The Artist Life

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The Artist Life
OriginBurlington, Ontario, Canada
GenresPop punk
Years active2005 (2005)–2012 (2012)
LabelsUnderground Operations
Associated actsGrade, Stereos, Jersey, Fallen Year, Beaumont, At the Mercy of Inspiration, The Fullblast
MembersIan Blackwood
Dean Richards
Justin Zoltek
Jake Parsonson
Past membersChuck Leach
Chris Danner
Andy Crawford

The Artist Life was a Canadian pop punk band from Burlington, Ontario signed to Underground Operations.[1]

History[]

The Artist Life was started in 2005 by Ian Blackwood (formerly of Jersey, The Fullblast and Always Outnumbered) on vocals and guitar, and Dean Richards (formerly of Fallen Year and Dreams Among Stars) on guitar and vocals in January 2006. They would soon add Andy Crawford (formerly of Beaumont) on bass and Chris Danner (formerly of Grade and To The Lions) on drums. The Artist Life played their first show April 17, 2006, at the Bovine Sex Club in Toronto with The Video Dead. Within a year, the band had recorded a 5-song demo of which they gave away over 1,000 copies. They also played several one-off concerts with the original line-up, though they never played outside of Ontario.

By fall 2006, the band parted ways with drummer Chris Danner and had friends fill in until a permanent replacement could be found. Andy Crawford would leave the band following the birth of his first child. This left just Ian and Dean, who decided to enter the studio and record an EP with their friend David Palmer (formerly of The Stickup). They released the Living EP in early 2007 as a free download on the band's website.[2][3]

Following the release of the Living EP, Jake Parsonson (formerly of Madrid is Burning) joined as the full-time drummer and Chuck Leach (formerly of Jude the Obscure and At the Mercy of Inspiration) joined as the permanent bassist. This line-up would immediately begin touring around the country and venturing into the United States in support of the Living EP. The band also began to receive some radio play and video play of “Waiting Room” on MuchMusic.[4] The band's song “Piss test” was used in a West49 television commercial. The success of Living led the radio station 102.1 The Edge (CFNY-FM) to name The Artist Life the Up and coming band of 2008 in January 2008.[5]

After the success of the Living EP, the band hit the studio again to record 2 demo songs to pitch to labels. Following an article in Alternative Press,[6] the band was approached by Canadian record label Underground Operations, which signed them in September 2008. The band promptly finished recording their second EP Let's Start A Riot, which was released October 28, 2008, on Underground Operations, marking the band's first official label release. Their second video for "Sleep So Sound" gained the band even more street credit. Following that release, 102.1 The Edge]] offered the band its second FU Award nomination, this time for Song of the Year. Japan's Boundee Records signed on for a Japanese release, MTV Live witnessed a raucous studio performance and Chartattack.com raved after their sold-out CMW appearance.

In 2009, The Artist Life played the Cutting Edge Music Festival[7][8] and a stretch of dates with The Snips and Brights to coincide with the digital release of Let’s Start A Campfire, the acoustic counterpart to Let's Start A Riot. In 2011, the band released the LP "Impossible".

On its website (now gone), the band announced its break-up on February 1, 2012.

Band members[]

  • Ian Blackwood – vocals and guitar (2005–2012)
  • Dean Richards – guitar and vocals (2005–2012)
  • Jake Parsonson – drums (2006–2012)
  • Justin Zoltek – bass (2009–2012)
  • Chuck Leach – bass (2006–2009)
  • Chris Danner – drums (2005–2006)
  • Andy Crawford – bass (2005–2006)

Discography[]

Year Title Type Record label
2007 Living EP Self-Released
2008 Let's Start a Riot EP Underground Operations
2009 Let's Start a Campfire EP Underground Operations
2011 Impossible LP Underground Operations

References[]

  1. ^ Ontarioscene Archived May 19, 2009, at archive.today
  2. ^ Carman, Keith (September 14, 2007). "The Artist Life Make The Grade On Their Own Merits". CHARTattack. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  3. ^ [1][dead link]
  4. ^ Bradley Sooley (January 24, 2008). "The Artist Life: starving artists no longer". The Gazette. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  5. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 18, 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ Alternative Press issue No. 242
  7. ^ "Rich Interviews The Artist Life At Cutting Edge Music Festival 2009". Retrieved July 24, 2021 – via vimeo.com.
  8. ^ "Cutting Edge Music Festival". The Cord. July 22, 2009. Retrieved July 24, 2021.

External links[]

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