Dad Music with a Lover's Touch
Almost one year ago, three boys with just a band name and a few EPs packed their van in Victoria, British Columbia and drove 4392 kilometers to Toronto. Upon their arrival, they exited their car and took a stroll down Bloor St., taking in the sights until they stopped in front of the iconic Lee’s Palace.
“One day, we’ll play in there,” they said.
Less than a year later, not only have they played at Lee’s Palace but they've already embarked on a tour, added two new members, and begun production on a full-length album.
Born and raised in Salt Spring Island, B.C., Dexter Nash, Shane Hooper, and Noah O’Neil recorded their first two EP’s, god’s Greatest Gift and 1681 D, for their high school independent study projects. Although they had been jamming together most of their lives, it wasn't until their senior year that the trio officially became Lover’s Touch.
“That’s when we took it on the rail, like cut our hands, and we made a handshake,” guitarist Hooper joked. “[Playing music] was really just fun. We all liked music, and we all happened to be hanging out. It was like, why don’t we all pick up guitars and do that?”
Shortly after their arrival to Toronto, they were joined by Andrew Taylor and Sam Lewis. Although both are students enrolled in Humber's Jazz program, they were also born in B.C, Lewis on Salt Spring Island, and Taylor in Victoria, and were already longtime friends with the other members.
“Everyone’s a hippie [there]. Tie dye stuff,” Nash, guitarist and lead singer, laughed, explaining what it was like growing up on Salt Spring Island.
The group also revealed that the overwhelming support they received from their community made their decision to become professional musicians a lot easier.
“[Being] and island kid is different than [being] a city kid,” Nash said, “Where we were, there’s like a lot of art all the time everywhere. So it was fairly easy to [decide to go into music].”
Mostly influenced by what they refer to as ‘dad music’, the band cites 70s rock music and artists such as The Beatles and The Bee Gees as their main inspirations. In regards to their own sound, the band says they're mostly drawn to writing light hearted, “danceable rock” and “feel good tunes.”
“I wouldn’t say too many of our songs have a deep meaning, but I think that’s cool too,” Hooper said. “[We] just try to write an accessible kind of catchy tune that usually has an upbeat kind of mood to it. We’re not writing too many like downer, sad songs. If there are songs about love, it’s going to be happy.”
However, they do note that they're still experimenting with their sound and finding their place as a band.
“I think [our sound] is different every album. I don’t think we’ve really found our place. I kind of hope we never do,” said Nash.
But, with a new album currently in production, perhaps it will be an opportunity to define Lover’s Touch.
“I feel like this is going to be the debut presentation of the new Lover’s Touch sound,” Taylor said, discussing the upcoming album. “Like Dexter was saying, it’s always changing, so this is going to be like the first statement, I think.”
Currently, there is no release date for the album. However, you can keep up with Lover’s Touch through their Facebook page and check out their previous EPs on Bandcamp
