The Bends

The Bends
6:30pm, Detour Music Hall (88 St. Paul Street)
St. Catharines’ purveyors of ultra-cool, ultra-modern indie rock, The Bends, released a great single earlier this year called “Big In Japan” that (once again) I sadly sat on for too long and never got out to the QBiM masses–until now. - Quick Before it Melts

Just imagine the musician wanted ad:
WANTED: Cello player for one-time post-punk, indie funk band.
Call Kurt, 905-555-5555.
But if you're The Bends, all is logical.
For the record, guitarist Kurt Dunn says the job has been filled by Grace Snippe.
"It's fun to have her up on stage with us," Dunn says. "She's kind of like a hype lady."
The Bends have been together six years, since the members all met while attending high school at Laura Secord Secondary School in St. Catharines. The group is currently in the midst of recording an album that Dunn says should be hitting the shelves in August.
The new album — Dunn is keeping the title under wraps — is the group's second. It will be a follow up to 2012's Through Looking-Glass Houses and two independently released EPs.
The group has recently released a single “Big in Japan” from the forthcoming album
While Dunn described the group's original sound as in that fictional advertisement above, there has been a shift in direction recently.
"Now it's surfadelic garage rock," Dunn says with a chuckle and his tongue planted firmly in cheek.
Labels aside, he says musically, the Bends are striving for change.
"We don't want to do the same thing each album," Dunn says. "What we listen to has changed."
The "we" are, Dunn, Snippe, Luke Honsbeger (guitar, keyboards and vocals), Duncan Chambers (bass, vocals), Joe Salter (lead guitar, vocals) and Dave Klassen (drums, percussion).
And the name is exactly what you would think. The group is named for the condition — decompression sickness — that can affect scuba divers, pilots and passengers flying in unpressurized aircraft as well as astronauts. The condition arises from dissolved gases coming out of solution into bubbles inside the body on depressurization.
And it happened to a friend of the band.
"One of our friends went on vacation to Barbados," Dunn says. "He went scuba diving and... ."
It is also the name of a song by the group, Radiohead, which Dunn says are a favourite of members of The Bends.
"We're big Radiohead fans," Dunn says. "So it's a double meaning."
The group is doing scattered shows over the summer why it finishes up work on the new album. They recently took part in the annual SCENE Music Festival in St. Catharines and will be taking to the Coca Cola Concert Stage in Queen Victoria Park in Niagara Falls for a pair of shows on July 9 and Aug. 6.
In the past, the group have opened for the likes of Lights and Down With Webster. They were regional finalists for the 2013 CBC Music Searchlight Contest and in 2011, the group was named Original Group of the Year at the Niagara Music Awards.
Live, The Bends are a little bit "zany," Dunn says. "If we're tuning, Luke will tell a bad joke. We keep it light-hearted."
"We're a fun group. We want you to come out and have a good time," he adds.
More information on The Bends can be found at www.the-bends.com. - Niagara Life Magazine

