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By
Sean Peddle
Staff reporter
If rock and roll is here to stay, then heavy metal is on its way
in the Maritimes. At least that's what a Halifax band with a devoted
following and a reputation for getting it right while making it
loud is betting on.
A growing fan base and the heavy music scene in Halifax are two
of the many things keeping Mantra from looking for greener pastures
on the other side of the Rockies.
The band almost decided to move to Vancouver but Halifax proved
to be too hard to walk away from, said Mantra vocalist Wess Landry.
"I can feel it kind of bubbling. I think if we leave now we
might miss something big."
When Mantra performs, fans crowd the stage to scream the lyrics
to their songs as Landry transforms from the talkative, friendly
and outgoing guy he is off stage to a lunatic. He'll roll around
the stage as he lets out screams that are both primal and in key.
Their sound is comparable to a hybrid of the aggressiveness of System
of a Down and the melodic music of Blind Melon.
Mantra's music contains many different elements but being labeled
a heavy metal band has caused the band problems when playing at
new bars, said Landry. "Some people have a problem when I scream."
Today Mantra is practically the house band at the Tickle Trunk but
until recently heavy bands were far from the norm at the bar.
Mantra was kicked off the stage for being too heavy the first time
they played at the Tickle Trunk during an open mike . Open Mike
nights are the Tickle Trunk's busiest. Most performers use acoustic
guitars.
They played at another open mike and did a cover of Johnny Cash's
Folsom Prison Blues, said, Trunk bartender Jarrad Bennett.
"The entire crowd was up at the front of the bar moshing their
guts out."
As more people asked the staff when Mantra would play again, the
staff helped convince their employer to hire the band, said Bennett.
"They've brought a new kind of music which we hadn't showcased
before," said Bennett.
Other heavy bands, like Hadrian Seven, began to get gigs at the
Tickle Trunk as well. The more traditional accoustic, Celtic or
Top 40 bands, still perform at the Tickle Trunk, but Mantra has
paved the way music which is largely ignored by most bars.
In addition to their own shows Mantra and other Halifax bands have
tribute nights at the Trunk to cover a particular bands songs. So
far they've had nights devoted to Pearl Jam and a Nirvana.
The most noticable change in the venue is in the music played by
the DJ between sets such as Black Sabbath and System of a Down,
said Landry.
There are a lot of new people coming to their shows. The last two
at the Tickle Trunk were packed to the back, said Landry.
"Word of mouth has been the most effective promotion for us,"
said Landry "It's nice to have a mosh pit everytime we play."
Mantra also play in other Halifax bars and all age clubs like The
Pavilion and an indoor skateboard park called TKO, said Landry.
Their CD Subtitled took a year to finish and is available at various
stores throughout Halifax. They could only record when they had
enough money for studio time. As paying gigs became more frequent,
the band was able to get into the studio in the later part of the
year and finish the CD said, Landry.
They used the recording studios at Denmark Productions, said bass
player Jordan Terry.
Many of the band's songs were inspired by friends and loved ones
who faced hard times and tragedy, said Landry.
Undeserving is about Landry's aunt, who is battling breast cancer.
She's a caring person who is here for anyone who needs her, said
Landry. She lives a clean healthy lifestyle. The song expresses
sorrow during its mellow parts, then explodes with Landry's signature
screaming voice to expresses the unfairness of her situation.
A video was made for this song. A group of six students from the
Nova Scotia Community College shot and edited the video for the
band, said Terry.
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{Matrra's
Wess Landry performs alone with his guitar at the Tickle Trunk Dec.
27. 2001. Mantra adapted their songs to acoustic for a special unplugged
show. (Peddle photo)}
The Distance is about a good friend involved in a car accident in
which his 16-year-old brother was killed, said Landry. Pop Death
and Plastic and Sparkles deal with their disillusionment with the
music industry.
Pop death goes back and forth between being a happy-go-lucky song
to being a noisy punk song while Plastic and Sparkles has elements
of jazz, hip hop and metal.
During live shows Landry usually dedicates Pop Death to Q-104, a
Halifax radio station that plays rock music. Q-104 plays the same
program list and rarely play anything from the East Coast unless
the band gets played on Much Music frequently, said Landry.
Landry's vocals embody the contradiction between Mantra's ability
to play music that would be the sound track to a wild house wrecking
party and a sun set.
If a geneticist spliced the genes of Axl Rose and Paul Simon and
made a clone, that person might be able sing as soft, high, low,
or scream like Landry. He has as much control over his voice as
race car driver Mario Andretti did shifting gears.
Landry, a regular performer at the Tickle Trunk's Tuesday night
open mike for the past four years, has worked on his voice since
he was a teenager.
"I've put myself through the agony of sounding really bad so
that I could eventually sound really good," he said.
Terry's bass playing would be the envy of many bands. He's played
drums in a country band and guitar in a punk band but he is a great
bass player and back up vocalist.
During mellower parts of songs, guitar player Ross Chapman provides
memorable melodies. When Mantra is loud Chapman's playing has fans
leaving messages like "the guitar player has riffs that I'm
sure come straight from hell," on the bands Web site.
The drummer, Jay Gould, would be a human metronome if it weren't
for the feeling he puts into his playing.
The heavy music scene is growing across North America, including
the Maritimes said, Landry. Buckett Truck - a very heavy band from
Newfoundland living in Halifax - is doing very well. Bucket Truck
was nominated at the last ECMA awards for best alternative band.
Mantra have played in small Nova Scotia towns and in Miramichi,
New Brunswick. They plan on touring the Maritimes and Quebec and
might go as far as Ontario this summer
. Trying to make a living as a musican is hard work. They've learned
a lot though trial and error along the way, said Landry. He offered
the following advice to anyone starting a band.
"Get to know people. Don't forget phone numbers. Keep in touch
with contacts. Keep a good repore with fans and be thankful that
they come out to your shows."
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