Artist description Dynamic, moody, self indulgent, wanky…all these words have been used to describe the sound of rayovaq. But a scant four adjectives only begins to scratch the surface of this quartet from Calgary.Blending the best of subtle melody and high frequency guitar noise, a rayovaq show takes you from your seat to someplace in your head, and places you down gently upon completion. Combining instrumentals that bounce between languid picnics to high frequency riots with introspective lyrics and an uncanny sense of melody, rayovaq blend their diffuse influences into a unique and distinctive sound.

Music Style Moody noise pop

Musical Influences Yo La Tengo, Seam, Low, Sonic Youth, Pavement, Radiohead, Mogwai

Similar Artists 18th Dye, Yo La Tengo

Artist History "I think with us, its something that often just happens." Though it's vague, Derek McEwen may have found the heart of what has made rayovaq the band it is today. Over the past three years, the quartet has become known across the country for its dynamic live show and enveloping songwriting. With their first release, Tendency to Sway on Catch and Release records, they have finally served us with something we can revisit over and over again, rather than having settle for replaying the last show over and over in our heads. The group, which started in 1997 as two members strangling odd noises and melodic hooks out of their instruments, has become a musically unpredictable tour de force. Having survived through three drummers, each of which brought out new aspects and philosophies the group has incorporated into their sound, the current lineup was firmly established in May of 2000, with the addition of Dale Becker. Since then, the band has continued to garner rave reviews for their live shows. Their contributions to the Modern Miracles In Science and Medicine (released in Dec. 1999) includes the sweeping 13 minute epic "Basement Suite Blues", one of their signature songs that garnered significant airplay across the country and received "Should have been a hit" status from Patti Schmit of Brave New Waves. Aural Pleasures (June 2000), a compilation of a wide variety of Calgary artists featured their college radio hit "Interstate 25", exclusive to this comp.Melding influences that range from jazz to space rock to straight up pop, the group has never been easy to label, and gets harder with each new song, with each show they play. Instead of relying on delay pedals for atmospherics, or three chord simplicity for hooks, the band is more apt to construct songs from parts, taking turns and pitches that draw you in and engulf you. Often sparse arrangements will blossom into massive climaxes, and Barb Noad's vocals hover just above the surface. Toiling in the basement has paid off for rayovaq live as well. A tight, cohesive band, rayovaq are at their best live, with nothing stopping them from turning 4 minute songs into 10 minute soundscapes. Guitarists Noad and McEwen switch from subtle minimalism to roaring noise on a dime, with rhythm section Dale Becker and Jason Lewis anchoring the show and providing dissonance of their own. Able to reduce usually noisy rooms to a hushed silence the group plays as much for itself as the audience, which results in a unique experience every time, and often leaves audience members not only entertained but included and involved in a special moment in time. Having shared the stage with the likes of Archer Prewitt (twice), Sam Prekop, Fuck, Four Star Movie, Shecky Forme and countless others, rayovaq are poised to take their show on the road with a Western tour in the works before Christmas, and Eastern Canada and US trips to follow. With the word already building, and their reputation preceding them wherever they go, rayovaq are not to be missed. And they'll continue to both transport and impress as they grow.

Group Members Jason Lewis - Bass Guitar, Back Up Vocals; Derek McEwen - Guitar, Backing Vocals; Barb Noad - Vocals, Guitar; Dale Becker - Drums

Instruments Two guitars, one bass,numerous drums, several voices.

Albums rayovaq's first major release "tendency to sway" on Catch and Release Records

Press Reviews The Calgary SunSound BitesMoods of rayovaqBy Mike BellSetting the mood is a lost artMost people don't have the time or patience to ease into seduction by taking things slowly and making sure everything's just right.Maybe that's why the music of local quartet rayovaq scores as often as it does on their debut CD Tendency To Sway."The more we write and the more we play together the more we go in that direction - to create a mood," says guitarist Derek McEwen.For the past 3 ½ years, McEwen and bandmates Barbara Noad (guitar and vocals), Jason Lewis (bass) and a rotating cast of drummers that now feature Dale Becker, have been perfecting their heavy-lidded, walking-underwater indie rock that recalls campus radio names such as Yo La Tengo, Spain, and Spent with a hazy cloud of British shoegazing thrown in for good measure.The six-song CD, which has its official release tomorrow night at the Night Gallery, has been completed for almost six months, and while it's a good introduction to the music of rayovaq, it doesn't paint the full picture."While this CD is a good indication of what we do, I don't know if it's an exceptionally good indication of where we're going," agrees McEwen.For that, you'll have to catch their live shows. When they perform, they allow themselves to indulge in flights of instrumental fancy often taking the four minutes of bare-bones pop rock and adorning them in layers of guitar and throbbing bass that build into a climax of sound.One 45-minute show, for example, contained only three songs.Again, as McEwen says, it's all part and parcel to setting the proper tone."If there's a hook in there, great, but the most important things are the mood and the atmosphere."I think all of us would rather affect people in that manner - on a more visceral emotional level - than bob-your-head forgettable level.""Usually good music has something to it to grab people. We want to grab people and envelop them"

Additional Info 3 tracks on the "Modern Miracles in Science and Medicine" compilation; Catch & Release Records

Location Calgary, Alberta - Canada

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