Oliver Black
Encyclopedia
Townline is a Canadian rock group from Welland, Ontario
Welland, Ontario
Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada.The city has been traditionally known as the place where rails and water meet, referring to the railways from Buffalo to Toronto and Southwestern Ontario, and the waterways of Welland Canal and Welland River,...

. Members of the band include Serena Prine (vocals), Nick Lesyk (guitar), Greg Zack (bass guitar), and Allan Colavecchia (drums). Musically the band performs a mix of Americana and Southern Rock music with a slight Country flare, moving on from their past heavy rock and roll sound. They have always performed in such a manner that allows their music to stay fresh and non-derivative. The band has been described as "If Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...

 sang lead for The Cult
The Cult
The Cult are a British rock band that was formed in 1983. They gained a dedicated following in Britain in the mid 1980s as a post-punk band with singles such as "She Sells Sanctuary", before breaking mainstream in the United States in the late 1980s as a hard rock band with singles such as "Love...

."

History

The band originally formed, under the name Lenz Riot, in March 2002, and played primarily cover songs at shows throughout the Niagara Region. As the members of the band began to write songs together, they changed their name to Oliver Black (in 2004). Oliver Black had then performed shows across Canada, opening for bands as diverse as Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...

, Thornley
Thornley (band)
Thornley is a Canadian post-grunge/hard rock band formed by Ian Thornley in 2002. The band was started when Ian Thornley returned to Toronto after the breakup of his earlier band, Big Wreck. With the help of Chad Kroeger of Nickelback, Thornley signed on to Kroeger's 604 Records...

, Default
Default (band)
Default is a Canadian post-grunge/alternative rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia. Since forming in 1999 they have released four albums, and have sold more than a million records...

, Jeff Martin
Jeff Martin (Canadian musician)
Jeffrey Scott Martin is a Canadian guitarist and singer-songwriter best known for fronting the rock band The Tea Party. Martin began his career as a solo artist in October 2005, when The Tea Party disbanded....

, and The Trews
The Trews
The Trews are a Canadian rock band from Antigonish, Nova Scotia, consisting of vocalist Colin MacDonald, guitarist John-Angus MacDonald, bassist Jack Syperek, and drummer Sean Dalton...

.

The band gained a reputation as consistently providing high-quality live performances, including receiving a score of 93/100 from Chart Attack magazine for their 2004 performance at the North by Northeast
North by Northeast
North by Northeast is an annual five-day live music and film festival and music conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, held each June....

 music festival in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

.

In January 2005, the band was signed to TVT Records
TVT Records
TVT Records was an independent US record label founded by Steve Gottlieb. Over the course of its 25 year history the label released some 25 Gold, Platinum and Multi-platinum releases. Its roster included Nine Inch Nails, Ja Rule, Lil Jon, Underworld, The KLF, Sevendust, Brian Jonestown Massacre and...

, with Universal Music Canada being responsible for distribution in Canada. To date, this relationship has led to the release of one EP, Live In Texas, which was released on March 21, 2006. The follow-up to this, the full length album 6th And Brazo's, was expected to be released in January 2007; however, as of June 2007, the album had not yet received a commercial release due to TVT's ongoing financial problems and eventual bankruptcy.

As part of the recording process, Oliver Black temporarily relocated to Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

, where they wrote parts of the album and recorded demos. The album name, 6th and Brazo's, is in fact a reference to an intersection in that town. While in Texas, Oliver Black also continued to build on their reputation as live performers, opening for bands such as Grady
Grady (band)
Grady is a cowboy metal band based in Austin, Texas.-History:Grady originally consisted of Canadian vocalist and guitarist Gordie Johnson , Canadian bass guitarist "Big" Ben Richardson, and Chris Layton on drums...

, Silvertide
Silvertide
Silvertide was a rock band hailing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-History:Silvertide was formed in January 2001 in Northeast Philadelphia. At first, Silvertide was signed by J Records. They released their first EP American Excess in 2002...

, and Ted Nugent
Ted Nugent
Theodore Anthony "Ted" Nugent is an American guitarist, musician, singer, author, reserve police officer, and activist. From Detroit, Michigan, he originally gained fame as the lead guitarist of The Amboy Dukes, before embarking on a lengthy solo career...

.

In September 2008, Oliver Black officially changed their name to suit their new musical pursuits and sounds, to Townline.

Albums

Title Release Date Label Track listing
Live In Texas March 21, 2006 TVT Records
TVT Records
TVT Records was an independent US record label founded by Steve Gottlieb. Over the course of its 25 year history the label released some 25 Gold, Platinum and Multi-platinum releases. Its roster included Nine Inch Nails, Ja Rule, Lil Jon, Underworld, The KLF, Sevendust, Brian Jonestown Massacre and...


  • Vices

  • Johnny

  • Last Call Jesus

  • Turn You On

  • Destination (unlisted
    track)
  • The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
     
    x
    OK