Vancouver sextet The Brandon Paris Band is headed to New Brunswick for shows in Fredericton and Moncton next week for what will be their first trek into the Maritimes. The band is supporting their most recent record Pocket Full Of Holes, which was independently released this past April.
The group, who mixes rock, pop and reggae into a potent mélange of music is quickly earning a reputation for their powerful and energetic live show, which according to vocalist Paris, has to be seen to be fully appreciated.
“Every one of our shows is highly energetic and interactive. That seems to be the feedback we receive from club owners after our shows, as well. A lot of club owners say the band is electric when we are on stage and it makes for a brilliant show,” Paris says. “I think we tend to be good at waking the crowd up if the audience is a little on the reserved side. And the fact we are mixing these different genres of music attracts hip hop fans and rock and roll fans in equal amounts.”
The Brandon Paris Band is staunchly independent, overseeing their own show bookings and management and has even managed to place the video for their song Can’t Hate You in medium rotation on MuchMusic. This independent spirit was largely fanned by the flames of disappointment the group experienced with a former label that they had been signed to.
“We had been signed with Koch in 2006. We had a single which was charting which was really exciting but the label only got our record released seven months later. It was a nightmare,” Paris says. “Once the record was released, it wasn’t properly promoted; there was no money for marketing and promotion so it was virtually dead.”
Paris says the experience was a key part in furthering their development and was a huge motivator in them seeking to take the power back into their own hands.
“We’re constantly learning about the business,” he admits. “We have been able to build excellent relationships with people at radio, in the media and club owners. I really don’t think our relationships with these people would be as strong as they are if we were depending on others to do the work for us.”
“We are hoping that these relationships will help financially sustain the band in the future and allow us to continue making music for years to come.”
With over 30 dates booked across the country on their current tour, it seems as though the band’s hard work is paying off. Paris admits that radio has been a little reserved in picking the band’s songs up for airplay but that they are winning people over one by one.
“As a general rule, people are very open to new music and our band. Radio is a little more careful when supporting a band like ours though which crosses so many different genres.
“We’ve heard we are too reggae for rock stations and too much rock for other stations,” Paris says. “We understand that radio doesn’t want to risk losing or alienating their listeners but as we get out there, we are definitely seeing progress being made, which is all we can ask for … “People don’t tend to get us as a group until they see us live.”
The band will play at the Paramount Lounge in Moncton on Thursday July 23 and in Fredericton at the Musiplex on July 24. The group calls www.brandonparisband.com their online home.