All of the Above’s sound is best described as “summer on a blanket” rock: the kind of music that will take you back to a warm summer day. Their songs are a blending of acoustic/roots heart-and-soul, danceable funk/rock and reggae inspired grooves, and soaring harmonies like only brothers can sing.
Jared and Evan Cechanowicz have been playing music together nearly all their lives, and music has sculpted their relationship as brothers as much as their relationship as a band. From starting out singing in church, to being the harshest critic for each other’s side-projects (everything from jazz to country), to finally forming a band together, All of the Above’s formation was as tumultuous as brotherhood itself; but when they realized they were a born musical duo, everything started to fall into place.
In early 2008, their first single ‘This Car’ made ripples in Saskatchewan when it was awarded 2008 Single of the Year by the Saskatchewan Home Grown Top 30 Podcast, beating out a number of established artists like Theresa Sokyrka and Shaun Verreault. Planet S Magazine proclaimed: “…AOTA have already begun to warrant their own page in the book of Sask music lore.” (Craig Silliphant, Planet S Magazine, July 2008). More recently, their songwriting has also garnered international kudos: ‘Feather,’ which was written for their upcoming album reached the short-list in the international category of the 2010 Australian Songwriting Association’s Songwriting Competition.
Success in songwriting and a busy live performance schedule prompted All of the Above to begin recording their first full-length album, titled simply ‘All of the Above’. This decision was greeted warmly by Western Canada’s Rawlco Radio, who awarded All of the Above with a grant of $10,000 as part of their 10K20 initiative. Due in early 2011, their first album is being preceded by a double-length live/studio EP, ‘Home,’ which features tracks from a live house-concert recording of the brotherly duo, as well as a three singles from their upcoming 2011 album.
Friendly and unpretentious, the brothers of All of the Above are a relaxed bunch. For them, All of the Above has always been family first, band second; and that’s exactly why you can look for them to be making music together for many years to come.
www.alloftheabove.ca
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