Looks like Wilfrid Laurier University couldn’t get enough of the Bends, the band from St. Catherine’s that opened for Lights during the 2013 O-Week. The Bends’ drummer, Dave Klassen, a second-year music student at Laurier caught up with The Cord to talk about the band’s beginnings and breakthrough success.
The Bends formed while Klassen was a high school freshman. After a couple of line up changes, the band currently features Kurt Dunn as their lead vocalist, Luke Honsberger on keyboard, Duncan Chambers as the bassist, Joe Salter on guitar, Grace Snippe on the cello, and Klassen, of course, on drums.
“We all came from a variety of different influences,” remarked Klassen on the band’s unique blend of music, or what their page calls “Post-Punk Indie Funk. We had a meshing of genres going on. That kind of helped us develop our own sound.”
Dave seems reserved overall, but is ecstatic when it comes to talking about the heights the band has reached. “Our first show was at a place called 73 St. Paul’s Street,” he added. “You can hardly consider that a venue. There was no stage. You had to walk through the band to get to the washroom.”
Looking forward to the band’s show at the Turret, opening for platinum recording artists Down with Webster, he said, “It’s a really fun venue to play. You can see everyone dancing up front which is a plus.”
Klassen credits the bands growth to the support they have in their hometown. “We would always have tons of people at our shows. Most of them were just friends from high school. It really encourages you to keep playing when people want to see you.”
“It’s ridiculous how much they support us,” he said when asked about his family’s take on the band. “They’ve been putting up with us practicing in the basement for … years. It’s really heartwarming!” When it came time for the band members to graduate high school, some of The Bends’ members left their hometown to attend Brock, McMaster and, of course, Laurier. “It’s always worth it but it’s a challenge for sure,” remarked Klassen on the distance between band mates.
While at Laurier, Klassen has sampled the local music scene. “I’ve seen a couple shows at Maxwell’s and the Jazz Room. There’s a lot more diversity in the Waterloo music scene than there is in St. Catherine’s.”
Reflecting on the band’s success so far, Klassen explained how he defines success in the music business. “As long as we’re creating something we’re happy with, and we’re having fun at it, we’re being successful,” he said. “As cheesy that might sound.”
He also gave advice to up-and-coming musicians. “Keep at it no matter what,” he said. “Get as many people involved with what you’re doing as you can,” he added, inspired by how far the band has gotten with the support from friends and family.
Waiting to see Passion Pit in September, Klassen was surprised that people remembered him from the Bends’ opening set for Lights. “It’s a really cool feeling to be recognized like that.”
- See more at: http://www.thecord.ca/moving-on-up/#sthash.zTb9WymV.dpuf - The Cord

They open a world of imagination and provide the experience of live theatre to youth in the community.

Carousel Players, in its 40-plus years, has touched many audiences of students. General manager Jane Gardner figures they perform for up to 20,000 students each year from Niagara Region and beyond. It can serve as an important experience for some students, said Gardner.

“In many cases we’re the first piece of live theatre some of the students get to see,” she said. “It’s a really important opportunity to engage the youth in what’s happening in the arts.”

Mix in other activities such as summer theatre camps for children, the Artist in the Classroom program, and other activities, and the engagement grows even further. With that type of reach, the community theatre organization was named the recipient of the inaugural Arts in Education award at the St. Catharines Arts Awards, held last Saturday at the St. Catharines Museum.

“We’re very honoured — it’s pretty special,” said Gardner, noting the credit goes beyond the theatre company, as they rely on key partnerships in the community as well. That includes, she said, the other two nominees for the award, Gerda Klassen and Jayne Evans, the arts consultants with the District School Board of Niagara and Niagara Catholic District School Board.

And, while they were honoured, so was one of their nominees. Debra McLauchlan, nominated by Carousel Players, was the recipient of the Volunteer in the Arts Award. McLauchlan, a drama teacher, mentor and arts educator of new teachers at Brock University, has also served on the board of Carousel Players from 2004 to present, in addition to serving several years on the St. Catharines Culture Committee, St. Catharines Museum board of directors, and the St. Catharines and Area Arts Council. All of her volunteer activity amounts to thousands of volunteer hours over the years.

The Golden Hammers, who were recognized as the city’s Youth Citizens of the Year, was the other nominee.

The Bends, a local band, was presented the Emerging Artist Award. The indie rockers, consisting of Kurt Dunn, Duncan Chambers, Luke Honsberger, Dave Klassen and Joe Salter (Grace Snippe is also a regular performer on cello), were awarded “Original Group of the Year” at the 2011 Niagara Music Awards and released their first full-length album Through The Looking Glass in August of 2012. Also nominated were Carrie Costello, Dawn Crysler and Jessie Richard.

Mary Jo Mullins, co-founder of Niagara Dance Company, received the Established Award. Niagara Dance Company is the only professional producing dance company in Niagara, and Mullins is its sole artistic director. She has performed the works of leading artists such as Patricia Beatty, Elizabeth Chitty, Bill Coleman, David Earle, Danny Grossman and Terrill Maguire and has worked with many other Canadian dance artists. Also nominated were Arnold McBay and Peter Shea.

Annie Wilson was the recipient of the Making a Difference award. Wilson has been general manager of Suitcase in Point Theatre Company since 2007, helping establish theatre programs and touring productions, and has also been a key organizer of the In the Soil Arts Festival, an annual multidisciplinary arts festival in downtown St. Catharines. Other nominees included Juliet Dunn, Mendelt Hoekstra, Joe Lapinski, Eric Schmaltz, Debbie Slade and Ross P. Stretton.

