Elias

Brian Healy and Rob Tornroos were destined to make music together. The two ringleaders of Elias first met after graduating from high school where their mutually independent love affairs with the Brit Rock bands of the time eventually drew them together. Through high school, while their other schoolmates were punting to late 90’s rock staples like Green Day, Metalica and Blink 182, Brian and Rob were enthralled by the sounds of bands such as Oasis, Blur and the Stone Roses.

The Vancouver B.C. natives first met in 2000 when Rob joined Brian’s first band as a replacement guitarist. From that point on the two have played together on and off through various band incarnations, going their separate ways at times but inevitably rejoining forces.

In 2005 Elias was officially born with the recording of a 3-song demo at legendary Mushroom studios in Vancouver. On the back of the demo the band began their journey as an indie rock act and for the next three years took the DIY approach booking their own shows, scraping money together to record more songs, putting out an EP, garnering local press and building a substantial west coast fan base. In 2008 they recorded their first full length indie album release ‘All We Want’ which garnered solid reviews from such influential magazines as Spin who stated “Elias succeed in making the kind of pulsating loud rock that the Mars Volta or Radiohead might approve of in equal turns”, high praise for a young upstart band from Vancouver.

Following the release of the album the band went through some personnel changes, which saw Brian’s bass player brother (Jon Healy) depart the band and the addition of Stefan Tavares who took over drumming responsibilities. “We actually met Stefan back in 2004” says Rob, “but the timing just wasn’t right for him to join the band.” Four years later Elias was in need of a new drummer having parted ways with their previous one. “This is kind of a funny story” says Healy, “we were auditioning drummers at the time and no one we had seen to date was able to deliver the intensity we were looking for. Stefan had been out of commission with a broken wrist and had not touched the drums for about 3 months, so this audition was his first turn back behind the kit. When he broke straight into the drum intro for ‘All We Want’, Rob and I looked at each other…if this guy could nail that song after a 3 month hiatus, we had found our man.”

For their Wax Records debut album ‘Lasting Distraction’, the band reunited with producers Shawn Penner and Aaron Nordean at their District Four Studios in Vancouver. Over a three-week period in August they laid down a dozen songs consisting of a number of revamped tracks from their indie release and a half dozen newly penned songs. When asked about their long standing relationship with Penner and Nordean and the experience this time around, Healy states, “we worked with Sean and Aaron on our indie release and have built up the kind of relationship where everyone says exactly what’s on their minds. There are five people in the room with very strong opinions and at times it can get heated. Everyone has the same ultimate goal though, to get the best out of each song. We were on some pretty tight timelines for this project and it was a lot of hard work, but at the end of the day we’re all very happy with the result.”

Upon the release of Lasting Distraction, rock radio stations immediately identified with the lead track “All We Want”, driving the single into the Top 20 and thrusting the band into the Canadian limelight. While the song climbed the charts, the band brought their note-perfect live performance to audiences across Canada, sharing the stage with Matt Good, Finger 11, Pilot Speed, Civil Twilight, and more. “All We Want” was nominated for both a Verge Music award and a Casby award in 2010, and was even included on The Edge 102.1 “Best Songs Of The Year” list for 2010.

After finishing off 2010 with sold-out concert hall and award show performances, Elias started to once again turn their attention inward, and the writing began for their follow-up album. Upon arriving home to Vancouver BC, the band began penning new tunes, all the while acutely aware of the challenges ahead in creating their “Sophomore Album”. As always, Tornroos and Healy approached this challenge with a focus on originality, creativity, and honesty in their songwriting, and this lead them on a journey across North America to seek out the perfect producer to help guide them. After meeting with a who’s-who of Canadian production talent the band eventually found the perfect fit with Jeff Dawson (Marcy Playground, The Dudes, Hey Ocean!). In Dawson, the band had found a talented and devoted producer who understood their sound and direction. As the final piece of the puzzle, the band also brought on board their ideal mixing engineer, Grammy award winner John O’Mahony (Metric, Coldplay) at Electric Lady Studios in New York City to lend his experienced ear to the final stages of the albums development. Energized, focused, and armed with a wide range of new material, Elias then returned to the studio environment, hunkering down at Hipposonic studios (formerly Mushroom Studios) with Dawson at the helm, determined to create a captivating follow up effort.

After two months of relentless writing, tracking, and mixing, Elias has emerged with their brand new album Fossils, out February 14th on Wax Records. On Fossils, the band’s sound covers a lot of ground, moving from dark to light, from moody to anthemic, driven by Stefan Tavares’ intense drumming, punctuated by Rob Tornroos’ intricate guitar-work and held together by Brian Healy’s keyboard arrangements and soaring vocals. Chartattack.com captures the essence of the band perfectly with this quote; “Every band has particular strengths and, for these guys, it’s their vocals. Falling somewhere between Radiohead and Nada Surf, they have a great sound that they make all their own. Instrumentally, each song goes in odd, unexpected directions and makes the listener pay attention.” On Fossils, as with their previous outings, the band is not embarrassed to wear its influences on its sleeve. From the twisted, indie rock, Metric -like riffs on ‘Catapults’ and “Knockdown Dance” to the Radioheadesque guitar climbs on ‘Tunnel Lights’, to the bombastic drums, reminiscent of Florence and the Machine on “Hands and Knees”, the band draws from a wide swath of indie rock royalty. “Every musician borrows from and builds on their predecessors” says Healy, “the goal is to put your own unique spin on it and try to take the music in new directions.” On Fossils, the band surely attains their goal.