IllScarlett Get Recharged

Mississauga's energetic ska-punk combo like getting close and personal

You'd think spending the harshest months of the Canadian winter in sunny California would be rejuvenating. But for the guys in Mississauga, Ont. ska-punk outfit IllScarlett, being in the Golden State earlier this year to record their new All Day With It album was nothing short of draining. And it wasn't because of the weather.

"We were recording and working, which was kind of tiring, but we couldn't really figure out why we were so tired," says lead singer/guitarist Alex Norman. "Then, after we played one show we were like, 'This is why we're tired, because we haven't been out in front of people' doing what I think we do best, and that's play live."

Since emerging in 2001, the band — rounded out by Jonny Doherty on bass, Will Marr on guitar and Swavek Pior on drums — have built a formidable reputation on the basis of their energetic live show. They honed their skills playing small venues close to home, including Mississauga's Masonic Lodge and community centres throughout smalltown Ontario, and peddled thousands of their self-financed, independent releases to frenzied fans along the way.

They ramped it up a notch in 2004, playing tons of gigs around Toronto and weaselling their way onto the Vans Warped Tour. They scored their spot after impressing the tour's founder, Kevin Lyman, by setting up a power generator outside the main gates during the Toronto stop and playing for the people lining up to go in. The move landed them a place on the tour the following year, and they've been asked back every summer since. But the transition to larger shows has taken some adjustment.

"I'm still trying to get used to playing the big stages. I love playing the community centres where there is no stage, where the kids are right up in you," Norman says enthusiastically. "You're right next to them and you can feel the energy off of the kids and shit gets pushed over and it's a mess, but that's what we're used to."

The four-piece are sure to adapt to bigger shows soon with their debut full-length for Sony BMG. Musically, All Day With It continues in the vein of last year's eight-song EPdemic, with tons of pop-punk energy and infectious reggae rhythms. But the LP, produced by Matthew Wilder (known for his work on No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom), is noticeably more ambitious, and chock full of huge pop vocals and layers of extra instruments. It's the kind of album that could be tough to pull off in a live setting, although Norman's not concerned about that.

"I don't need the live show to sound exactly like the record but more than anything it's just kind of fun to see and try and figure out how we can pull it off live."

It's also the sort of album that could have taken a lot more time to record, but that's one luxury they didn't have on their side. Having signed to Sony BMG last fall, the band were given February and March to go to Los Angeles to record the album for a summer release.

"There was definitely a lot of pressure, but that's usually how it works with us anyway," the frontman explains. "I need that sort of pressure-cooker to really be honest and just let the lyrics come out naturally — to get to the core of my emotional state."

While all the hard work is sure to pay dividends eventually, it's not going to buy the band a real vacation to the west coast just yet. As Norman says, right now they're busy taking care of some unfinished business.

"It all goes into paying off our debt. We have plenty of debt that we accumulated over the six years from being a do-it-yourself sort of band."

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Like Father, Like Son

Most IllScarlett fans probably don't care much for '60s folk pop band The Mamas And The Papas, but the two groups share a familial connection. IllScarlett bassist Jonny Doherty is the son of the late Denny Doherty, who was one of the hippie band's key singers and songwriters. Shortly before taking over bass duties for IllScarlett, Doherty lived in New York City and played drums in the band for his father's play about The Mamas And Papas.

The following feature article is from the September 2007 issue of Chart Magazine. To purchase the issue go to the Chart Shop.