Nov. 26, 2008 - Issue #684: I Served the King of England

Art of Dying: Still alive and well

Things are looking up for Art of Dying

Although they both hail from Alberta, Art Of Dying vocalist Jonny Hetherington (from Lacombe) and guitarist Greg Bradley (from Calgary) didn’t actually cross paths until years later, after both had made the move to Vancouver in pursuit of greater musical opportunity. 

 

“I was busking on the street in Vancouver trying to learn how to play and sing,” Hetherington explains. “Greg walked past one day, and the next day he came back to set up a time we could rehearse together.”

 

In their scant three years of existence the band has taken some major steps, gaining extensive radio play, making showcase appearances, and touring non-stop, including multiple trips to the UK. 

 

“Our first trip out was to play [Donington Park’s] Download festival in 2006. The headliners that year were Tool, Metallica and Guns N’ Roses. We were the unknown band from Canada, but things went over really well.” Well enough that the band joined South African rockers Seether for another jaunt through the UK—this time for an entire tour, the band’s first.

 

While opportunities like these may seem like a case of being in the right place at the right time, Hetherington is quick to point out the relentless networking that the band relies on to keep reaching more listeners, from the casual fan to the industry insider. 

 

“Networking is everything to us,” he explains. “We just keep sending our music to friends and to people in the industry. You never know what’s going to happen—we sent our record to a DJ in Boston, and it ended up in the hands of Dan Donegan of Disturbed.”

 

The band’s 2006 self-titled debut is still garnering interest, and Hetherington notes the lack of major label pressure in pushing the band to move too quickly in an age dominated by short attention spans, with YouTube and MySpace sensations changing almost weekly. 

 

“We released it ourselves, so we get to make the rules,” he laughs. “We just keep working the record, and people are still responding. This is the fourth single we’ve released from it, and we’ve done three videos.”

 

With studio time set aside for next spring, expect to see the band continue its hard-working approach to touring and getting out and meeting the people that make it all possible. 

“Edmonton has always been really great to us—really supportive”, he notes. “The people are very real, and they love their rock ‘n’ roll. It’s great to be able to just sit and talk to people over pints at Filthy McNasty’s and then head out to play just down the street.” V 

Tue, Dec 2 (8pm)
Art of Dying
With Disturbed, Egypt Central
Shaw Conference Centre, sold out

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