We're Still Young/We Still Need Intensity

Yes, I stole the title of today's entry from my old band's album. I was at a concert last night at a local coffee bar (yes, coffee and bar) and it got me thinking about the days when I was part of the rock scene in Toronto.

That might come as a surprise to some people. Actually, a lot of people, myself included, but whatever. I was a Melodica-player, hand-clapper, lyric-writer and back-up vocalist for a 9-person alternative independent rock band called Happy Party. This was back in Grade 12, and constituted pretty much my entire school year and a little into the summer before first year of university.

Happy Party was quite the experience for me on so many levels. I kind of joined the band in a novelty fashion, my only instrument being my brother's Melodica (kind of a handheld piano that sounds like a mix of harmonica and organ...and you blow into it). I used to be able to sing when I was younger, but that talent had been gone by the time high school came around. As my time with Happy Party progressed however, I discovered that my singing voice could come back if I practiced (duh), and it did, so I did some back-up vocals behind our leads Lanny and Dave. If you heard Lanny's voice you would just melt, wow.

Anyway, I had a lot of problems in the band too. For the most part, I wasn't nearly as musical or musically creative as the others (who had other bands on the go as well), and so sometimes I wouldn't always be doing the right thing when writing a song. I wrote lyrics with Lanny and Dave, but I had the same problem there with my lack of experience. But problems that there were (and there were definitely more than these), I enjoyed my time in the band in those moments when we were all on stage. 9 people crammed onto a tiny stage with three guitars, a bass, multiple percussionists, a piano, and the vocalists/other instruments...we got pretty warm up there.

But it was that feeling, that wash of energy and blast of heat from the lights, that made it all worth it for me. Some of our shows played to packed houses of a hundred people or more, where others, as some can attest, played to our closest friends in a venue that could definitely fit more. When the band would rehearse, it would be a test of everyone's patience and teamwork skills, but in the shows, it all came together.

So I quit the band in July of the summer after grade 12. It was super liberating, but it was strange to leave them behind too. Over the course of that summer, the band recorded a full-length album, which I only guested on. It took a year (all of my first year), but the record was finally finished, edited, and ready to go. Throughout that year as well, the band played a bunch of shows, without myself and Lanny, who had also left the band.

One of my all-time fondest memories of Happy Party - and this is why I was reminded at that concert last night - was the CD Release party last year at the Tranzac Club. This was a great show, but it wasn't just our crowd pleasing openers, literally hundreds of audience members, and the large stage (for once). Instead it was the feeling of playing a large venue, and being able to perform with Happy Party one last time to hundreds of dancing, screaming fans. We weren't called an "independent rock spectacle" for nothing in the Toronto online press.

I'm really going to miss Happy Party, and now that they've taken a brief break I kind of wish they'd get back together (without me, of course) to keep making some great music and play a show here or there. You never know, even though I've played my last show with the band, it might be nice to see the band for once :).

This post goes out to Seb, Eric, Dave, Stuls, Stephan, Lanny, Joel, and Goodman of the Happy Party that was. You can check out some of the tracks from "We're Still Young/We Still Have Intensity" at www.myspace.com/happyparty (frig, I have to stop pimping myspace here...Google don't like dat!)

And of course, how could I possibly do lyrics from anyone else today?
"Summer Sometimes" by Happy Party

All the hearts pulling down on my sleeves
Elbows pushing into me
It's all undone
It's all undone

As an addendum to this post, I thought I'd share something extra from today. Observation: People are awesome. Today was a training day for our fall orientation week for first years and it went super well. Big shout-outs to the peeps of CC, OC, LEC, Not-A-College, OOSA and G-ski! That's all for now, folks!

As usual, stay frosty!