WEEKEND RIOT CLUB

When the three members of Weekend Riot Club entered Jukassa Studio, they didn't have any grand expectations. They just wanted to record a demo to help the group recruit a bass player.

"We didn't have a steady bass player and it was always so hard for the bass players who came in to play live with us to learn the songs," recalls Melissa Marchese. "So we wanted to record our live set in the studio so we could have something to help our bass players learn the material."

Behind the mixing board that day in the Ohsweken studio was Nick Blagona, a veteran producer/recording engineer who could include Deep Purple, The Police, The Sheepdogs and Alexisonfire among his many credits.

When Blagona heard the quality of the Hamilton band's songs, he knew they deserved more than just a rough demo.

"He insisted on making a full album," says Marchese. "As soon as he said it, we knew he was right."

Over the next few months, Weekend Riot Club set about recording 13 songs of high-energy rock with Blagona working as coproducer with the band. The finished product represents the band's first full-length album, Psychotropia.

"A collection of songs written about addiction, suffering, political turmoil, and one's flirtation with insanity, all through a lens of love and hope," says Marchese. "The songs beg to be played loud."

The CD, which will be officially released Saturday night at the Casbah, is named after Blagona's Psychotropic home studio in Caledonia, where the tracks were mixed and completed.

"The title is an ode to Nick and all he did for us," Marchese says. "Nick brought so much to that experience. He showed us how to make an album."

While some producers like to work many hours on a single track with multiple takes and retakes, Blagona sought to capture the live essence of the band, a raw energy that has gained Weekend Riot Club a fan base in the Hamilton area.

"His goal is to keep you in the moment," Marchese says about Blagona. "We would do a couple of takes and that was it. He was focused on keeping it real. He pushed us. He has an amazing ability to get the truth out of you."

Weekend Riot Club took shape three years ago when Marchese and guitarist/songwriter Mike Chetcuti recruited drummer Paul Fonte into the band. Ever since, however, they've has been searching for a bass player who could fit in musically and have the time to commit to the band.

"We haven't had a full-time bass player in over two years," Marchese laughs. "I think we've gone through a dozen of them."

On the new record Weekend Riot Club utilizes Hamilton journeyman bassist Colin Lapsley and for the CD release show Toronto session player Lorenzo Castelle, but Marchese admits the band is still looking for a full-timer for touring.

Still, if it wasn't for the need of a bass player, the band realizes that Psychotropia might never have happened.

"Maybe this bass player situation was a blessing in disguise," Marchese says.

The album is available at the Casbah show Saturday or on line through iTunes and at weekendriotclub.bandcamp.com. - The Hamilton Spectator

June 6 - 12, 2013

Weekend Riot Club almost came out of nowhere three years ago. They weren’t your usual bunch of kids starting an indie rock band but more like worldly adults bent on making modern rock to change their lives as much as any fan that would stop to listen. Melissa Marchese (vocals) and Mike Chetcuti (guitars, vocals) first came together and he would write songs of love about Marchese that she would then sing (not realizing the true nature of the lyrics). Perhaps it’s an awkward beginning to Hamilton’s latest modern rock tour de force but with their debut full length a few years in the making, Weekend Riot Club are now much more refined and ready to take on the world with Psychotropia.

“Weekend Riot Club is the first thing I think about when I wake up, and the last thing I think about at night,” offers Marchese on the mindset of the band. “It's the focus of all my efforts and my life. It's the way I get my feelings out in the world. It's the way I understand myself. And the way Mike and Paul [Fontes, drummer] and I communicate with one another. When it feels like the world around me doesn't make sense or is fake or is not how I want to see it, or think it should be. WRC is where I go to feel what's real, to know myself, to connect with others, and to make sense of my life. Weekend Riot Club is an energy, a spirit. It was born out of the love that Mike and I discovered between us. It's a love that seeks to connect and unite. We’re not about proving anything, or preaching. It's not even about having something to say. It's really about sharing. Sharing on such a genuine level that we can connect with the people listening to our music — not as rock stars but as humans. That's what we all want as people, no? To love and be loved, to understand and be understood — to feel like we're not alone.

