Big Rock Finish… reviews of independent music

Name: Use as Directed
Album: Use as Directed
Released: 2007
Members:
keegan powell - guitar/vocals
luke macleod - guitar
kevin lacialle - bass
nick ross - drums
james welsmar - keyboards
Website: myspace.com/useasdirected105
Favourite Song: Definitely… Maybe

These guys hail from… not far away from me. Makes me sometimes wish I was still in high school, life was much easier back then, it was only about what classes were necessary to go to, and what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. It also made me feel exceedingly old when I found out Use as Directed is a band with an average age of 15 years old. The fact that there are people who were born in the 1990’s that make music I would listen to… kind of weirds me out.

Pop punk. Simple enough. I’ll admit, Use as Directed isn’t the most ground-breaking band I’ve ever heard, but at least they’re really good at what they know. Their myspace boasts they grew up listening to Blink 182 and New Found Glory. I definitely see influence, considering this is one of the first times I also say I grew up listening to these bands.

The songs on this EP are all songs I have no problem listening to on a car ride, or just listening to for this review. Actually I think during writing this, I’ve heard all the songs at least twice. My iTunes says they’ve had 3-4 plays each but I’ve gone to grab stuff every once in a while. I feel bad for saying I feel like I’ve heard this style of music before, but like I said earlier, it’s not groundbreaking, but it’s catchy, and it’s pleasant to listen to. And as long as I understand what I’m listening to, that’s what Use as Directed is looking for.

Where else do you listen to pop punk type of music? The radio. At their shows. They’ve got a show at the Aurora High School (hey, I played rugby there when I was 15!) tomorrow on the 21st. They are also playing the Opera House on January 25th. I would say go check them out. I’m definitely going to try and make it out.

Wendy was the third act that I saw at the International Pop Overthrow. And this was one interesting set.

She came on just after the Drop Joys, who I was “hired” to go take photos of. And it was an interesting night. I watched out of the corner of my eye her, and her band setting up, and looking somewhat confused, and just a little baffled. After some wrestling with an electronic keyboard and some wires on stage, a secondary keyboard came out and was set up, plugged in and away they went. Here I was thinking “Wow, I know people bring two guitars, but seriously, who brings two keyboards?”

The answer? No one. Wendy ended up having to borrow a keyboard from another band who was playing later that night. I never did figure out the reason why, but it looked like the one she brought just wasn’t compatible with what was on stage.

Funnier still, the announcer went on stage to introduce Wendy, and we were all standing/sitting around listening, and found out that she has an amazing gift and ability to throw together a band wherever she goes. Kevin from the Drop Joys told me it was because her band either up and left, or refused to travel to Toronto for the show. And mentioned how he saw her posting on craigslist just a few days ago. The drummer and bassist allegedly met the day before to rehearse, and they both had sheet music on stage.

The songs were really nice. It was pretty interesting because Wendy is also of Asian descent, and I very rarely see Asian people performing on stage at a pop/rock type of venue. Especially Asian females. And she’s got a lot of power behind her voice that I really wasn’t expecting. There were moments where I was worried for the borrowed keyboard she was playing on, because those keyboard stands don’t look like they can stand up to a rockin’ out chick like Wendy.

Unfortunately I had to leave partway through Wendy’s set, but what I saw, I really liked, and I do hope I can bump into another one of her shows, because from what everyone else told me, it was pretty awesome by the end of it!

So we come to the second band of the night, being The Drop Joys. I’m not sure if I’ve told the story here before regarding how myself and the band discovered each other, so here we go again.

The Drop Joys used to rehearse in a rehearsal space on the east end of Toronto, which so happened to be where I do most of my bike repairs on my fixed gear since the guy there is a total savant when it comes to such bikes. Most of the time there is loud angry death metal which I am not particularly fond of, but one day some pretty nice pop music was coming out of the studio was I was going on a ride down to Cherry Beach and back. Came back, they were still playing, decided I couldn’t go on with life as I knew it without contacting the band. Knocking seemed too presumptuous, and I dislike the idea of interrupting, so I thought I’d write a note. Did so, shoved it under their door, and ran away giggling.

Kevin from the band wrote me that night thanking me for my kind words I had written. We spoke a few times through e-mail, he invited me to a show they had at Healey’s and I went, took photos, but had to run off before I could introduce myself.

Kevin wrote me again about the IPO show and how much fun it would be and how he’d like me to take photos of him (and the band, of course) again so I accepted. And here I am.

The show was good, (I only really know Kevin’s name so I apologize from here on in!) The other guitarist unfortunately broke a string after like the first song and had to change it on stage, which is always impressive to me since I’m not so into the idea of changing strings. The rest of the band covered this lapse in playing nicely through silly and fun banter. I liked the show. I really truly did. I’m not so much of a music person that I can be critical of how things sound.

I know Kevin wasn’t thrilled with the amp he was playing out of, and I was surprised the bands weren’t bringing their own gear to play out of. I guess for changeover it was easier to have one set of everything on stage, but still, it was just out of character for how I’m used to seeing shows.

Despite Kevin’s disappointment regarding the sound of his guitar due to lack of powerful amp, I still think the show was a success. They are obviously a fun group of guys who have a really good time hanging out on stage and they make great sounding music at the same time. Honestly I can’t figure out why they’re not more popular, considering what I hear at shows, and what I hear when I pass their rehearsal room, sounds better than most stuff I hear coming out of my car radio when it’s not talking about the traffic reports.

Anyways, it was great seeing them on stage, and even more fun actually meeting the band afterwards.

P.S. All of my other friends who are in bands, were insanely jealous that I left a note under The Drop Joys’s rehearsal space, all wondering why no one ever leaves notes under THEIR door. Heh. To this day they gripe at me about it. As if I’m going to show up at their rehearsal to leave similar notes. Or something.