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These Sparrows are migrating north for winter tour

Toronto band brings its post-hardcore fury to The Asylum on Feb. 11
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Toronto-based post-hardcore band Sparrows will be making a stop in Sudbury for the Fiends of Winter tour. The band will play The Asylum on Feb. 11. Photo: newdamagerecords.com

Sudbury may not be an ideal mid-February tourist location, but this isn't about tourism, it's about touring.

For many bands, to tour is to live and to live is to tour, and that rings true for Toronto-based, post-hardcorde band Sparrows, who will make a tour stop at The Asylum in Sudbury on Feb. 11.

Unlike the bird with which they share a name, the band steers clear of the sedentary lifestyle and will pack their gear and go at a moment's notice. Frontman and longest standing member, Dan Thomson, loves the rush and energy of playing live shows and is pumped to get out on the road for the Fiends of Winter Tour, which is being put on by the band's label, New Damage Records.

"We toured the new record ("Let the Silence Stay Where it Was") back in October and that was just a solo tour where it was just us," said Thomson. "This time we're touring with two other bands from the record label, Heavy Hearts and Life in Vacuum."

Thomson says that winter tours are a little out of the ordinary, but not unheard of, and that he and his bandmates don't need a second invitation to hit the road for some live shows.

"We're not really the type of band to sit around and wait for something to come up, if nothing comes around we'll just go out and do it," he said. "This tour is a little bit more intense because there's a lot more shows on consecutive nights, but I think that's a good thing because the shows get better and better the more you're playing and you're developing that tour sharpness."

Based in Toronto, but with most of its members hailing from the Ottawa region, Sparrows have played many Canadian cities at many festivals and solo tours, but Thomson admits a winter tour with stops in Northern Ontario is a bit of a departure from the norm.

"Winter tours are always tricky because you can't really plan for the weather and you never know what you're going to get," said Thomson. "I think that every Canadian band has to do it at some point, it's like a rite of passage. 

"A friend of mine, Kenny (Bridges) from the band Moneen, told me a story about being on tour where they were snowed-in in Winnipeg along with the band Choke. They just hung out for three days and recorded a bunch of unreleased music together. So stories like that can only come from those types of situations."

Thomson does have some history with Sudbury, with his last tour visit coming eight years ago while he was playing in another band.

"We came up in July and I remember that it was like the hottest day of the year," said Thomson. "No matter where we went it was scorching hot, and you don't think of it being that hot in Sudbury, so it was definitely a memorable tour stop."

Sparrows released "Let the Silence Stay Where it Was" on Oct. 14 of last year, and while Thomson enjoys the experience of creating and being in the studio, he says there's no substitute for playing a live show.

"I prefer touring, personally, I love playing live," he said. "I need that energy release and knowing that I'm going to be on-stage. Being in the studio is a totally different thing, where you can be playing guitar for seven hours, which is fine, but I like knowing that we get one shot at each song and when it's done, it's done."

Sparrows will be headlining the majority of the stops during the Fiends of Winter tour, including the Sudbury stop. The show at The Asylum is open to all ages and tickets are just $10 and can be purchased online.

For more on the band and other tour stops, check them out at www.newdamagerecords.com.


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