“Yes, we aren't your typical band,” adds Marchese. “We're not teenagers testing the waters for the first time. We're not seasoned veterans that have cut their teeth for years in the scene. But I'm making this music because it's what I need to do. I am convinced with every fibre in my being that it's what I’m meant to do. Yes, the style of the music seems wildly different from the scene that we were raised in, but is the spirit behind it really all that different? I don't think so. Hamilton is beautiful. It is gritty. It is strong. The scene can rough you up pretty good. You won't last long in the Hamilton scene if you're fake.”

WRC has turned many a head with their modern rock anthems that borrow liberally from heroes like Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighters but with Marchese’s vocal presentation offering an obvious different kind of cadence and attack. On record and more particularly on stage, Marchese and company bare it all emotionally and, as a result, can oft become overcome in the moment.

“It is hard to classify our music,” Marchese muses aloud. “It's pop, it's alternative, it's rock, but it's just what came out. I think we get tripped up in life, always trying to assign labels to things, to judge, to sort, to classify. I think we'd be a lot happier if we just put less emphasis on judging and describing and more on just feeling. It's not like we sat down and tried to make a certain type of album or a certain type of music. The music really chose us. The sound that you hear on the album is the culmination of many influences; from the Hamilton music scene, to the comedy scene, and the, dare I say, ashtanga yoga scene. I don't choose what to be inspired by, it just shows up.

“And I don't often like to watch any videos of my performances,” adds Marchese on her sometimes manic stage presence. “I'm in such a vulnerable place when I sing — it'd be like videotaping yourself having sex then watching it back — totally cool for some people, but I'm just not into that. I'd rather try to live in the moment and move on. I am possessed by the music, but more importantly, possessed by the emotion in the songs, possessed by the moment.”

Producer/engineer Nick Blagona (Deep Purple, Alexisonfire, The Sheepdogs) would influence the project greatly [the album dubbed in honour of his Psychotropic Studios] and helped fashion a dense yet polished modern rock album the band ensures sounds better with increased volumes.

“Nick brought with him a kind, open heart,” notes Marchese. “He's done it all, and thus, he's got nothing to prove. So right away with him, there's no ego in the way trying to put a stamp on things, or trying to make something sound like something else. More importantly, he believed in the songs just as much as we did. And most importantly, he was very strict about keeping us in the moment — a couple of ta - View Magazine

"Solid radio-friendly CanRock." -Alan Cross, A Journal of Musical Things - Alan Cross

Local band the Weekend Riot Club plans to incite local audiences at the Y108 Rock n Roll Challenge tomorrow (Saturday) night at the Boston Manor.

In the first of two appearances in Burlington, the Y108 Rock n Roll Challenge continues until April 1 with several bands playing in each showcase performed throughout cities from Toronto to Kitchener.

Tomorrow, the Weekend Riot Club will perform along with several other acts including Dave Featherstone, Daisy Chain, Fiddlestix and Dangerfield for a grand prize of $5,000 along with an opening slot for the 2011 Y108 Rock and Roll Picnic, a 40-hour recording package, production crew to film a video, 1,000 pressed CDs, headlining spot in the Spring Music Festival and a feature on Y108’s Get Hammered Indie show.

“We are really excited to play,” said Melissa Marchese, vocalist. “We looked up the other bands so it looks like it’s going to be a great crowd. It will be a lot of fun. We’re treating it like any other show; we’re there to entertain people.”

The Weekend Riot Club hasn’t been entertaining long, having formed late last summer, but the band has played hard.

The group recently supported Melissa Auf der Maur (Smashing Pumpkins and Hole) and Glen Matlock, founding member of the Sex Pistols. The band also performed at a red carpet event at the United Nations International Year of Youth launch and performed three times in 24 hours at the Hamilton Music Awards.

