Michael Sbrocchi - vocals, nova - guitar,
Evan Cochrane - The bass,
Pete Niculescu - The drums
Influences
U2 (boy, war, unforgettable fire, joshua tree and rattle & hum album) , neil young (after the gold rush, everybody knows this is nowhere), the boss (greetings from ashbury park n.j.), radiohead (the bends album), counting crows (august and everything after), coldplay ('shiver'), red hot chili peppers (blood sugar sex magik), john frusciante (niandra lades and usually just a t-shirt), pearl jam (binaural, 'state of love and trust', 'breathe'), jason collett (motor motel love songs), travis (the man who), jeff buckley (R.I.P) (grace), eric's trip (love tara), the new meanies (three seeds), bloc party (silent alarm), hot hot heat (make up the breakdown), kathleen edwards (failer), the who (who's next), pete yorn (music for the morning after).
It is an old fact that the bold are always challenged by the
meek. Len's Haulage, as a rock band and as an example of
this, are a reminder that those who overcome adversity with
wisdom, experience and passion really do deserve their time
in the light.
Born out of the ashes of highschool bands and friendships
gone awry, the four members of Len's Haulage came together
in order to reestablish their love of writing and playing
music after other projects got ugly and broke down.
According to front man Mike Sbrocchi "sometimes we have to
love and lose in order to learn how to love right, that is,
in essence, Len's Haulage. We were all in other bands that
broke up because of the members not being able to stay
friends while receiving some level of indie success. It was
hard to lose your first love (that is, the guys and the band
who you started playing music with) but those experiences to
make you stronger, and better able to see what it is really
going to take in the long term".
Lead guitarist Michael Novalski: "[Len's Haulage] was built
on a foundation of respect and durability. Before we started
playing or jamming, we made sure we really understood where
everyone was coming from personally. It was important for
all of us to respect each other and do this as friends. The
industry is too hard to tackle if you have to protect
yourself from both the shady lawyers and from your friends
stabbing you in the back".
This philosophy of friendship resonates through the band's
music as well. Although the sound is firmly based in solid
upbeat indie rock (a la, waking eyes, blur, the strokes, the
killers), the sentiment is more self reflective and serene.
Lyrics about trying, losing, and letting go when it is the
hardest, are uttered soulfully by Sbrocchi's Raine Maida /
Mick Jagger-esque singing style. The music on the other hand
represents a harsher reality. The raw tele guitar and
penetrating drum & bass backbone harken the torn and angry
elements of loss. Both together, they emblem the intimate
human struggle between the passions and the intellect when
faced with tragedy.
Although only together for 9 months, Len's Haulage have already begun to grow from the labours of their strong root. With touring dates set throughout southern Ontario this winter/spring (including edge 102s numusic night at the Horseshoe, and dates in London, Peterborough, Windsor, etc.) and the recording of their first EP 'The Hope Museum' with producer Damon de Szegheo (3 Days Grace, Serena Ryder, Money Money) the band members have healed themselves from their former wounds through passion and hard work.
In all of its elements, Len's Haulage are a band for this
generation. Driven but self reflecting; sensitive but
aggressive. Len's Haulage are the voice crying out in the
indie wilderness. A band that has firmly planted its root in
collective wisdom in order to shock the shallow listener out
of the spell of the industry of 'cool'.