The final award was the Mayor’s Patron of the Arts Award, going to Rosemary Drage Hale. Mountainview Homes and Mahtay Cafe were also nominated. Dr. Hale is the director of Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Brock University and is the former Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Brock University, a position she held for 10 years. As Dean of Humanities, she was the driving force for the development of the St. Catharines Performing Arts Centre and for relocating the campus of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts at Brock University into the former Canada Haircloth Building in downtown St. Catharines. She has also served on a variety of boards and organizations. - Niagara This Week

They open a world of imagination and provide the experience of live theatre to youth in the community.

Carousel Players, in its 40-plus years, has touched many audiences of students. General manager Jane Gardner figures they perform for up to 20,000 students each year from Niagara Region and beyond. It can serve as an important experience for some students, said Gardner.

“In many cases we’re the first piece of live theatre some of the students get to see,” she said. “It’s a really important opportunity to engage the youth in what’s happening in the arts.”

Mix in other activities such as summer theatre camps for children, the Artist in the Classroom program, and other activities, and the engagement grows even further. With that type of reach, the community theatre organization was named the recipient of the inaugural Arts in Education award at the St. Catharines Arts Awards, held last Saturday at the St. Catharines Museum.

“We’re very honoured — it’s pretty special,” said Gardner, noting the credit goes beyond the theatre company, as they rely on key partnerships in the community as well. That includes, she said, the other two nominees for the award, Gerda Klassen and Jayne Evans, the arts consultants with the District School Board of Niagara and Niagara Catholic District School Board.

And, while they were honoured, so was one of their nominees. Debra McLauchlan, nominated by Carousel Players, was the recipient of the Volunteer in the Arts Award. McLauchlan, a drama teacher, mentor and arts educator of new teachers at Brock University, has also served on the board of Carousel Players from 2004 to present, in addition to serving several years on the St. Catharines Culture Committee, St. Catharines Museum board of directors, and the St. Catharines and Area Arts Council. All of her volunteer activity amounts to thousands of volunteer hours over the years.

The Golden Hammers, who were recognized as the city’s Youth Citizens of the Year, was the other nominee.

The Bends, a local band, was presented the Emerging Artist Award. The indie rockers, consisting of Kurt Dunn, Duncan Chambers, Luke Honsberger, Dave Klassen and Joe Salter (Grace Snippe is also a regular performer on cello), were awarded “Original Group of the Year” at the 2011 Niagara Music Awards and released their first full-length album Through The Looking Glass in August of 2012. Also nominated were Carrie Costello, Dawn Crysler and Jessie Richard.

Mary Jo Mullins, co-founder of Niagara Dance Company, received the Established Award. Niagara Dance Company is the only professional producing dance company in Niagara, and Mullins is its sole artistic director. She has performed the works of leading artists such as Patricia Beatty, Elizabeth Chitty, Bill Coleman, David Earle, Danny Grossman and Terrill Maguire and has worked with many other Canadian dance artists. Also nominated were Arnold McBay and Peter Shea.

Annie Wilson was the recipient of the Making a Difference award. Wilson has been general manager of Suitcase in Point Theatre Company since 2007, helping establish theatre programs and touring productions, and has also been a key organizer of the In the Soil Arts Festival, an annual multidisciplinary arts festival in downtown St. Catharines. Other nominees included Juliet Dunn, Mendelt Hoekstra, Joe Lapinski, Eric Schmaltz, Debbie Slade and Ross P. Stretton.

The final award was the Mayor’s Patron of the Arts Award, going to Rosemary Drage Hale. Mountainview Homes and Mahtay Cafe were also nominated. Dr. Hale is the director of Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Brock University and is the former Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Brock University, a position she held for 10 years. As Dean of Humanities, she was the driving force for the development of the St. Catharines Performing Arts Centre and for relocating the campus of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts at Brock University into the former Canada Haircloth Building in downtown St. Catharines. She has also served on a variety of boards and organizations. - Niagara This Week

Nominees have been announced for the eighth annual St. Catharines Arts Awards.

The awards celebrate excellence among individuals, businesses and organizations that support the local arts scene.

