HORMOANS

HORMOANS have made the top 20 by beating out 627 bands who entered...only 3% came out on the other side of The Edge's Next Big Thing Contest!

Listen to 102.1fm on Friday July 4th @ 10:20pm on Adam’s Edge Emerging Artist Profile for the feature on HORMOANS! - The Edge 102.1FM

97.7 HTZ-FM's Rocksearch 2014 is a legendary hunt for the best new Rock band across Southern Ontario. In the past, we've helped launch some pretty awesome Canadian Rock acts, who've gone on to be some of the biggest around, including Finger Eleven, The Trews and My Darkest Days. Last year, Rocksearch helped push The Glorious Sons into the next level of Canadian Rock across this country! - 97.7 HTZ-FM

The Rock Spot welcomes Hormoans into the spotlight this week, giving us a Q and A, much like meeting and learning all about a new friend. Self-described as "a melting pot of influences," this edgy band tells us all about their origins, to their craziest band moment.

Q: What year did Hormoans form?
A: Hormoans formed in the early 2000’s and began playing gigs in and around the GTA between 2007/2008.

Q: Tell us the creation story of Hormoans.
A: Hormoans emerged out of a couple heavier bands playing the local circuit in 2008. The scene was pretty incestuous at the time, and everyone knew everyone, so naturally we felt like a change was due - our music came out of the basic need to communicate with others; this feeling of helplessness regarding different aspects of society, the loss of loved ones and personal trauma's that could only be addressed through making punk rock/grunge music.

Q: Hormoans has such a unique sound and brings in a new flavour to the Toronto independent music scene. How would you describe your sound? Who and what are influences to the sound?
A: We are a melting pot of influence for sure - most bands are these days. We love local bands who are quirky, fun and unique. But we have always maintained a cockeyed, somewhat selfish vision of how our music should be heard. We've been described as a "tornado mix of punk and grunge with a surf mutation"...we think that's pretty close (haha). Our sound is very reactionary, very instinctual on many levels. It has morphed from a strictly punk infused adolescent mayhem to a more unified, fun, cohesive rock sound that incorporates a lot of melody and musicianship into the equation. It's getting very exciting.

Q: On the Hormoans Facebook bio, you guys say that you're "hell bent on reshaping the music scene in Toronto." How is Hormoans doing this right now?
A: We have always been somewhat of an anomaly in the local scene - which is great. We are helping to reshape the music scene in Toronto by infiltrating it from the inside out - our sound has evolved and is giving people something new and real to talk about. The Toronto music scene is so plentiful and varied and adventurous and all of these wonderful things, but it's also this kind of self-perpetual maze where bands get lost in trying to be successful on a local, underground level. We make music on our own terms, for people like us who have run the gamut, put on shows, played the dives, and came out stronger for it. Change comes from within.


Q: In what moment did you finally know that Hormoans was on the rise?
A: We think our showcase at NXNE 2013 really set things into high gear - it was an explosive set in a really small venue in Kensington. That coupled with some write ups in local magazines and positive buzz regarding our new material have really transformed our career for the better.

Q: What significance does the album name ["Millar"- released April 26, 2013] have?
A: "Millar" is a good friend of ours whose musical background could easily be mistaken for someone living in Seattle circa 1993. He was the main inspiration for the record even before we befriended him. His dedication to this style of music and our band is directly responsible for the album sounding the way it does.

Q: Why do all the band members have stage names (they're really cool!)? How were they chosen?
A: We wanted to do something fun and different, the names don’t have any real meaning, just a form of expression for each of our own unique personalities. It was just something to do that other bands we know weren’t doing. With every record that comes out we will have new stage names because we feel like reinventing ourselves and our music will help us grow as a band.

S. Sandhu (Karen Moar) - Guitars, Vocals
M. Alexander (Robin Graves) - Bass
C. Bapooji (Izzy Dangerous) - Drums

Q: What was the craziest moment the band's ever had during a show?
A: One time a few years back we were playing London, Ontario to a packed house of young, disgruntled adolescents, and I (Steve) got this idea to climb the huge stack of amps on the side of the stage. Everyone was cheering, telling me to jump - so, being on a self-destructive kick, I did. Much to my surprise I landed in the tattooed arms of punks and goths, all the while still screaming the song with battered mic in hand. That was an unexpected rush.

Q: On the Hormoans Facebook page, it says the band is playing some festivals in 2014. Which festivals are you playing?
A: We were asked to play both NXNE and CMW this year - a couple other secrets may pop up in a short while. Our main focus is writing the new album for sure.

