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Phillip Hong 15 April, 2009
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Remember those long, boring history classes we were all forced to attend back
in secondary school? If you remember correctly, Anik, which was Canada's
first satellite, was launched for the purpose of communication. Considering
this context, I have never heard of a better name for a band like Chasing
Satellites before.
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This four man band is made up of a group of men who are destined to "bring
back rock the way it's supposed to be". After listening to their music, I
believe that you may very well agree.
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PHIL: How did all of you get into music? How did you meet and form the band?
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DAN: I have always been obsessed with music for as long as I can
remember. It probably started when I'd rock out to Guns n Roses while playing
solos on a broom stick. Then when I was 13 I got a guitar and started figuring
out chords and learning on my own...
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The band formed when I got a call from my old (and present producer) Rick Salt
saying there was a guitar player I should meet. I'd recently had a bad brake up
with my previous band that had had a good thing going on. At first I wasn't
too sure about getting back into the whole music thing, but now I would say its
one of the best things that has happened to me.
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AARON: I've always loved music. I grew up around my grandfather who
played piano for 80 years. He started giving me lessons when I was four. By
the time I was 7 I couldn't stand being told I had to practice so I decided to
stop playing the piano. Instead I found my step-dad's old guitar and started
trying to figure out how to use it... it only had 4 strings when I got it and
after months (maybe longer) I got two more strings. No one told me to practice
and in fact I was usually told to stop... 20 years later and I'm still playing
the instrument everyday! There's something soothing about even just having the
instrument in my hand....
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One day I got a call from my producer (now one of my best friends) who had
recently finished recording a project I had started which hadn't ended that
well. He knew I wasn't about to stop playing music, so he told me about this
guy who had a great voice and could sing all night. He figured we should meet
and maybe get something going on. He gave me Dan's number and I called the
guy up, about a week later we were jamming at his house. We jammed for about
a year and started looking for other guys to form the band, he called some of
his buddies and I called some of mine. Dan auditioned my school buddy Zack
and we jammed out. Before Zack officially joined the band we probably played
with about another 5 drummers. Zack's the man and we'll never have another
drummer, great live and great in the studio! Carl was an old friend of Dan's
who had been a front man and guitar player in his own band around town. He
and Dan had always gotten complemented on each others voices and how well
they went together. Carl picked up the bass and has never put it down since.
I think we tried out two guys before Carl... but he's been there since day one
even when it was just me and Dan jamming and he'd come over for a beer! I
gotta say a huge thanks to Rick Salt for introducing me to Dan, my brother
from another mother, and for consequently forming this band of brothers, best
friends, called Chasing Satellites!
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ZACK: I first got into music around Christmas right after I had turned
17. I got into drums through the suggestion of a friend who recently bought a
guitar, and got into lessons and the rent to own a kit deal. My first major
inspiration came from listening to a live Blink 182 cd. The sounds of the
crowd coupled with amazing drumming started this continuing obsession I have
now.
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I met Aaron through college, we were both in the Jazz Program there. We played
in a combo together, learning standards and all that, when Aaron asked if I
would like to Jam with him and a buddy. We went out to Dan's place which had a
huge machine shop/perfect jam spot. I met Carl for the first time there as
well, and we jammed and rocked out a bit. At first I really had to learn to hit
the drums harder, rock is not the same animal as jazz. After I got more
comfortable creating volume, I could keep up with the other guys and we just
took it from there.
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CARL: When I was really young, about 3 I used to listen to Allana Miles,
Bruce Springsteen, ACDC, Ted Nuggent, and run around in circles until my parents
would make me stop. Then in grade 3 I heard the first Nirvana single "Love Buzz"
on a scate video, later on I heard Guns n' Roses in grade 5 and by then wanted
to start a band. I was singing all this time as I wanted to be a singer, but I
realized that I needed to be able to play something to acompany me. So in grade
8-9 I started playing guitar and me and a buddy started writing tunes together.
Since then I've played in bands non stop.
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I used to go over to Dan's and drink beers and hang out with him and Aaron.
One day sometime later Dan called me up and told me to go buy a bass that I
was in the band.
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Phillip Hong is a
presenter on Centre Street, our current affairs programme featuring
alternative stories and interviews. |