Emerging Artist Award nominees: The Bends, Carrie Costello, Dawn Crysler, Jessie Richard

Arts in Education Award nominees: Carousel Players, Gerda Klassen and Jayne Evans

Established Award nominees: Arnold McBay, Mary Jo Mullins, Peter Shea.

Mayor's Patron of the Arts Award nominees: Mahtay Cafe, Mountainview Homes, Rosemary Drage Hale

Volunteer in the Arts Awards nominees: Debra McLauchlan, The Golden Hammers

Making a Difference Award nominees: Juliet Dunn, Mendelt Hoekstra, Joe Lapinski, Eric Schmaltz, Debbie Slade, Ross R. Stretton, Annie Wilson

Awards will be presented on June 8 at the St. Catharines Museum and hosted by Chorus Niagara artistic director Robert Cooper. The reception is at 7 p.m. and the ceremony at 8 p.m. Tickets can be reserved by calling 905-688-5601 ext. 5229.Nominees have been announced for the eighth annual St. Catharines Arts Awards.

The awards celebrate excellence among individuals, businesses and organizations that support the local arts scene.

Emerging Artist Award nominees: The Bends, Carrie Costello, Dawn Crysler, Jessie Richard

Arts in Education Award nominees: Carousel Players, Gerda Klassen and Jayne Evans

Established Award nominees: Arnold McBay, Mary Jo Mullins, Peter Shea.

Mayor's Patron of the Arts Award nominees: Mahtay Cafe, Mountainview Homes, Rosemary Drage Hale

Volunteer in the Arts Awards nominees: Debra McLauchlan, The Golden Hammers

Making a Difference Award nominees: Juliet Dunn, Mendelt Hoekstra, Joe Lapinski, Eric Schmaltz, Debbie Slade, Ross R. Stretton, Annie Wilson

Awards will be presented on June 8 at the St. Catharines Museum and hosted by Chorus Niagara artistic director Robert Cooper. The reception is at 7 p.m. and the ceremony at 8 p.m. Tickets can be reserved by calling 905-688-5601 ext. 5229. - St. Catharines Standard

Nominees have been announced for the eighth annual St. Catharines Arts Awards.

The awards celebrate excellence among individuals, businesses and organizations that support the local arts scene.

Emerging Artist Award nominees: The Bends, Carrie Costello, Dawn Crysler, Jessie Richard

Arts in Education Award nominees: Carousel Players, Gerda Klassen and Jayne Evans

Established Award nominees: Arnold McBay, Mary Jo Mullins, Peter Shea.

Mayor's Patron of the Arts Award nominees: Mahtay Cafe, Mountainview Homes, Rosemary Drage Hale

Volunteer in the Arts Awards nominees: Debra McLauchlan, The Golden Hammers

Making a Difference Award nominees: Juliet Dunn, Mendelt Hoekstra, Joe Lapinski, Eric Schmaltz, Debbie Slade, Ross R. Stretton, Annie Wilson

Awards will be presented on June 8 at the St. Catharines Museum and hosted by Chorus Niagara artistic director Robert Cooper. The reception is at 7 p.m. and the ceremony at 8 p.m. Tickets can be reserved by calling 905-688-5601 ext. 5229.Nominees have been announced for the eighth annual St. Catharines Arts Awards.

The awards celebrate excellence among individuals, businesses and organizations that support the local arts scene.

Emerging Artist Award nominees: The Bends, Carrie Costello, Dawn Crysler, Jessie Richard

Arts in Education Award nominees: Carousel Players, Gerda Klassen and Jayne Evans

Established Award nominees: Arnold McBay, Mary Jo Mullins, Peter Shea.

Mayor's Patron of the Arts Award nominees: Mahtay Cafe, Mountainview Homes, Rosemary Drage Hale

Volunteer in the Arts Awards nominees: Debra McLauchlan, The Golden Hammers

Making a Difference Award nominees: Juliet Dunn, Mendelt Hoekstra, Joe Lapinski, Eric Schmaltz, Debbie Slade, Ross R. Stretton, Annie Wilson

Awards will be presented on June 8 at the St. Catharines Museum and hosted by Chorus Niagara artistic director Robert Cooper. The reception is at 7 p.m. and the ceremony at 8 p.m. Tickets can be reserved by calling 905-688-5601 ext. 5229. - St. Catharines Standard