Q: Which festival is the band most excited to play and why?
A: CMW looks to be interesting. We've heard great things and are planning a couple surprises for that show. Plus it’s a great showcase for new bands to get some exposure.

Q: What's the best part about being in a band?
A: The chance to express how we feel about people to people, without bullshitting around the facts. There seems to be so much animosity and friction amongst people these days, from the economy tanking to social media destroying all of our lives that music seems to be the one saving grace. It allows a short cut to the truth in otherwise weary world. The art of creating something out of nothing is pretty magical too, creating a new song that never existed before and sharing it with the public is a great feeling.

Q: Any upcoming shows? If so, when and where?
A: MAR 6th, 9pm @ The Boat

Radio shows and festival dates TBA


You could listen and puchase "Millar" on: https://hormoans.bandcamp.com - The Rock Spot

The first thing you need to know about HORMOANS is they call their music a "tornado mix of punk and grunge with a surf mutation" - and late last year NOW Magazine chose them as one of "10 Local Buzz Bands Set To Break Big"
http://www.nowtoronto.com/music/story.cfm?content=194552
The second thing you need to know is their drummer's name is listed as Izzy Dangerous. - Exclaim!

http://cmw.net/music/artists/ - Canadian Music Week 2014

HORMOANS
Google searches reveal little about Hormoans except that they’re a Toronto grungy punk three-piece with hardcore tendencies. But we know for sure that the full-length album, Millar, that came across our desks sans press release has electrifying energy, throat-scraping menace and Descendents-like melodic bratitude. We also know they have an EP tentatively titled Made Of Bone coming in late January. Catch the band at Creatures Creating (882 Dundas West) on Saturday (September 28) as part of Creatures Collective’s Let There Be Art two-day event. - NOW Magazine

HORMOANS HORMOANS HORMOANS

Did Manson form a hardcore punk band with the Blood Brothers singers, taking influence from the Refused?
Did the Kandarian Demon enlist the ghost of Kurt Cobain to write a dark, grungy soundtrack for the Deadites crew to surf to?
Did those two situations actually happen and then somehow fuse together to create the album Millar by Toronto's wicked post-punk/rock band HORMOANS?
By the fucked up sound of things it's possible.
The whole record sounds a bit possessed as it frantically shifts from hardcore punk to doom rock to gloomy grunge to surf rock to almost metal.
I'm not sure how many evil demon spirits are speaking their mind through the music but it makes me a bit nervous.
As I listen to it feels like something is leading me into a dark, mangy forrest full of unearthly trees and their tangled branches. I'm half expecting something to stick (get it, stick, STICK!) itself up my... nevermind, go watch Evil Dead if you don't know where I'm going with that.
Annnnnd, scene.

Moral of this ghastly of a review is that HORMOANS are fucking rad and scary and you should listen to them with all the lights on in your house so you don't start to cry. - Sarah @ MusicSheBlogged

So for those who don’t know.. who the fuck are you guys?

We are Hormoans, a Toronto based 3 piece grunge rock/surf punk band. Matt plays Bass, Cyrus plays drums/percussion and Steve plays guitar and sings/screams.

And who the fuck is Millar?

Millar is a good friend of ours, and he represents the old-school; a refined music fan with impeccable taste who actually buys records, goes out to live shows and supports local bands – something that is becoming as extinct as real, in-person conversation...(laughs).

Can / will you name your new album Sarah? I, too, like beer.

We will not.

Describe your music as if it were an epic battle from a popular SNES game of your choice.

Well, we just acquired a very skilled second guitarist, Marc Hughes, which makes us a four-piece now - so I would say that we are Bomber-Man...except instead of blowing up each other from different corners of the screen, we are coming at you, together as one unit. Or Contra 3.

How did you hook up with Greg Dawson (Cunter, Mare)?

Greg is an old friend of ours. We share a lot of similar punk influences. I (Steve) met him while recording with my old band, (TBL), and during the session Cyrus actually pretended to be our drum tech but just ended up crashing on Greg's couch. Ever since then we have forged a tight musical alliance, one that is completely and utterly self nurturing, with no need for outside pesticides or GMO's of any kind.

How long were you a band before you started getting recognition at last year’s NXNE?

We have been playing for many years before the NXNE performance, but it wasn't until we released Millar – our first LP – that people started paying attention and showering us with unconditional love.

Who filmed the videos you have up on your site?

