Hollerado

Hollerado is a Canadian indie rock band from Ottawa. Formed in 2007, The band consists of Menno Versteeg (lead vocals, guitar), Nixon Boyd (lead guitar, backing vocals), Dean Baxter (bass, backing vocals) and Jake Boyd (drums, backing vocals). The band has toured extensively, including time in North America, South America, Europe and China, playing with bands such as The Flaming Lips, Weezer, Fucked Up, Black Lips and Passion Pit. They were nominated for the Best New Group Award at the 2011 Juno Awards.

History

Three of the four members of Hollerado grew up on the same street in Manotick, Ontario a suburb of Ottawa. Hollerado later recorded and periodically lived in Montreal, Quebec where they gained attention as one of Montreal's "top up-and-coming bands".^[1][2] The line-up includes lead singer and guitarist Menno Versteeg, lead guitarist Nixon Boyd, bassist Dean Baxter, and drummer Jake Boyd.^[3] Since its inception in April 2007^[4] the band has shared the stage with hard-rocker Andrew W.K. and Montreal's The Stills and Malajube, and was hand-picked by Jack White to open for his newest group, The Dead Weather.^[5][6][7] The band has also played festivals such as SXSW, NXNE, Pop Montreal, Rifflandia Music Festival and Sled Island in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.^[4][5][6]

In April and May 2009, the band accompanied The Stills and other Canadian indie rock delegates to the TransmitCHINA conference, an event established to promote cultural and musical exchange between the Asian and Canadian music markets.^[8][9] Hollerado played the conference showcase in Beijing to kick off its two-week tour of China.^[8]

Record in a Bag (2009)

In 2009, Hollerado self-released its debut album Record in a Bag as a free digital download.^[10] Originally from the band's Demo in a Bag 5. EP,^[11] In February 2010, music label Royal Mountain Records along with Arts & Crafts re-released Record in a Bag.^[12] the album's lead single "Americanarama" drew press for its music video starring The Kids in the Hall comedian Dave Foley in a parody of American Apparel founder and CEO Dov Charney.^[2][13][14] The album has been favourably compared to the music of Supergrass, Stephen Malkmus, and Weezer.^[10][14][15] In 2010, Hollerado toured with Free Energy throughout the United States and Canada, as headliner in their home country and as support act in the US. Many of these concerts featured both bands on stage aiding each other in backup vocals on their own songs, and covers of Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young.

In 2011, the band was nominated for the Best New Group Award at the 2011 Juno Awards.

In December 2012, it was announced that Hollerado would be opening for Canadian alternative-rock band Billy Talent on their Dead Silence headline tour in April 2013, alongside Sum 41 and Indian Handcrafts.

Residency Tour

In February 2009 Hollerado embarked on a 28-day "residency tour".^[16] The band played "seven bars in seven cities seven days a week",^[1] visiting T.T. The Bears in Boston, Piano's in New York City, Pipeline Gas Bar in Lacolle, Quebec, Casbah in Hamilton, Sneaky Dee's in Toronto, Cafe Dekcuf in Ottawa, and Barfly in Montreal.^[13]

White Paint (2013)

On February 26, 2013, the band released their second LP, White Paint, leading with the single "Pick Me Up". The album "finds Hollerado sticking to their guns by packing their songs with instantly hummable choruses and six-string riffs aplenty," but although the band didn't opt for any huge sound changes for their second album, White Paint "is a more intricately wrought and emotionally complex record than the feel-good Record in a Bag".^[17] The track "So It Goes", along with its accompanying video, garnered attention for its historical and emotional story involving the sparing of lead singer Menno's Grandfather's life during World War II.^[18]

111 Songs (2015)

In January 2015 Hollerado began releasing tracks for their ambitious 111 Songs project, leading with the single "Firefly". The project stemmed from a release package ordered by fans of their previous record White Paint on which Hollerado has stated "as part of the deal we would write them a custom song. The idea was the person would send us their name and where they were from and two facts about themselves, and a few months later we would send them a song we wrote for them."^[19] 111 Songs actually resulted in two years of work on the songs, dedicated to those fans and is stepping stone to the band's third full-length album.

Third Studio Album (2016?)

On July 12, 2015 Hollerado debuted a new song at the Toronto Harbourfront Centre and announced their intention to release a new album in the near future.

Awards & Nominations

Juno Awards

^[20][21][22]

Sirius XM Indie Awards

^[23]

Edge 102 CASBY Awards

^[24]

Members

• Dean Baxter - bass & vocals (2007–present)
• Jake Boyd - drums & vocals (2007–present)
• Nixon Boyd - guitar & vocals (2007–present)
• Menno Versteeg - guitar & lead vocals (2007–present)

Discography

Demos

• Demo in a Bag One (2007)
• Demo in a Bag Two (2007)
• Demo in a Bag Three (2007)
• Demo in a Bag Four (2007)
• Demo in a Bag Five (2008)

Albums

• Record in a Bag (2009, re-released 2010)
• White Paint (2013)
• "111 Songs" (2015)

Other releases

• Margaritaville 2: The Reckoning^[25] (Compilation/live, 2011)

Singles

See also

• Music of Canada
• Canadian rock
• List of Canadian musicians
• List of bands from Canada
• Category:Canadian musical groups

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hollerado.