PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
| THE DAMN TRUTH WINNERS OF CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE’S ‘TRACKS OF THE WEEK’ The Montreal rock band’s Bob Rock-produced single “This Is Who We Are Now” enters its fourth week of airplay on Planet Rock and other UK radio stations |
|---|
| THE DAMN TRUTH WINNERS OF CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE’S ‘TRACKS OF THE WEEK’. The Montreal rock band’s Bob Rock-produced single “This Is Who We Are Now” enters its fourth week of airplay on Planet Rock and other UK radio stations. Stream Single / Pre-order AlbumMontreal-based psychedelic rock band, The Damn Truth, have won ‘Tracks of the Week’ by the readers of Classic Rock Magazine’s website, Louder Sound. Say’s Classic Rock, “Last week’s units of data included Montreal rockers The Damn Truth, whose This Is Who We Are Now was our runaway winner, followed by Wayward Sons’ Big Day and De Wolff’s Bona Fide, proving, once again, that rock’n’roll is truly an international pastime.” The single enters into its fourth week of airplay on the UK’s number one classic rock radio station, Planet Rock. On Friday, April 16th, the band will be interviewed on The Global Onslaught Show on mmhradio.co.uk between 8-10 pm UK. Described as a band channelling the authenticity of rock and roll and blues-rock bands from the 60s and 70s with a contemporary edge, lead singer Lee-la Baum’s electrifying vocals are being compared to iconic female vocalists including Grace Slick, Beth Hart and Janice Joplin. “Now or Nowhere” is the third album from The Damn Truth, a band, who, in many ways, has been slowly bubbling up from the underground on to the radar of a wider audience. Due credit has to go to their producer, the legendary Grammy Award-winning record producer Bob Rock whose album production credits include Bon Jovi, Metallica, Motley Crue, Bryan Adams, David Lee Roth, The Cult, Joan Jett, The Tragically Hip, The Offspring. Bob also engineered and mixed Aerosmith’s Permanent Vacation. The album was recorded at Bryan Adams’ The Warehouse studio in Vancouver and is released by Spectra Musique/Sony Music on Friday, May 7. It is available to pre-order. The single, This Is Who We Are Now, is streaming on YouTube and Spotify. “Mind-blowing… a terrific piece of rock. This is a monster track.” – Music News, 4-Stars “The last time I was this excited by a new band was Rival Sons.” – Lee Graham, RSW FM 103.3 “The groove takes its foot off the accelerator for the power chord driven verses that introduce the astonishing vocal range of Lee-la Baum.” – Planet Mosh, 5/5 “The lead guitar in the middle of the song is absolutely stunning. It’s almost like something straight out of a Hollywood Western flick.” – Rock at Night “Reminiscent of Beth Hart and Janis Joplin, Lee-La Baum has a voice to die for; showcased to thrilling effect on the sparkling new single This Is Who We Are Now.” – Sonic Abuse “With one foot in the psychedelic era, the band avoid the retro-fetishism of their peers, thanks to a performance that feels entirely of the moment. Bob Rock’s astonishing production gives the band gloss and depth in spades.” – Sonic Abuse “A captivating single… utterly impossible to ignore.” – Sonic Abuse “An incendiary kaboom of commotion, with blazing vocals, powder-keg rhythms, and flaming guitars. This is immense. It’s a nitro-glycerine love-bomb!” – Raw Ramp “A massive, positive and bold statement of intent, and one that should see the Montreal quartet one giant leap further closer to carving their name in the history books.” – Metal Planet Music “The Damn Truth’s new single This Is Who We Are Now is a live right-here-right-now slice of honest, authentic music that reinforces the fact that no matter what the mainstream press says, rock & roll will never die.” – Devils Gate Music “Now or Nowhere” chronicles the band as they navigate life, love, and everything else in a world gone seemingly upside down and sideways during the past year. Unable to finish the album with Bob because of COVID-19 restrictions, the band recorded the remaining three songs with help from Juno Award-winning producer Jean Massicotte (Patrick Watson, The Damn Truth) who mixed Everything Fades; and the rest of the mixing was done by Vance Powell (Jack White, Chris Stapleton), Nick DiDia (Bruce Springsteen, Rage