The Artist Life
OriginBurlington, Ontario, Canada
GenresPop punk
Years active2005 (2005)–2012 (2012)
LabelsUnderground Operations
MembersIan Blackwood
Dean Richards
Justin Zoltek
Jake Parsonson
Chuck Leach
Chris Danner
Andy Crawford
David Palmer

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, on vocals and guitar, and Dean Richards (formerly of Fallen Year and Dreams Among Stars) on guitar and vocals. They added Andy Crawford (formerly of Beaumont) on bass and Chris Danner (formerly of Grade and To The Lions) on drums and played their first show April 17, 2006, at Toronto's Bovine Sex Club 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, though they never played outside of Ontario.

By the fall of 2006, Danner and Crawford had left the band. Blackwood and Richards 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][4][5] Following its release, 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.

The band began touring around the country and venturing into the United States in support of Living. They also began to receive some radio and video play of “Waiting Room” on MuchMusic.[6][7] The band's song "Piss Test" was used in a West49 television commercial.[8] The success of Living led the radio station 102.1 The Edge (CFNY-FM) to present the band with the Young Jedi Up and Coming Band award at its inaugural Punk-o-Rama FU Awards.[9]

The band hit the studio again to record 2 demo songs to pitch to labels. Following an article in Alternative Press, the band was approached by Canadian record label Underground Operations, which signed them in September 2008. Their second EP, Let's Start A Riot, was released October 28, 2008.[10][11][12] A video was released for the title song;[13] the video for "Sleep So Sound" gained the band even more street credit,[14] and the song was nominated for an FU Award for Song of the Year.

In 2009, Leach left the band and was replaced by bassist Justin Zoltek. The Artist Life toured Canada with Stereos and The Midway State,[15] played the Cutting Edge Music Festival[16][17] 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.[18][19][20]

In 2011, the band released the LP "Impossible".[21][22] They performed "Steel City" on ExploreMusic[23] and released a video for the song "Find You".[24] They played shows in southern Ontario.[25][26]

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

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. ↑ "The Artist Life – Living". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  3. ↑ Sutherland, Sam. "The Artist Life Living". exclaim.ca. Exclaim!. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  4. ↑ Carman, Keith (September 14, 2007). "The Artist Life Make The Grade On Their Own Merits". CHARTattack. Archived from the original on February 11, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  5. ↑ "The Ongoing Music Documentary » the Artist Life - Resting Place". Archived from the original on October 25, 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2008.
  6. ↑ "Waiting Room". youtube.com. YouTube. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  7. ↑ Bradley Sooley (January 24, 2008). "The Artist Life: starving artists no longer". The Gazette. Archived from the original on February 12, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  8. ↑ "WEST 49 Action shoes". youtube.com. YouTube. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  9. ↑ "The Artist Life Wins...2008". Truth Explosion Magazine. Archived from the original on February 18, 2008. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  10. ↑ "The Artist Life – Let's Start A Riot". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  11. ↑ Gorman, Bobby (November 19, 2012). "The Artist Life Let's Start A Riot". thepunksite.com. The Punk Site. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  12. ↑ Trumbull, Ty. "The Artist Life Let's Start a Riot, Jan 2009". exclaim.ca. Exclaim!. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  13. ↑ "The Artist Life - Let's Start A Riot". youtube.com. YouTube. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  14. ↑ "The Artist Life - Sleep So Sound". youtube.com. YouTube. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  15. ↑ "The Artist Life's Concert History". concertarchives.org. Concert Archives. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Rich Interviews The Artist Life". vimeo.com. Vimeo. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Cutting Edge Music Festival". The Cord. July 22, 2009. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  18. ↑ "The Artist Life – Let's Start A Riot / Let's Start A Campfire". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  19. ↑ "The Artist Life Live in Winnipeg 2009". youtube.com. YouTube. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  20. ↑ "The Artist Life - Live in Montreal". youtube.com. YouTube. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  21. ↑ "The Artist Life – Impossible". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  22. ↑ Conoley, Ben. "The Artist Life Impossible, Apr 2011". exclaim.ca. Exclaim!. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  23. ↑ "The Artist Life perform "Steel City"". youtube.com. YouTube. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Find You (feat. Marissa Dattoli) - The Artist Life". youtube.com. YouTube. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  25. ↑ "The Artist Life's Concert History". concertarchives.org. Concert Archives. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  26. ↑ "CA 1:51 / 3:52 The Artist Life - Impossible (Live) SCENE FEST 2011". youtube.com. YouTube. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
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