So today’s theme for my pictures are local bands at the Sound Of Music Festival. The festival is mostly Canadian bands anyway but these are the up and comers that hope to get the big record deals and the headlining tours someday. Here are four bands which appeared at the festival and I’ll start with my favorite. The Bends hail from St Catherines and have been playing for a few years as they get ready to go into 12th grade. They have had a little bit of recognition locally as a solid popish band that really reminds me of the early 60’s British invasion bands. Of all the local bands I caught, they seem to be the band I have the highest expectations for so check them out if you cross the border. - Motor City Blog

By Randall Vasquez - Live In Limbo

By Randall Vasquez - Live In Limbo

A St. Catharines-based band has made the top five in a music search competition sponsored by the national broadcaster.

The Bends, comprised of members Kurt Dunn, Duncan Chambers, Luke Honsberger, Dave Klassen, and Joe Salter, were ranked among the top five artists of the Hamilton area in the CBC Music Searchlight Competition.

The band was formed by the men while they were all Grade nine students at Laura Secord High School, where they had mutual friendships and shared classes between all the members. Since their formation, they have been recognized in numerous musical and talent orient competitions, having ranked in all four Battle of the Band competitions held at Laura Secord during their time there, as well as having been the S.C.E.N.E Music Festival People’s Choice of 2011 and the 2011 Niagara Music Awards Original Group of the Year.

Guitarist and lead vocalist Kurt Dunn says the moment the group realized they would want to pursue The Bends further was when the group won the 2009 Laura Secord Battle of the Bands. As the group has grown, so has their fan base.

“It’s been fantastic to play to growing audiences, and to take part in such lovely festivals like SCENE and In The Soil,” Dunn said. “It’s also been great that we’ve been playing more shows outside the Niagara region.”

When asked about the band’s success in the CBC Searchlight Competition, Dunn credits the talent of The Bends along with the support of their fans. “It was a great honour to be in the Top 5 groups for the Hamilton Region,” he said. “I was very surprised that we made it that far, to be voted in as a top 5 group out of around 100 bands was a great privilege. I know we all thank our fans and supporters immensely for allowing us to get that far into the competition.”

Dunn said The Bends are also grateful to their early fans for helping them to reach a wider audience, as he and his band mates have noticed that being in the competition has brought their music to even more listeners.

“I know that recently I’ve received a few emails from people who have said they heard us through the voting, and I’ve seen our band’s Facebook page grow in numbers of fans over the past few weeks as well. At the moment, most of our support comes from within the Niagara region and we are very thankful for all that we’ve received there. Hopefully now through being in this competition, we are able to gain more fans and supporters outside of the region.”

The Bends have two upcoming shows within the next two months, one being held at the St. Catharines Mansion House on Thursday, May 2 in conjunction with several other bands, and the other being the Landmark Showcase Competition Finals held at the Opera House in Toronto on Saturday, May 4. - Niagara This Week

A St. Catharines-based band has made the top five in a music search competition sponsored by the national broadcaster.

The Bends, comprised of members Kurt Dunn, Duncan Chambers, Luke Honsberger, Dave Klassen, and Joe Salter, were ranked among the top five artists of the Hamilton area in the CBC Music Searchlight Competition.

The band was formed by the men while they were all Grade nine students at Laura Secord High School, where they had mutual friendships and shared classes between all the members. Since their formation, they have been recognized in numerous musical and talent orient competitions, having ranked in all four Battle of the Band competitions held at Laura Secord during their time there, as well as having been the S.C.E.N.E Music Festival People’s Choice of 2011 and the 2011 Niagara Music Awards Original Group of the Year.

Guitarist and lead vocalist Kurt Dunn says the moment the group realized they would want to pursue The Bends further was when the group won the 2009 Laura Secord Battle of the Bands. As the group has grown, so has their fan base.

“It’s been fantastic to play to growing audiences, and to take part in such lovely festivals like SCENE and In The Soil,” Dunn said. “It’s also been great that we’ve been playing more shows outside the Niagara region.”

When asked about the band’s success in the CBC Searchlight Competition, Dunn credits the talent of The Bends along with the support of their fans. “It was a great honour to be in the Top 5 groups for the Hamilton Region,” he said. “I was very surprised that we made it that far, to be voted in as a top 5 group out of around 100 bands was a great privilege. I know we all thank our fans and supporters immensely for allowing us to get that far into the competition.”

