Uptown Magazine Online - Winnipeg's Online Source for Arts, Entertainment & News

Uptown Magazine - Winnipeg's Online Source for Arts, Entertainment & News

May 15, 2008


	Get your copy! Find the Uptown Magazine pickup location nearest you.

2008-05-15

Knowledge is power

Lives of Many help promote cancer awareness as part of Skate 4 Cancer's The Cure is Knowledge Tour

Jen Zoratti

When Winnipeg hardcore/rock act Lives of Many met skateboarder/Skate 4 Cancer founder Rob Dyer in Toronto a few years ago, the decision to get involved with his ambitious cancer awareness project was an easy one for the band.

"He's just the kind of person who has the kind of excited attitude that makes you want to be involved," drummer Jay Fulmore, 28, says, on the phone from Toronto.

Dyer also has the kind of resumé that makes you want to be involved. In 2004, after losing his mother, a close friend, and both his grandmothers to cancer, Dyer embarked on a trying five-month skateboarding trek from Los Angeles to Newmarket Ont., to raise awareness about the disease.

Since then, Skate 4 Cancer has been promoting cancer awareness with tours of the musical variety. Lives of Many hosted last year's Skate 4 Cancer show in Winnipeg, and is taking part in this year's The Cure is Knowledge Tour - a series of free shows in cities across the country. The tour is aimed at educating people about cancer, how to reduce their chances of getting it, and the benefits of early detection.

While the Skate 4 Cancer shows won't cost you anything, you can still make a monetary contribution if you wish.

"It's more of an awareness tour as opposed to benefit shows," Fulmore says. "Skate 4 Cancer doesn't actually collect any money. They get people to donate directly to the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto."

Besides the obvious good cause factor, the quintet - which is rounded out by Nick Brosowsky (guitar), Tim Doerkson (vocals), Kurt Hildebrand (guitar) and Graeme Lowe (bass) - had other reasons for getting involved with the tour.

"Some of us have had relatives that have had scares, and some of us have had relatives that have passed away (from cancer)," Fulmore says. "And it's nice to have a show be about more than 'Hey, we're here, we're having a good night.'

"We appreciate so much to be able to tour and be in a band, so to be able to help out a great cause is even more amazing."

The Cure is Knowledge Tour isn't the only exciting thing Lives of Many has on the go right now. The band released The Sweet Art of Deceiving earlier this month - an eight-song EP that features four new songs and four re-recorded tracks from LOM's well-received 2006 debut, Until We Lay This to Rest. The band decided to rework some of its older material with its new vocalist, Doerkson.

"Our singer (Mike Gavrailoff) left the band last year, and it was the most amicable thing you've ever seen. After that, we were joking that it would be awesome if our tour manager, Tim, could sing."

As it would turn out, he could, and Doerkson joined the band last July. Now, with a steady lineup in place and a new EP under its belt, Lives of Many is ready to build on the momentum generated by Until We Lay This to Rest - and The Cure is Knowledge Tour is a good place to start.

"It's been great to see hard work pay off," Fulmore says. "Every show we play, we get better."

Toronto buzz band Elephant joins Lives of Many on The Cure is Knowledge Tour

Mike Sherby

For any up-and-coming band, the chance to tour across Canada for the first time is an exciting prospect. Add to that the fact that it's for a good cause, and you've really got something to write home about.

Toronto's Elephant - Matthew Macinnis (vocals), Daniel Tal (bass, keyboards, laptop), Brett Watterton (guitar), and Ian Kennedy (drums) - is taking part in The Cure Is Knowledge Tour.

The brainchild of Skate 4 Cancer founder Rob Dyer, the tour promotes awareness about cancer and cancer prevention.

During a pit stop in Halifax, Kennedy says that the tour has been well-received so far.

"We started in my hometown of London, Ontario, and played a show to just over 1,000 kids throughout the night. It was a good success, people are being so nice to us out East, it's just insane."

Kennedy, 22, has good reason to be excited. Formed just over a year and a half ago, Elephant has quickly built a name for itself with its brand of Radiohead-inspired indie-rock.

Its debut album, The Violet Hour, is well-crafted, full of lush songs built upon simple acoustic guitars and layered over with synths and strings. Kennedy says that the band recorded the album over the course of a year.

"We'd just do it in shots. It was a slow but really thought-out process. It wasn't like, 'Oh let's write a song in two days and go record it.' We really thought everything out and tried to flesh it out before we went into the studio."

Apart from the good karma, Kennedy has a personal reason for taking part in The Cure is Knowledge Tour tour.

"My grandpa died of cancer, my dad had the early stages of cancer, luckily he had surgery to remove the parts. I think everybody on this tour has had some history with it in some way, shape or form, as most people have," he says. "It's really good to be involved in something where you're not just touring around, playing your music. You're going for a cause."

Current Issue • Archive • What’s Up • Contact • Media Kit • Contests