Against The Machine), and Mike Plotnikoff (Van Halen, Cranberries, Three Days Grace). It’s worth noting there are 3 Grammy Award winners on this album (Bob Rock, Vance Powell & Nick DiDia). The Damn Truth has extensively toured Europe and the USA, opened tours for ZZ Top (and partied with Billy Gibbons in his pyjamas), the Sheepdogs, Styx, and Rival Sons, sold out the legendary Whisky a Go-Go in Los Angeles, sold out the Corona Theatre in their hometown of Montreal. One of their videos featured on the official Janis Joplin Facebook page. It’s a culmination of a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. “We are fortunate enough to live in a time where knowledge is free, and you can basically learn how to do everything yourself,” says guitarist Tom Shemer. “It was instrumental for us as a young band with no budget. We had to make and shoot our own videos, produce, and record our own releases and do all the promo ourselves. The by-product of this was that, in a sense, we were the artist, record label and distributor of our art, which allowed us to have insight into what it means, what to expect from a record label, filmmakers, etc.” That DIY attitude appealed to Bob Rock and was reminiscent of his early days working with indie bands during his formative years in Vancouver. He was so impressed with The Damn Truth’s attitude and songs, and with Lee-la’s voice, that he decided to record them live off the floor, in keeping with the band’s ’70s rock roots. This allows for a better band dynamic and ensures the bed tracks have that powerful live gig energy that’s so crucial to the Bob Rock sound. Bob refers to it as “getting the feels.” “He just got us, what we were about, what we were trying to do,” Lee-la recalls. “He was all about the music and having the band support the song every step of the way. He had a clear vision but was also very open to our suggestions and ideas.” “I remember our first phone conversation. We were all like giddy teenagers, but his vibe and attitude immediately put us at ease. Same thing in the studio — those first few moments of shock: ‘OMG, we are recording with Bob Rock!!’ Pinching ourselves in disbelief quickly turned into, ‘Yes! This is going to be awesome because he is so awesome.” He was inviting and encouraging, enthusiastic and excited like we were! Bob was like a kid in a candy store, pulling out all these incredible vintage guitars and gear. ‘Try this one out for size,’ and so on.” Although the first single, This Is Who We Are Now, sets the tone, it is actually Only Love that sets the theme (“Only love can keep us going/So if we hold on, it’ll be all right.”) A melancholy song in its demo version, Bob Rock suggested a refocus that brought out its true potential. “I think we were all scratching our heads in disbelief when he wanted us to speed it up that much,” says Tom, “but today I can’t believe we ever played it any other way, and it’s so hard-hitting and rocky now. I love what Bob brought to the table.” The first single This Is Who We Are Now is a song of empowerment and inspiration.  “We were in serious performance withdrawal. After being on the road for years and being used to playing shows just about every night, it didn’t feel right to not be performing.” Lee-la says. “We set this goal for ourselves: to release a video a day for a month, or something like that. It gave us a purpose and it was fun to get dressed up, revisit some of our favourite rock songs, and be reminded of others once the suggestions started coming in. It was awesome to see the numbers go up and to get so much positive feedback from new fans all over the world. What we learned was, you’re going to find your tribe if you look hard enough.” In so many ways, a rock ‘n’ roll tribe of love and community is something we can all be a part of, right here, right now. ALBUM TRACKLISTING 1. THIS IS WHO WE ARE NOW (4:06) 2. TOMORROW (4:27) 3. ONLY LOVE (2:46 4. LONELY (4:43) 5. EVERYTHING FADES (4:31) 6. THE FIRE (4:28) 7. LOOK INNOCENT (4:14) 8. FULL ON YOU (3:44) 9. SHOT ‘EM (4:37) ALL SONGS WRITTEN BY THE DAMN TRUTH BAND LINE-UP LEE-LA BAUM – VOCALS, GUITAR, TAMBOURINE TOM SHEMER – GUITARS, KEYBOARDS, MANDOLIN, TAMBOURINE, VOCALS PY LETTERLIER – BASS GUITAR, TAMBOURINE, VOCALS DAVE TRAINA – DRUMS, VOCALS The Damn Truth – Official Website www.thedamntruth.com |
About Alex English
