Moncton rock band 3WIDE is set to take the stage at the Manhattan Bar & Grill tonight after a three-year absence from the local music scene. Formed in 2001, the group’s 10th anniversary is this month and as such, the trio figured that the timing was right to start making music together again, even if only temporarily. Also performing tonight are SpiralCase and 2011 East Coast Music Award nominees Tempting Tragedy. Guests attending the show tonight will be treated to a special guest host for the evening’s festivities. Trailer Park Boys actor Bernard Robichaud, who played Cyrus on the popular Showcase television show, is set to serve as the host / MC for the night.
3WIDE guitarist and vocalist Jerry Wiley admits that the band hasn’t been completely active during the past decade, having put the band on the backburner for approximately one year in 2005 before reconvening in 2006.
They then continued to write, play and perform for another year and then again decided to shelve the band in 2007.
“As a unit, we found that the creative juices between us were gone and the fun just wasn’t there anymore,” Wiley says.
From there, Wiley and his fellow 3WIDE band members Kirk Crowder and Ed Arsenault split off in various directions, moving onto other musical projects in the Metro area including Hard On The Pocket, The Guillaume Aube Band, Black Wrench and Operation 40. While the band’s show tonight was buoyed in part by the fact they are commemorating their 10th anniversary, Wiley says the reunion seeds were planted more than a year ago.
“The ultimate decision to play this show arose from being able to hang out with some longtime friends and make some noise together. We are looking forward to playing the reunion show and whatever happens once the show is done happens.
“Each of us has other things happening in life like jobs, families and other bands plus we have all grown so much on both a personal level and a musical level that I am not really sure whether or not 3WIDE could ever be a full-time band again. But ultimately in regards to future activity, we will be going with what feels right for the three of us,” he says.
Article published in January 28, 2011 edition of the Times & Transcript