It’s not every day a band takes home gold in a Battle of the Bands.
When G.U.R.L. hit a home run at the July 1 competition at St. Albert Place plaza, “We all jumped like girls – that’s G-U-R-L-S,” said a clearly pumped lead guitarist Brad Bremner.
The pop/punk foursome — including singer Ryan Quick, bassist Mike Millan and drummer Evan Yardley — have played together for three years.
Last in a lineup of five bands that started with Careless Politicians, Vista Waves, Show Biz and City Tropics, G.U.R.L. played three songs, blasting their guitar heavy riffs and energetic moves.
Wowing the crowd with non-stop jumps in Wasting My Time, they segued into the full-throttle All the Small Things before ending with an original, Meant to Be.
“It was nerve-racking waiting, but once we hit the first note, it goes away and you’re happiest doing what you do best,” Quick explained.
The Battle of the Bands was created to celebrate the city’s 150th anniversary as well as bring out the talents of young, emerging artists. And the band slam provided the ultimate platform to catapult new talent to the forefront.
G.U.R.L. won $500 from Innovations Music, where they hope to purchase new strings, straps and microphone stands.
“All the stuff that falls apart when you’re playing a show,” Quick said.
In the past three years, the band estimates having spent about $50,000 for instruments and equipment.
Borrowing inspiration from Blink-182 and Green Day, the band performed at about 20 shows last year and hopes to release three singles in the near future.
Quick and Millan first met through Paul Kane’s 2007 pop/rock program. Yardley, Quick’s younger brother, later joined, and the band joke is that Bremner was discovered through a flyer.
Through the years, the tunes have evolved.
“When we were in high school, we wrote songs about less mature young relationships. Now we write about problems in our life,” Millan explains.
Quick, the band’s major songwriter, likes to tackle breakup songs — but with a twist.
“I write songs people want to jump and have a good time with,” he said.
Yardley added, “We sing songs about girls, relationships or party songs. We’re all about bringing fun.”
One of the band’s big strengths is their showmanship. As Quick pointed out, “When it’s not a G-rated show, we come up with some pretty funny jokes and everyone gets a chance to front the band.”