“November was insane,” exclaimed Marchese. “And we’re getting ready to take off this year.”

The Weekend Riot Club, consisting of Marchese, songwriter and lead guitarist Mike Chetcuti and bass guitarist Ty Howie, has just added a new drummer, Paul Fontes, to the mix.

Tomorrow’s show will be his second performance with the band having debuted last night (Thursday) at Club Absinthe in Hamilton.

The band came together when Chetcuti and Marchese decided to motivate as well as entertain.

“Most songs have an underlying theme of inspiring growth,” said Marchese. “We’ve all experienced the feeling of going to school, getting a job then waking up and asking what’s next. We’re trying to inspire people to do what they want to do, make it happen, and that change is good. It’s a call to action for everybody; it’s why we put the band together. I got an e-mail from someone from the past who said she heard our music and it inspired her to do something different.”

Some of the songs the band will perform tomorrow night, such as title track Waking Up the World, will be on the band’s debut EP, soon to be recorded with Bob Doidge (U2, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash) at Grant Avenue studio in Hamilton.

“We’re here and we’re waking up the world,” said Marchese. “We want people to live more.”

For more details, visit www.myspace.com/weekendriotclub and www.rockandrollchallenge.com. - The Burlington Post

Local band the Weekend Riot Club plans to incite local audiences at the Y108 Rock n Roll Challenge tomorrow (Saturday) night at the Boston Manor.

In the first of two appearances in Burlington, the Y108 Rock n Roll Challenge continues until April 1 with several bands playing in each showcase performed throughout cities from Toronto to Kitchener.

Tomorrow, the Weekend Riot Club will perform along with several other acts including Dave Featherstone, Daisy Chain, Fiddlestix and Dangerfield for a grand prize of $5,000 along with an opening slot for the 2011 Y108 Rock and Roll Picnic, a 40-hour recording package, production crew to film a video, 1,000 pressed CDs, headlining spot in the Spring Music Festival and a feature on Y108’s Get Hammered Indie show.

“We are really excited to play,” said Melissa Marchese, vocalist. “We looked up the other bands so it looks like it’s going to be a great crowd. It will be a lot of fun. We’re treating it like any other show; we’re there to entertain people.”

The Weekend Riot Club hasn’t been entertaining long, having formed late last summer, but the band has played hard.

The group recently supported Melissa Auf der Maur (Smashing Pumpkins and Hole) and Glen Matlock, founding member of the Sex Pistols. The band also performed at a red carpet event at the United Nations International Year of Youth launch and performed three times in 24 hours at the Hamilton Music Awards.

“November was insane,” exclaimed Marchese. “And we’re getting ready to take off this year.”

The Weekend Riot Club, consisting of Marchese, songwriter and lead guitarist Mike Chetcuti and bass guitarist Ty Howie, has just added a new drummer, Paul Fontes, to the mix.

Tomorrow’s show will be his second performance with the band having debuted last night (Thursday) at Club Absinthe in Hamilton.

The band came together when Chetcuti and Marchese decided to motivate as well as entertain.

“Most songs have an underlying theme of inspiring growth,” said Marchese. “We’ve all experienced the feeling of going to school, getting a job then waking up and asking what’s next. We’re trying to inspire people to do what they want to do, make it happen, and that change is good. It’s a call to action for everybody; it’s why we put the band together. I got an e-mail from someone from the past who said she heard our music and it inspired her to do something different.”

Some of the songs the band will perform tomorrow night, such as title track Waking Up the World, will be on the band’s debut EP, soon to be recorded with Bob Doidge (U2, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash) at Grant Avenue studio in Hamilton.

“We’re here and we’re waking up the world,” said Marchese. “We want people to live more.”

For more details, visit www.myspace.com/weekendriotclub and www.rockandrollchallenge.com. - The Burlington Post