Artist description Indie Rock/Sonic Noir. Check out SkipTracerOnline.com for more info, downloads and upcoming shows.

Music Style Rock

Musical Influences Radiohead, U2, Sonic Youth, Flaming Lips, Pixies, REM

Artist History Thom Drew, Russ Gowan, Jeremiah Mogenson and Tyler Tierney formed Skip Tracer out of a love for rock music. They have been listening to it and playing it since they were kids, and now they feel they are making the music they wanted to make all along. This is how Skip Tracer came to be. Thom, Jeremiah and Tyler met through mutual friends at a high school "battle-of-the-bands" in the spring of '96 that Thom was performing at. Thom and Jeremiah would not meet again for another year, but Jeremiah was also focusing on the guitar and forming his own band, The Paramedics. Tyler quickly picked up the bass, as he had classical piano training as a child and was invited to replace the departing bass player in Jeremiah's band. In late '97, all of their paths would cross again when Jeremiah and Tyler invited Thom to play guitar in their group, then called The Urban Goons. They were a "power-pop" act and played extensively around their hometown of London, Canada. They also recorded a 4 song EP, which was never released. At this point, their priorities shifted as Tyler went to University and Thom to College. This band would eventually break up, but Thom and Jeremiah would continue to play together with Thom singing and Jeremiah on guitar. They were only together for a short time, and after they disbanded, both Thom and Jeremiah decided never to be in a band together again. This luckily would not be the case, and they remained good friends in the coming years. After taking a couple of years off from music, Thom decided that it was time to start another band. He met Russ at work, and asked if he would play drums for him. At the time, Russ was involved in a couple of less-than-serious projects, but agreed to give Thom's idea a shot. In the coming months, he would abandon those projects for Skip Tracer. Russ grew up in Burlington, Canada, and played drums in a number of bands, including a punk band called Bandwagon. They released one album, but Russ moved to London shortly after to attend University. It was this move that would eventually bring him together with the rest of the members of Skip Tracer. The process of getting the band started was long and well thought out. Thom now had a drummer but needed a guitarist and bass player to complete the line-up. He asked Jeremiah to play guitar. Neither of them knew what to expect, but they decided to give it another chance. Jeremiah and Thom spent the summer of '02 planning how they were going to get the band off the ground and what sound they wanted to achieve. They still needed a bass player, so they recruited Tyler, and spent the rest of that summer and fall writing and rehearsing songs. Instead of making shows their first priority, as they had in the past they agreed to focus on recording an album, followed by live shows. In December of '02, Skip Tracer went into the studio to record their debut EP at The Launch Pad in London, releasing it independently in February '03. The band will be playing shows in and around London before branching out and playing in Toronto, Montréal, and cities in the Northeastern U.S. throughout the coming year, in support of the album. Skip Tracer's music is different yet familiar. Their lyrics are simple yet intriguing. They draw on many influences - from listening to their parents' Beatles, Zeppelin and Bowie records while growing up - to more contemporary bands like Radiohead, The Pixies, REM, The Flaming Lips, U2 and Sonic Youth. Their dynamic sound is filled with highs and lows while they sing about life, and how they make it through. Skip Tracer is the product of its members' collective musical and life experiences, past bands and their friendships. They put everything they have into their music, as they believe that this is the only way to get anything back out of it.

Group Members Thom Drew, Russ Gowan, Jeremiah Mogenson, Tyler Tierney

Albums Skip Tracer EP

Location London, ON - Canada

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