Sudbury hard rock band Blackwood Sinners only formed a little over a year ago, and already it's released its first album.
The band puts that down to the “magic” that happens when the right group of people get together to play music.
In late 2014, Andre Beaulieu and Mike Lavigne, who'd played in bands together in the past, decided to form their own group.
They answered online ads from Andrew Boyd and Connor Mitchell — who were also looking to join a band — and the four men just clicked.
“Anybody who plays in a band will understand what I say when I say this,” Lavigne said. “It's not learning the music or creating the music, it's finding the people to do it together, and do it well and make magic. Really, music is magic.”
The guys started out playing covers, but realized quickly they wanted to write their own material. “It jelled really well,” Boyd said. “Within a year, we wrote, recorded and produced a full album. We're already writing for the second album.”
The writing process seemed almost effortless, said Lavigne.
“Andre would come in with a riff, and within 45 minutes, we had almost a song, complete,” he said. “The next practice, Andrew would come with the lyrics, and the song was done. It's just fine tuning. That's how quickly the songs came to us.”
As a way to get the band's name out there, it entered one of its songs, “Reno,” into the CBC Searchlight competition.
It ended up as the regional finalist for Northern Ontario, and one of the top 25 finalists in Canada. That's out of more than 2,000 musicians and bands who entered songs in the contest.
It's safe to say the band members are thrilled. “We just entered because it was one more thing to put our band name in,” Beaulieu said. “We never thought anybody would pay attention and actually vote.”
Then, on May 28, came the album release party for “Against the Grain,” the Blackwood Sinners' debut album.
Held at Theatre Cambrian, the band spent months planning the event, a rock concert with choreography and professional lighting.
“There was better turnout than I thought was going to happen, and we sold more tickets than I thought we were going sell,” said Mitchell. “It's hard to do something like that in Sudbury.”
The Blackwood Sinners is now focusing on touring — the guys especially like small venues in Northern Ontario — and writing material for a second album.
“Every show you do, you gain a fan, or maybe four or five, and then that opens new doors, new opportunities,” Lavigne said.
The band's album is available on CD for $15 and as a digital download for $10. Visit its website, www.blackwoodsinners.com, for more information.
