illScarlett is a rhythm and reggae influenced, filthy dub band that takes no prisoners. Go to one of their shows and you'll find a lot of sweaty, screaming kids who are fans of hip-hop, punk and emo, charged full of frenetic energy, jumping off the stage and engaging in circle pit contests.
illScarlett are determined to be masters of their own destiny. When Alex Norman (vocals) and Swav Pior (drums) met up in high school and started their band they had two choices, wait around on the off chance that some A&R guy was actually going to recognize talent, or take the bull by the horns and go do it themselves. They chose the latter, adding like-minded compadres John Doherty (bass), Will Marr (guitar) and Pat Kennedy (DJ) to complete their vision. They played hundreds of shows around the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) during 2004 and 2005, starting with a handful of faithful fans that amassed into crowds numbering over 1000 in what seems like the blink of an eye. With over 350,000 myspace plays (which will undoubtedly have grown leaps and bounds by the time you read this bio) and over 15,000 self-released cds sold between their initial cd, illP, and Clearly In Another Fine Mess, illScarlett has left a trail of other bands wondering how they did it. We watched what was happening to other bands and thought lets just see how far we can take this on our own reflects Alex. It's not that we were control freaks, we just really knew what we wanted and we went after it. Hard work paying off like that just makes you want to work even harder. It's such a rush when it all starts to happen.
The band cast their net far and wide. Unknown and a lot to prove, the band pulled into the parking lot outside Molson Park in Barrie during the 2004's Vans Warped Tour stop. They found a prime parking spot the night before the show and slept in the truck. When morning broke they set up shop a la generator and played for an hour and a half to all of the concertgoers waiting in line. A tour security guard radioed Warped Tour head honcho, Kevin Lyman, who took a stroll outside, listened to their set and invited them inside to play backstage at Lyman's barbeque that night. We couldn't believe it, says Swav, these were all the bands we looked up to and we were getting to play in front of them. Everyone from NOFX, Bad Religion, Anti-Flag and Alexisonfire were there. We were in shock that we were backstage and holding court with them. Lyman was blown away by them and extended the invitation for them to hop on the Warped Tour in 2005 and 2006. A Cinderella story? Perhaps, but it's not so easy to fit into that glass slipper. Just ask the ugly step-sisters. This band did what millions of other bands wouldn't do, they didn't let an opportunity pass them by. Seizing the day, carpe diem, they got the job done all by themselves.
Oh, don't think they stopped at catching the eye of America's godfather of the hottest tour going, Kevin Lyman. They also pointed the barrel of their self-made gun straight at the third largest modern rock station in North America, The Edge 102.1, and went about getting their song, Heaters, added into regular rotation. Without any money behind the project, without any heavyweight label the band went out to the station's indie nights and hustled. They got the song into the hands of the station's indie punk dj, Barry Taylor, and after a week got a call from him asking if it was cool for him to play Heaters on his show. A week later it was bumped into medium rotation and by early summer it was firing on all cylinders in heavy rotation and climbing The Edge's countdown. The band has been nominated for two awards at The Edge's CASBYs this year, including Favourite New Artist and Favourite New Indie Release. They'll also perform at the awards.
In addition to playing the Warped tour in 2005 and 2006, the band has also played the main stage at this year's Edgefest II as well as the inaugural Virgin Festival on Toronto Island. They've played on some pretty impressive bills, sharing the stage with The All-American Rejects, Slackers, Kardinal Offishall, Billy Talent, Yellowcard and Cypress Hill to name a few. When it comes to the music they make, illScarlett names Nirvana, Incubus, No Doubt, Beck, Sublime, The Police and Foo Fighters as their influences. They also credit The Beatles and Queen as gene pool influences (all four of them agree that their parents made many a car ride seem shorter while listening to the aforementioned).
IllScarlett headed into The Vault and Backroom Recording Studio in West Toronto in the late fall of 2005. With Michael Borkosky at the helm as producer, engineer and mixer, they created the music that would become EPdemic. EPdemic, out October 31st on their own Infect The Masses label (distributed through Red Ink Music) includes the screw the establishment hit Heaters, along with second single, One-A, Mary Jane, NTF, Not A Prophecy, Pacino, Rally and First Shot.
High octane energy, drive and commitment to their future, illScarlett aren't going to take no for an answer. Watch them go!
Source: http://artists.letssingit.com/illscarlett-hphmt/biography
