the road down to California with him, was offered a sponsorship with Gibson Guitars USA, but turned them down, as he prefers Fender. As if they hadn't already had enough luck for one week, the boys ran into Steve Hass (Drummer for Manhattan Transfer, Billy Joel, Art Garfunkel, and many more) in San Jose airport on their way home. The brothers returned home, excited about the news, to find that tensions were growing between their band-mates. This resulted in a few weeks brake from gigging. Then in November 2011 Endurance came back strong, winning the Oak Bay High Battle of Bands, and then setting out on a few Pre-Christmas gigs. All seemed well, for the time being. After Christmas, the brothers headed off on yet another trip, this time to Cuba. During the trip, they forged a friendship with the resorts house band, and ended up guesting with them on several occasions. The trip turned out to be a greatly influential time for the brother’s music as they started drawing influence from the Afro-Cuban rhythms of the local music, and were fortunate enough to run into the French-Canadian music legend Jean Leloup, who was also staying at the resort. The boys returned to Victoria to find that the tensions between their band-mates had come to a head, and that Bassist Stanley Sarosiak, and Rhythm Guitarist Dougie Bedell had decided to leave Endurance, in order to start their own group, The Avenue, with drummer local Miles Fuller. Frustrated by the fact that this was the second year in a row the band had lost members in January, and the fact that they had gig commitments to fulfill, the group continued as a 3 piece while searching for a new bass player, the collective decision was also made at this point not to hire another rhythm guitarist, due to the fact that each member meant less pay at gigs. Luckily, ads were only up about two and a half weeks before the perfect fit for a bass played presented himself. Trevor Kidd joined Endurance, from Victoria Reggae-Rock band Forecast in mid-February 2012, to complete the lineup. The new lineup immediately began recording demo's to try and secure some radio play, and grow their fan-base. Brett Smith-Daniels original song 'Devil's Backyard' was chosen by the group to be the first song to be recorded and released. The demo, which was recorded in the Smith-Daniels basement in 6 hours, proved to be one of the most useful things they had ever done. This was because after only 3 weeks with Trevor in the band, a stellar opportunity presented itself. Auditions for the prime time TV series Dragons Den where just about to roll through town, and the band had a crazy idea to try and get on the show. Disorganized and uneducated as to what the show actually consisted of, the band showed up for their audition with nothing but a demo, and their personalities. They walked away from the audition thinking they had blown their chance, but luck had once again shone upon them, and 3 weeks later they were invited to fly out to Toronto and film for the show. Seven weeks later the band was on their way to Toronto on the road for the second time in 2 years. They took the opportunity to catch up with some old friends form the Massey Hall show, as well as make some valuable contacts like Moe Berg (lead singer of The Pursuit of Happiness). On May 12th, 2012, at 8:30 AM, Endurance stepped into the Dragons Den to be filmed, and much to their surprise, won the Dragons over almost instantly. During the taping comparisons to The Beatles, The Kinks, and Squeeze were drawn, and Endurance was offered a deal for a $100k from all 5 Dragons ($20k from each) in exchange for 50% of their independent record label, 'Endurance Records'. They instantly said yes, without thinking about the negatives of a 50% cut. Over the few months before the show finally aired, the Smith-Daniels brothers were fortunate enough to meet Bryan Adams backstage at a gig, and Endurance played numerous gigs around British Colombia, (including a couple of appearances at the PNE in Vancouver, where everybody from the Beatles, and Elvis, to Led Zeppelin and The Doors had played) and grew their reputation considerably. Radio, and Newspaper interviews, and TV appearances became a fairly regular occurrence as the air-date grew closer. Unfortunately, the contract didn't look so amazing when it came through, and despite trying to barter with the Dragons correspondents for a better deal, it was clear that the Dragons only wanted to sign Endurance on their own terms, and nothing else, and so unofficially, the band declined their offer. Endurance aired on the Dragons Den on October 31st of 2012, to a T.V. audience of over 1.6 Million viewers initially, although the show has been aired several times since. It was at this time that something came to a head that had been stirring for the past few months, the Smith-Daniels family had been considering a move back home to the UK for quite some time, as the move to Canada was only originally supposed to have been temporary, and while on a trip back to England, Nev (The brothers father) had received a good job offer which he had chosen to take. The weeks following the decision to move were turbulent times for the band, as they had just barely got their feet off of the ground, before leaving their reputation. They booked 5 more gigs in Victoria, before announcing the Smith-Daniels move back home. Sadly due to other commitments, and a lack of time, bassist Trevor Kidd opted not to partake in the last few shows before the brother’s move. The last Endurance dates in Canada saw constantly fluctuating lineups, due to drummer Michael Tessier’s falling ill, and struggles to find a bass player. Musicians who guested with the band at this time included other local Victoria musician’s, and friends form other bands, among them guitarist/bassist/singer Tristan Savage, and drummer Ross Bowen, who had played with Brett Smith-Daniels in his side project ‘The Rivals’, and Joe Avio-Pelger of The Avenue (the new group of former Endurance members Stanley Sarosiak, and Dougie Bedell), and school friend, and singer Steven Dopp. The last Canadian date by Endurance was the 21st of December 2012, at the Oak Bay High School auditorium, in front of 1500 people. Brothers Brett and Blake Smith-Daniels arrived back home in the UK on the 26th of December 2012, and took a few weeks off before starting to write new material, and perform at jam nights in London and Hampshire. At some point it was discussed about starting a new lineup of Endurance, and both brothers agreed, it’d only be right to keep going after all they had been through under the name. At present, the band, now based near Southampton, Hampshire, are auditioning local bassists, and drummers, with a view toward recording new material, and touring the south coast of the UK in summer 2013. Endurance disband in November 2013. For news on what Brett Smith-Daniels is up to nowadays check out www.facebook.com/thevillanovasband