Album Notes

The spence&greer band is a six piece folk rock band from Toronto, Canada. In the spring, the spence&greer band met up with good friend and producer Paul Gorrie to record their debut album, nothings certain 'til you press record. They chose Martin Ill. Studios, on the eastern coast of Georgian Bay, as the setting to record the album. What emerged was ten songs, diverse in theme and structure and often experimental in sound, yet still elements to a cohesive whole that stays true to the ambient grooves and folk-rock roots that underline the spence&greer band. From the rock-driven pulse of The Wake Up Song, to the solemn and sometimes eerie reflection of Backseat, to the poetics and mysticism of Jack Kerouac and My Girl, old styles mingle with new direction to create what is the spence&greer band.

The roots of the spence&greer band go back about eight years. At that time, in the mid 90s, Nick Spence was your classic, dime-a-dozen acoustic singer/songwriter. Living in Singapore, he would entertain friends at pool parties with cover songs ranging from Neil Young to the Barenaked Ladies to Tupac Shakur. During this time, he began experimenting with original pieces with good friends John Peterson and Manuel Palomo, a collaboration that led to the acoustically driven album, The Claymore Sessions.

Meanwhile, Simon Greer was busy touring the highschool band scene in Toronto. His band, By Circumstance, had quite a name for themselves playing such venues as The Elmo Combo, The Warehouse and The Concert Hall.

It was a summer camp in northern Ontario that set in motion what would later become the spence&greer band. In the late 90s, Spence, Greer and Chellew became good friends as counselors together, and took to late night/early morning jams in order to unwind after long days of work. It quickly became clear that each of their distinct music styles complimented the others, yet each challenged the overall sound enough to explore something new.

Come graduation, each went their own way to do what university kids do best: sex, drugs, but no rock and roll. Dreams of arenas and groupies, of tour buses and industry parties were put on temporary hiatus, until, in the fall of 2001, Spence and Greer decided it was time to finally make something happen. The two put aside every evening to writing songs, and by Christmas time they had enough material for a full length album.

The spence&greer band began performing their first shows at venues such as the Free Times Café and the Ultra Now. They used these shows to experiment with sounds and mold their songs structurally. They then played shows with other Toronto bands, including Staggered Crossing and the Gardens Faithful.

With their first album completed, the spence&greer band is now focusing all attention on touring the province and creating a live sound that is both distinct and natural. Thanks and enjoy!