SAY YES SIGN TO DINE ALONE RECORDS
DEBUT SELF-TITLED EP PRE-ORDER JUNE 24
AVAILABLE AUGUST 19, 2014
ONTARIO TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED
(photo by Dustin Rabin)
(JUNE 12, 2014 – TORONTO, ON) – Dine Alone Records is excited to announce the addition of Toronto-based SAY YES to their worldwide roster. The raucous rock trio featuring former members of Alexisonfire, Jersey, and Saint Alvia drop their debut self-titled EP on August 19 with pre-orders available as of June 24.
Comprised of drummer and principal songwriting Jordan Hastings, guitarist/vocalist Adam Michael, and bassist/vocalist Michael Zane, Say Yes delivers a decadent collage of ‘90s era offshoots of rock and roll. Borrowing bits of the riff-driven intensity of early Queens of the Stone Age, the emotive post-hardcore of Rival Schools and Quicksand, and even the glory years of skate punk strongholds like Epitaph and Fat, there’s something blatantly nostalgic about the seven songs that make up their debut EP, and yet it never comes off as derivative or dull.
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR LEAD SINGLE “SUNRISE”
“Adam and I have been writing together for over 15 years,” Hastings shares of a musical partnership that predates his time behind the kit with Canadian pop punk pioneers Jersey and post-hardcore heroes Alexisonfire. “Even during Alexis’s run, we’d still get together between tours and write music. We knew there was something special there, and over the last year or two, we’ve put a lot more into it.”
Zane joined the fold in 2012 and after a year of fervently writing and rehearsing, the band brought their songs to the studio, recording the EP with producer/engineer Justin Koop (Billy Talent, Walk Off The Earth, Grade) at B Town Sound Studios in Burlington, ON. Lead single, “Sunrise,” is perhaps best representative of Say Yes’s sonic aesthetic – gritty in-your-face guitar lines supporting intense dual-vocal hooks, all anchored by an interlocked rhythm section while lyrically, the record is rather dark and sarcastic, often examining different degenerate characters through a somewhat cynical lens. “It’s kind of all over the board,” Michael explains of his subjects. “Politicians, everyday struggles – it’s just very matter-of-fact and real-life.”
With the long-awaited EP finally wrapped, Say Yes will be putting as many miles on the odometer as they can in the coming months, tinkering and tightening to cement their sound. “We’re not unfamiliar with this business or this art,” says Hastings, speaking to the band’s collective years slugging it out on the road. “We’ve been doing this a really long fucking time now, and it’s what we know and what we love.” See below for regional tour dates. More dates will be announced as they become available.
Track Listing:
01. Euphoric Narcotic Pleasantly Hallucinant
02. Sunrise
03. Sleep Off The Morning
04. M.M.M
05. To See The World
06. Blood From A Stone
07. Euphoria
Upcoming Tour Dates
06.13 – Windsor, ON @ The Dominion*
06.14 – Bayfield, ON @ The Pub*
06.19 – Oshawa, ON @ The Moustache Club*
06.20 – Barrie, ON @ The Clarkson Pub*
06.21 – Burlington, ON @ Boston Manor (Y108 Show)
06.27 – Bala, ON @ The Kee to Bala**
07.06 – Windsor, ON @ Fork and Cork Festival
08.23 – Niagara, ON @ Niagara Craft Beer Festival^
09.07 – Toronto, ON @ Downsview Park (Riot Fest)
* w/The Mohrs
** w/The Sheepdogs
^ w/The Trews