Dunn said The Bends are also grateful to their early fans for helping them to reach a wider audience, as he and his band mates have noticed that being in the competition has brought their music to even more listeners.

“I know that recently I’ve received a few emails from people who have said they heard us through the voting, and I’ve seen our band’s Facebook page grow in numbers of fans over the past few weeks as well. At the moment, most of our support comes from within the Niagara region and we are very thankful for all that we’ve received there. Hopefully now through being in this competition, we are able to gain more fans and supporters outside of the region.”

The Bends have two upcoming shows within the next two months, one being held at the St. Catharines Mansion House on Thursday, May 2 in conjunction with several other bands, and the other being the Landmark Showcase Competition Finals held at the Opera House in Toronto on Saturday, May 4. - Niagara This Week

There are a lot of great albums out there, and the Canadian music scene is a big pond full of fish. With so much competition, how do independent bands stand out? It takes a ton of talent, lots of energy, and a devoted army of fans to push them up above the rest. Lucky enough to have all three (and then some!) are The Bends, an enormously popular and brilliantly talented band out of St. Catharines, Ontario. They’re well-known in these parts, and with a new album coming out August 25 and a whole lot of time left to do even more, these fish will be hard to catch.

The Bends are a nifty young group with surprising talent and really cool style. While still fresh and fun, their professionalism and seemingly effortless sound show a lot of maturity and suggest they’ve been around a while. In some ways they have: the band formed almost four years ago and have been developing their sound ever since. Would it shock you to learn they’ve only JUST graduated high school? This is almost upsetting! The amount of talent these guys have is almost unnatural, and in their new album, Through Looking-Glass Houses, they show what they’re made of and what they have to offer.

Overall the album is fantastic. The 11 tracks fly by with different beats and moods, crossing genres and showing some good diversity. There are hints of Weezer, The Killers, The Strokes, and The Beatles peppered throughout the album, and with strong technical skills, great songwriting, and really catchy beats and riffs, the album has a lot to love.

Showing off a slightly heavier and trippy side of The Bends’ sound, the instrumental introduction gives an interesting taste of what’s to come. There is an immediate shift in mood as the album transitions into the second track, “Spit Curl”, one of the more bouncy and fast-paced songs on the album. The energy doesn’t stop here, though; the remaining tracks are equally fun and dancey, and the nonstop spirit is totally refreshing. “Something About You” provides something dancers can go nuts to, as does the funk-infused “Chicken n Rice”. It’s also nice to see some more variety in the somewhat psychedelic “That We’re Not” and less poppy “Isn’t It Strange”, showing the band’s ability to diversify and create different sounds.

It’s hard to pinpoint what’s best about The Bends: the vocals are fantastic, the guitars, bass, and percussion are all strong and smooth, and the incorporation of other instruments (horns, cello, ukulele?) all add to the band’s great sound. Through Looking-Glass Houses is an album that will really get you moving and by showing off all their finer qualities, The Bends have created something really cool. They’ve worked hard on this album, and you can tell.

This isn’t their first album and it will hopefully not be their last: the band’s now on hiatus as the members all head off to university, but maybe with some luck and convincing they won’t be gone for long. The album is being officially released at The Mansion House in St. Catharines on August 25, and fans of the band will definitely want to see them before they leave for school. Check out the band’s website for more info and news, follow them on Facebook and Twitter, and stay tuned for their return! - Indie 403

"June is here, and in Niagara, that means that the S.C.E.N.E. Music Festival is just around the corner. For one Sunday, the streets, pubs, and public spaces of St. Catharines are going to be filled with the sounds of hundreds of artists plying their trade. Bronx Cheerleader, Elk, The Wooden Sky, Said The Whale, Eamon McGrath, Grey Kingdom, The Elwins, The Balconies, and Topanga are just a few names on this year’s bill that will be familiar to QBiM readers, and I’m sure we’ll be adding The Bends to that list of familiar names soon.
The St. Catharines-based five piece recently unveiled a a wicked fan-produced video for the song “Confident Young Man” (embedded above) that will peak your interest in picking up the We Are Confident Young Men EP from the IndoorShoes Community Record Store, and catch their S.C.E.N.E. Fest set on the 24th of June, along with their gig at this year’s Sound of Music Festival in Burlington on June 15." - Quick Before It Melts

"Five young musicians from St. Catharines will return home this weekend to perform at this year’s Niagara Wine Festival with their band, The Bends.

