Every so often we work on a project that we are really excited about. In this section we will let those clients share their stories with you. In this feature we take an in depth look at the band, The Painted Birds from Vancouver, BC.

After forming in the fall of 2005, Vancouver indie rockers The Painted Birds have secured a loyal following throughout Canada. Their debut album, So Much For The Rain, was released independently in Canada in August 2007 and within the last year the band has completed two tours of Western Canada, a promotional tour of Ontario,and a twenty-five date national summer tour. The band’s crowning achievement in 2008 has been drawing massive crowds and gaining recognition at industry showcases in Toronto, including Canadian Music Week, The Edge102.1FM’s Nu Music Nite at the Horseshoe Tavern, and, most recently, headlining a showcase at NXNE.

The Painted Birds Bio:

The band’s name is a nod to Jerzy Kosinski's 1965 novel, The Painted Bird. In Kosinski’s controversial book, a man paints a bird and returns it to its flock. The bird thinks that it’s going home, but the flock ends up killing it because
they see it as an intruder. Although the allusion is rather gory and vivid, lead singer and guitarist Dominique Fricot believes that it rings particularly true today. “I think the issue is that the world is filled with many sick and twisted
realities, like how people do shun their own when they have mingled with the ‘other’,” he says.

That is, in many ways, the essence of the words behind the captivating melodies of the Painted Birds, tackling issues that people often shy away from, particularly when they deal with things that many are not ready to admit or talk
about, such as hatred or fear, or the dead and perversion. Those may not all be dinner-table topics, but they are issues that as artists, The Painted Birds believe they should give expression to, however painful.

“I think as artists we have to bring to light what hits us way down deep, because that's how we can get past it,” explains Fricot. It’s not surprising then that the very first song that Fricot wrote was about the death of his parents,
a topic he was unable to tackle otherwise. Today, and many songs later, he continues to deal in his music with topics that people typically feel the need to keep hidden.

The fusion of Fricot's voice with Shawn Berke’s melody-driven bass lines and Josh McNorton's effects-laden guitar keeps the listener interested in each part of the song, while the strong vocal melodies keep them humming the tune
long after it has finished. Add in the finesse and precision of Shane Lynch on drums and you have a distinct sound that is emotionally intense, rhythmically dynamic, and melodically rich.

Reviews:

Exclaim! (July 2008 live review)
“Vancouver’s the Painted Birds managed to sonically motivate the audience from note one.”

The Georgia Straight
“guitar-saturated pop that somehow fuses the best bits of Pearl Jam, Coldplay and Snow Patrol.”

TV Week
“The rich melodies of vocalist Dominique Fricot, unique guitar treatments by Josh McNorton and rhythmically captivating arrangements make this a standout debut.”

The Vancouver Province
“There are traces of The Police (“Tease”) with its choppy guitar and new-wave punch... ‘Colleen’ could be The Painted Birds’ “Roxanne”.”

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