MUSIC
From Issue #18
The Trews
By Stefan Norman
Try, try and try a few hundred times more. Call it a Trew-ism — or a bad pun. Either way,
The Trews’ John Angus MacDonald says he and his band mates have taken that message
to heart, “Persistence is as important as talent,” says the laid-back, scruffy guitarist.
“You work hard enough at anything and it’ll come. If I didn’t believe that, I’d have stopped
long ago.”
It was almost three years ago when the Nova Scotia residents packed up and left home.
“We wanted to get out of our own backyard,” explains John Angus. The band, whose
members include Colin MacDonald, Jack Syperek and Sean Dalton, now resides in
St. Catharines, Ontario, attracted by the cheap rents of the Niagara area and its proximity
to Toronto’s many music venues.
In 2003 they played a staggering 250-plus shows and surpassed that tally in 2004. In fact,
they spent so much time on the road that John Angus says the band’s St. Catharines
residence has become a mere “postal address.” Much of that time has been spent touring
with Sam Roberts, Big Sugar, and Nickelback among others.
John Angus speaks casually about The Trews’ success but it’s been a gutsy ride for the
band whose mildly blue lyrics are whisked along by a high-energy styled rock. In addition
to picking up and shifting westward, The Trews decided they wouldn’t take part-time jobs
while pursuing their artistic dreams, relying on gigs to pay their way. “If you have to have
a part-time day job, you can’t be a
full-time musician,” says John Angus.
The gamble appears to be paying off.
Their second single from
House of Ill Fame hit number one on
radio charts. The disc also earned
a 2004 Juno nomination nod.
John Angus says “the band now
wants to concentrate on producing
a ‘quality’ follow-up album.”
Photo courtesy of Sony Music Canada