It varies – we have a lot of creative friends who document much of what is happening in the city's musical scene – a couple amazing videographer's who we are proud to be working with are Aldo Erdic and Alex Gheorghe. Alex did our first official music video for us last year.

In your bio it states that you’re hell bent on reshaping the music scene in Toronto, do you think you started to accomplish that following the release of Millar?

Reshaping an entire music scene is hard work...it takes time...(laughs). The music scene in Toronto is such a mixed bag...always so much happening all of the time - there is no 'one' big music scene here, but rather thousands of little ones. With “Millar”, we set out to make a crazy, aggressive record, full of over the top emotions and abrasive, in-your-face songs that scared and intrigued people. We didn't want to just make a typical hard rock or punk record...we have more to offer than that. So what “Millar” represents is a transformation within the band from one, genre-specific sound, to a mini-collection of influences and noise that became Hormoans. A negotiation of sorts, between all of us, and the experiences that have shaped how we feel about the world and the people living within it.

Tell me about the show coming up on Nov 8th.

This Saturday's show is at Rancho and it's Millar's birthday and he wants everyone to dress in pajama's for some reason (I just think he's perverted and its one of his many fetishes). It's a DIY gathering of our friend's bands' and a celebration of the persistence of time.

What do you have planned after that?

We are getting ready to release our new record which will be available early 2015. Some label considerations and a festival tour for next year are topics of discussion these days. Also talking with a couple different directors about shooting a music video for our new single in the next couple months...

Would you rather have to use someone elses butthole as a microphone OR let somebody use your butt as part of their drum kit for an hour long set?
Probably the first one – and we'd just become an instrumental band.

What’s your goal as a band, what do you hope to achieve in your career?

We want to leave the good people in this musical universe scratching their heads and pondering over our very existence as something of an anomaly... - Sarah@MusicSheBlogged.com

Following this year's sophomore album Slander, Toronto punks Hormoans have given their album track "Made of Stone" a peculiar, lighthearted video.

While the song is filled with jagged-glass guitar riffs and howling punk energy, the video shows the goofy adventures of a pair of mimes, who frolic around a park in the sunshine, mug for the camera and get into all sorts of over-the-top hijinks. The mimes even get on stage with Hormains during a rowdy, packed club show. This whole thing makes for a curious contrast of the dark and the childish. - EXCLAIM!

God damn, do I ever love HORMOANS.

I first listened to the Toronto based 3 piece rock band sometime before they released their new album, Slander, earlier this year. Time has only made their sound harder, grungier and overall better than I could have imagined. They combine the sounds of punk with classic alternative and just a hint of upbeat surf to make a sound that truly resonates and makes you want to bop your head to it. If you haven’t already listened to Slander, you absolutely have to at least listen to “Made of Stone” and “Crowbar”, two of my favourite tracks off the album that showcase the variety and smooth mixing of styles of Hormoans that remind me of bands like The Distillers or even Pavement. Punchy drum beats, upbeat and catchy guitar riffs peppered with some really smooth bass lines make this whole album a gem in my books. Make sure to listen to Slander and their 2013 album, Millar.

Mike B - The Deli

HORMOANS are a post-rock band hailing from Toronto, ON which plays an interesting mutation of punk, grunge, and surf rock. Their sophomore effort, Slander, is an 11-track album showcasing a monumental progression from their older material through infusing surf-core melodies with a thrashing rhythm section. Recorded at BWC studios in Brampton, ON under owner/operator Greg Dawson – who has worked with bands like Moneen, Cunter, and Mare in the past – Slander is brash and gruff, yet, quite urbane at the same time.

lander embodies an in-your-face sound and works to push the notion of surf-rock beyond its limits. Being nothing short of heavy, the listener is left wanting more and more after taking a series of sonic beatings. Teenage angst at its finest, the doctor’s prescription is in – Slander. [Aside: HORMOANS… teenage angst… anyone? Anyone? Very clever.] The record’s overall playability is also worth mention. Each track seems strategically placed which is definitely commendable. It’s difficult to remain calm and collected while giving the record a listen-through, so I could only imagine how their live performances must be. I may have to indulge a little bit.

Overall, Slander is a suitable record for those days you feel the need to release your inner Hyde. It’s the ultimate background music for letting your id loose, and a must-listen for Canadian post-rock enthusiasts. Be sure to check out HORMOANS for yourself as they prove to be an emerging act within their city’s underground scene.

Eric Tarquinio
The PSJ - The Paper Street Journal