Photo: Courtney Lee Yip
Much like Queen emphatically sang, Toronto trio The Balconies are also intent on rocking you. The group, comprised of vocalist-guitarist Jacquie Neville, her brother Stephen on bass and drummer Liam Jaeger, boast an incredibly powerful sound for only numbering three in the band.
As the opening act for another guitar-heavy Canadian band (Big Sugar), The Balconies are bringing their intense live show to Fredericton tonight and to Moncton on Saturday evening.
The Balconies Liam Jaeger recently summed up the group’s 2012 for Here Magazine while also casting an optimistic eye towards 2013.
What have been the highlights of 2012 for The Balconies?
We released our Kill Count EP in February along with a video for the title track. We played festivals such as SXSW, Summerfest in Milwaukee and the Ottawa Bluesfest. More recently, we began working with producer Arnold Lanni (Our Lady Peace, Simple Plan) and released a new video for Do It In The Dark just a few weeks ago.
What is the strangest thing that happened to the band this year?
Jacquie dressed up as [Big Sugar guitarist-vocalist] Gordie Johnson for Halloween and joined Big Sugar on stage, taking Gordie by surprise. It was very amusing.
What does 2013 have in store for the group?
We’re set to travel to California in January to make a new record with Arnold Lanni and will be back on the road immediately after, starting in Cannes for the Midem festival in late January. We’ll tour Canada and the United States through February and March before we head back to Europe for more touring. Our new album should be ready to release for late spring 2013.
Do you feel/hope that guitar rock is going to overthrow the mindless pop that the general public seems all too eager to embrace these days?
We believe in what we’re doing with our music, although we are aware that ‘guitar rock’ is currently overshadowed by other more popular musical genres. We plan to continue touring and playing for new audiences and showcase our high-energy, straight up rock show. Our front-woman, Jacquie Neville, never fails to make believers out of everyone who comes to see us.
Article published in the November 29, 2012 edition of Here Magazine
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