Boys Who Say No look the part of a Toronto indie band—scruffy, polite, and boyishly handsome, yet pleasantly wry and self-deprecating. But for a while back in 2007, it didn’t seem likely that this charming indie pop/country outfit would even exist.
“I lost my voice,” says lead singer and guitarist Luke Correia-Damude over burgers and coffee at Dundas and Ossington diner The Lakeview Lunch. “I had a cyst on my vocal chord, and had to have microscopic surgery. I couldn’t sing for about a year, so I had a lot of time to think about music.”
Correia-Damude’s inaudible soul searching managed to yield positive results. When he finally recovered, he recruited his old classmates from Etobicoke School of the Arts, drummer Frank Cox-O’Connell and Mike Lobel, who plays melodica and keyboards (among other “doodads”) to form Boys Who Say No. “We were all really worried [about Luke],” admits Cox-O’Connell. “We’d all known each other for almost ten years.”
The Boys’ bond is quickly apparent as they joke about their days in former bands. Correia-Damude and Lobel reminisce about their Latin-reggae endeavor Civilian, while Cox-O’Connell refuses to reveal the name of a project he worked on with Luke. “It’s too embarrassing,” he says. “We were in high school.”
After graduating, the guys followed their own paths. Cox-O’Connell headed to Montréal to attend the National Theatre School, Lobel starred in the hit Canadian TV show Degrassi: The Next Generation, and Correia-Damude opened College Street’s Whippersnapper Gallery. But they held onto their passion for music. “We all like going to see rock shows,” says Cox-O’Connell. “We wanted to put on the type of show we’d like to go see.”
So when Correia-Damude gathered the guys to form the group, there was plenty of common ground. “We all listen to a lot of pop music,” says Cox-O’Connell. Correia-Damude elaborates: “That was a development for me, realizing that it’s okay to write a dance song or a pop song, and it doesn’t make it any less of an achievement.” But Lobel is quick to highlight the band’s cheeky disposition: “We’re being ironic with pop music, sort of poking fun at it.”
With three guys collaborating on material, the group was almost complete. “People would come and see us and say, ‘You guys should have a bass player, like in a real band,’” laughs Lobel. They found one in guitar teacher David Stein, whom they pilfered from Toronto’s Key Witness (Stein now plays in both groups). “Dave is the professional—I’m the least skilled of all of us, musically speaking,” admits Correia-Damude. “We all lean on Dave for the technical stuff,” adds Cox-O’Connell.
The four bandmates integrate unique influences into the group. “We’re not entirely like-minded about music,” says Lobel. “I listen to Goldfrapp and Nine Inch Nails, while Frank is really into lyrical country.” The guys do all cite Wilco’s albums Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Summerteeth as big inspirations, as well as Toronto band The Sun Parlour Players. “There’s a certain playfulness that I think we share with other bands in Toronto,” says Correia-Damude, as we discuss fellow indie-popsters Born Ruffians and Ruby Coast. “It’s about us having fun on stage and in the studio,” says Cox-O’Connell. “When people come see us, I think they can see we’re four guys having a lot of fun.”
That exuberance translates onto the band’s self-titled six-song EP, which they are celebrating with a CD release party at the Whippersnapper on January 31 with Woolly Leaves, Provincial Parks, and The People of Canada. The guys are also psyched about their appearance at the Hart House Great Hall with Ruby Coast and Foxfire on Thursday, January 22. “I went to [The Varsity’s Off the Record] show last year and I had a great time, so we were happy to be asked,” says Correia-Damude. Lobel admits that he has ulterior motives: “I didn’t go to university, so I live vicariously through college students.”
The band is even willing to answer all the frequent questions about their provocative name. “We are saying no to drugs, saying no to women,” jokes Lobel, but Correia-Damude is quick set the record straight. “It originally came from an anti-draft Joan Baez poster that Frank had.” In an effort to up the cool factor of dodging the draft, the poster’s slogan declared Girls Say Yes to Boys Who Say No. “But we’re not a political band,” he attests, and Lobel is quick to jump in. “We’re in the politics of romance,” he quips, grinning.
While the boys are busy with their day jobs, they make as much time as possible for the band. “I love playing music, so I’ve been shaping my life to fit that,” says Correia-Damude. While Stein admits the band would love to go on tour, they have to take their schedules into consideration. But overall, Lobel says the band is optimistic about the positive buzz around the group’s catchy tracks and fun-filled live shows: “We’re going to ride this wherever it takes us.”
The Varsity’s Off the Record rock show starring Foxfire, Ruby Coast, and Boys Who Say No Thursday, January 22 / Hart House Great Hall / All ages, $5 / Doors 8pm
