Hamilton's Rarity Drop Exclusive News in Chat with LoudTO Ahead of the Band's All Your Friends Fest Appearance
- jaybroderick
- Jul 2
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 3
By: Michael Drukarsh - One of the coolest experiences I had at All Your Friends Fest in Burl's Creek was getting the opportunity to interview Hamilton’s POST HARDCORE (and according to bassist Cole Gardner, you can take that label to the fucking bank) band, Rarity.
Before we get into the heart of the interview, I want to make sure that Cole’s Shout Outs stand out and not get lost in the middle so…
Shout out to the boys in Boston Manor!
Shout out to Not Dead Yet, Poison 11 and Klokwise who continue to keep the music scene alive with their Gorilla style gigs! Look them up, check them out and feel free to donate to their Go Fund Me to help pay for fines!
And now…
Starting out in Hamilton Ontario, Rarity were originally named Face Value but needed a name change to avoid legal action from an already established 20 year old punk band of the same name. Thankfully drummer Evan Woods’ father had a massive record collection in the basement. According to Woods, “Rarity actually comes from my dad’s record collection, specifically a Bruce Springsteen album titled Rarities and B-sides.” He liked the name, the band liked the name and most importantly, the record label, Rise Records liked the name.
Cole joined Rarity in 2016, cementing the line up that already included Woods along with Adam Clark on guitar and lead vocalist Loeden Learn. According to Cole, this is the best and only formation they want, which is evident in their newest release, Lower Feeling.
One of the stand out tracks for me is “Who Gives a Fuck”, a track that was not originally slated for the album, but was written last minute by Learn who very nonchalantly passed the demo onto the band. Changing very little from demo to final, the track is also a stand out for both Woods and Gardner, with a very special connection to Cole’s father who is a professional pianist and actually plays on the track. “As corny as it is, it’s something I never thought I’d be able to do. We're a heavier band and my dad is a prog rock guy. But to have my dad on a track and we were able to play it last December, he joined us and it was an unbelievable moment.” And while both thought the cursing might be a bit much, the teenager screaming FUCK at the top of their lungs to the world really gets it!
Having had an opportunity to play across North America with bands like Silverstein, Capstan and Boston Manor, Gardner and Woods both recall a few highlights in some very strange circumstances. For Evan, "Getting the call from Silverstein in the middle of COVID lockdown to take an opening slot at a Drive-in concert was pretty incredible. Sharing the stage in front of a huge parking lot full of cars and having the music pumped into the individual cars via drive-in speakers was definitely a memorable first! Gardner, who went into automatic stage banter, kept inviting the crowd to get closer before remembering they were all in cars. Other memorable shows involved a set on a boat and Pennsylvania."
Discussing the current music scene, Gardner’s passion for Can-Con was very evident. The bands and promoters mentioned in the shout outs at the start of the article are, according to Gardner, "crucial in ensuring the music scene remains not just alive but vibrant." Both Gardner and Woods agree that creating spaces for the next generation of kids to put together a band and have a place to get booked and perform is vital. And while the government does provide some funding, the bands, the promoters, the fans, must continue to have strong voices to help preserve the music scene across Canada.
With the heat reaching boiling point and more bands hitting the stage behind us, it was time to wrap up the interview. But before I hit stop on the recorder, I was privy to some very exciting insider inclusive which will now be shared first with our LoudTO fans… according to Gardner, they will be continuing to tour across Ontario and throughout Canada and “Fuck it, I don’t give a shit, we’ve got new stuff coming out”.
So, keep your eyes and ears open for new Rarity, coming soon!
Rarity Online
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