The band met while in Grade 9 at Laura Secord Secondary School and spent the following four years practicing, writing and performing in some of Niagara’s best-known music venues and festivals.

“A few of us knew each other... and we all knew that we played different instruments,” said Kurt Dunn, vocalist and guitarist for The Bends. “We thought ‘why not get together and play?’”

They originally formed for something to do and rehearsed in Dunn’s basement. They set their sights on a battle of the bands at their high school and won.

“We won, then looked at each other and thought why not do more,” said Dunn, who is now a first year vocal performance student at Queen’s University.

They worked at their craft, wrote, performed and released two EPs. In 2011, The Bends were named Original Group of the Year at the Niagara Music Awards.

The experience of being a high school band playing adult clubs was, at times, interesting, said Dunn.

“One time we were playing at Mikado in Grade 10. It was a 19+ show so really only our parents and their friends were there,” he said. “There was this really intoxicated guy that really loved us. He gave us the thumbs up and threw a cigarette on stage for us. It was our first on stage gift.”

This is the second year in a row The Bends will perform at the Niagara Wine Festival

Although the band members attend different universities now, they still make time to talk music, exchange ideas and look for gigs. Dunn writes many of the songs then sends them to his bandmates for input.

They may pursue other projects but The Bends are still determined to continue performing. They released their first full-length album in August titled Through the Looking Glass.

The festival books local bands in addition to its headlining acts to showcase the talent in Niagara. Street Pharmacy from Welland and Serena Pryne from Niagara Falls will also perform."
- Angela Scappatura QMI Agency Niagara, St. Catharines Standard

"The Bends – 6:05 @ Cache (Exclaim! – inside)

Following up their performance at the Burlington Sound of Music Festival the weekend before, The Bends rocked the Exclaim.ca stage, packing the inside of Cache and forcing the avid crowd to spill out onto the sidewalk. This energetic five-piece had people of all ages dancing away to their poppy-funk tunes for the entirety of their set. They added Grace Snippe on cello and had a four-piece horn section join them for a couple of songs, which really added to the exuberance of their performance. Not to mention that at one point, Joe Salter (guitar, vocals) jumped up onto the ledge at the front of the stage with his horn, and drummer David Klassen hammered out the set with his broken arm in a cast. I repeat, he played drums with a broken arm. They may have just graduated from high school, but these “confident young men” proved once again why they are not only one of the most loved, but also one of the most talented bands in the area." - Buying Shots For Bands

Yesterday afternoon was spent at Montebello Park, tasting food and wine and taking in some tunes under the hot sun.

Just before 2pm, SCENE People’s Choice winners The Bends took their rightful place on the stage. A 5-piece local band made up of kids from Laura Secord High School (+ additional horn section), The Bends are some of the most talented kids I’ve seen in a long time. While labelling themselves as “post-punk,” they also offer a bit of a 50’s throw-back feel and dressed in their uniform of black pants-white shirt-skinny tie, they’re the kind of band I picture playing school dances if 1) bands still played school dances, and 2) if I was still in high school.

They had a crowd of supporters (many sporting a Bends tee) dancing in the early afternoon - this achieved without the aid of alcohol for the most part as the majority of their fans and friends are underage, and their parents opting to be responsible and not act out the role of embarrassing drunk mom.

Their repertoire includes an impressive number of original tunes, with even more impressive covers of Costello’s “Pump It Up,” Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” and The Clash’s “London Calling” thrown in. They transition from more poppy songs to funk effortlessly. And while they are a whole lot young, and their songs much less sexually-oriented, I can’t help but be reminded of the now defunct former-local legends Matinee Slim. Maybe it’s the unrelenting energy they have on stage, maybe it’s their ability to get people dancing regardless of time of day. Regardless, I’m digging it.

Building on the energy from Grape and Wine, they’ll be warming the stage for Great Bloomers (Mansion House - October 4) - and let me tell you, they’re a hard act to follow! - Music is my Boyfriend (Chiarabella)