From dark barns to the lighted stage

By: Curtis Sindrey –

From dark bars to dark barns to playing the side stage at Edgefest 2012, Toronto rockers Whale Tooth have come a long way since releasing their self-titled debut EP in 2009

Since 2008 Whale Tooth have already played over 150+ shows including gigs at Sound of Music Festival, Ottawa Bluesfest, NXNE and Steam Whistle’s Unsigned Music showcase and have since debuted at #77 on the Canadian iTunes chart for their latest album “Search Party,” released July 10.

“As far as the recording process goes, we were pretty efficient,” said guitarist and vocalist Alex Denike. “It was a really relaxed atmosphere, really creative, and it was nice to be secluded like that and to only think about recording.”

The band recorded “Search Party,” in six months in a secluded barn in Orangeville, Ontario, which gave them complete artistic freedom and an invited vacation from needless distractions.

“It was a really relaxed atmosphere, really creative, and it was nice to be secluded like that and to only think about recording.”

“We went up to Orangeville to this place where a guy had converted his barn with a studio in the basement and an apartment on top so we stayed there and we just rolled out of bed and into the studio,” said bassist Mike McCreary.

With the freedom they had in the studio and being able to jam at all times of the night, they revisited a number of songs that they had written earlier but were left off of the final track listing because they “didn’t sound like the rest of the album.”

“It was an obvious divide between the newer songs we had and older songs. Everyone felt the same way about too so it was a small step in a new direction for us,” said Denike.

They noticed “leaps and bounds from playing the songs before we hit the studio and afterwards.”

“[You have] to be as satisfied in that moment because you’re always going to go back and listen to it and be critical because you’re hearing things that you wouldn’t play the same way now,” said Denike.

The album cover, which depicts a menacing blood red hurricane was designed by Toronto-based design firm Black Spot, and focused on “natural disasters, broadcast warnings and things like that.”

“We’re pretty democratic so everybody got a say and sometimes that slows down our decision-making process. We chose a theme early on and we were lucky enough to work with some great people who brought a new aesthetic to it that we would have come to by ourselves,” said Denike.

Denike admits that, “[Search Party] is a little rawer and less poppy. It’s still quite pop, I guess in a more rock and roll sensibility where we drew a lot of comparisons to the likes of Elvis Costello, but just different in that it’s turned up a little more, and the songs were longer,” he said.

The band was only four months old when they released Whale Tooth EP in September 2009 and since they’ve grown and developed as musicians.

“There has been a lot of development and depth [with Search Party] where the EP was pretty drastic,” said McCreary.

One of more notable tracks on “Search Party,” is called “Growing Pains,” which deals with the changes and the struggles in the transition to adulthood.

“There has been a lot of development and depth [with Search Party] where the EP was pretty drastic.”

“I’m just getting a little older and the lyrics came really quickly,” said Denike.

“Usually we’ll have a foundation for a song or an arrangement in place and there were some changes in lifestyle and socializing and things like that,” he said.

Check out their latest single “Wolves,” below.