SUDBURY—Three Island musicians have battled their way to dominance in the first round of Q92’s Rockband Rumble held April 2 in Sudbury, taking the eclectic experimental sounds of Deadline to the pinnacle of the Northern Ontario rock scene.
Deadline is comprised of lead singer/guitarist Brent Pyette, bassist Scotty Richie and drummer Jared Nardi and they secured the top honours in the first round with surprising ease, considering the number of gigs they play each year.
“We started out playing together in high school around 2008,” said Mr. Pyette. “We haven’t really played a lot. We really like the music, but we don’t play a lot of shows, maybe four or five small gigs.”
They may not be rocking the Air Canada Centre just yet, home and work considerations have kept the trio focussing on their day jobs, but when it comes to writing, they have been going hard at it.
“I’ve been writing pretty much since I was 16,” said Mr. Pyette. “We cover a pretty broad range; we haven’t really come up with a label for our music yet. I guess you could call it experimental.”
The band’s collection of original songs runs the gamut from hard rock, through a little bit country, into blues and even heavy metal.
That wide range and concentration on original works paid off in the contest. “They told us we had to do at least three of our own songs, and perform a minimum of four and maximum of five during the contest,” he said.
As to influences, Mr. Pyette admits to having “tons.” Those influences range from the rock and roll cadre such as Nirvana, Led Zepplin and the Beatles to an important influence closer to home.
“My dad (Great Northern Opry inductee) Jeff Pyette has been playing music all my life,” he said. “He has been a tremendous influence in my life.”
Mr. Pyette’s day job is at Little Current’s Coldwater Fisheries, while Mr. Richie works at Manitoulin Transport in Sudbury and Mr. Nardi assists his father at his bookkeeping service in the winter and is owner/operator of the popular The Port takeout across from the Little Current Beer Store.
The finals in the Rockband Rumble will be taking place on April 30 and local fans can tune in to the contest via the Internet from Q92’s site. For those wanting to listen to some of the original works of the group, check out the band’s tunes at soundcloud.com/brenty-p.
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