The Rest have always used the band as an outlet for all sorts of creative explorations. Band-related side projects provide excellent excuses for pulling mountains of paint onto ping-pong table canvases, immersion in guilt-free, time-consuming, essential (possibly existential) distractions. Before long, these activities unknowingly morphed to form a factory; frenetic assembly line album construction sessions, alcohol-fuelled t-shirt manufacturing frenzies, and night shift Alfred Hitchcock montage obsessions (The Lady Vanishes). A few members started a record label (Auteur Recordings), almost as a dare to one another; others parlayed their design capabilities into full time commitments, and some made beer, lots of beer.
Bass player Matty Buzanko apprenticed at a small brewery on the outskirts of Hamilton for three years. It wasn't long before Matty started making people swoon over his IPA, and hunger for his award winning Scotch Ale. The Rest began having parties/concerts/film nights/crafts and geeks workshops celebrating this barley business (read more about beer HERE). These gatherings funded two records and an EP, which is coming out in the spring of 2010. The EP concept goes beyond the standard four song release to include a narrative account of the adult adventures of the boy who cried wolf, complete with surreal illustrations drawn by the band’s good friend MLXNDRSC. (Cried Wolf Book) However, wrestling musical concepts into intricate woven layers in the pursuit of creating songs that gather weight and additional substance with every successive listen is the band's true ambition.
In the past year The Rest have seen their album Everyone All At Once garner a multitude of glowing, positive reviews. Remarkably, there isn’t a single negative review to be found about the album. Everyone All At Once has found a home internationally with Something In Construction, and look forward to the worldwide record release in March and the opportunities that will surely come with the additional exposure. It’s true that beer is art, and that collaborative craftiness can be cathartic, but for The Rest, creating music that they love is the ultimate goal.
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