The Exploding Band

The Exploding Band is the long awaited return to fronting a rock act for acclaimed singer-guitarist Adam Faux, once the leader for Canadian indie legends Pigfarm.
“My perception of what I do now is very similar to what I did in Pigfarm,” he says. “It’s the same spirit, same faith, same energy.”

Recorded at Toronto’s The Rogue, the band makes its introduction via an EP featuring seven catchy songs, ranging from the melancholy meander “Brooklyn Avenue” to the blistering rocker “Oooo Ooo (How Do You Spend Your Love)” and Adam’s first-ever pop song, “She’s Not My Girlfriend.”

Many of the songs were written after what Adam calls “a crisis of conscience” —  “She’s Not My Girlfriend” following a nasty divorce (“I swore off relationships forever but realized that that wasn’t going to happen,” he laughs); “Oooo Ooo” from observing the distance a couple had in their own relationship (“They were a cup half empty where I’ve become a cup half full”); and “Brooklyn Avenue” after a musician friend died in a fire (“It came from the terror of experiencing the loss of my friend and also helped me make some decisions about how I wanted the rest of my life to be”).

To communicate this new phase of his life, Adam assembled a group of seasoned players for The Exploding Band, bassist Peter Fusco, drummer Jesse Capon and Adam’s cousin, guitarist Curtis Faux. And it shows. When the band hits the stage, it really does explode with energy. 

“After making 40-something albums, six of my own and the rest engineering and producing, and mixing seven films, I admire anybody who can do things live – actors, dancers and musicians,” says Adam.  “I was playing in all these other scenarios and finally I found some musicians who can do what I love to do, which is play really loud and heavy and hard. As soon as we did our first gig, I remembered that again.

“The quality and energy of what you see on stage is different for people who haven’t played a lot. There’s something that happens when people play a lot. They become instinctual and intuitive. The Exploding Band feels like a total joy onstage.”

But Adam is first and foremost a songwriter, with a catalogue of about one hundred registered and recorded songs from his days in Pigfarm to today.  When Pigfarm took a hiatus, he joined the Lost Dakotas for a couple of years, and also released a solo single, 1990’s My Two Hands, which charted at #34 on U.S. college radio. Pigfarm reassembled in 1993, signed a worldwide deal with peermusic Publishing, and earned a #1 album on college radio with PLug.  Adam’s only solo album to date followed in 1998, entitled A Letter To Providence, which he made with his bandmates in The Supers. During that time, he also played in The Urban Decay Group.

Even if he wasn’t front and centre, Adam worked in music. He produced Mike Lynch’s Shindig, in 2001, which spawned two top 50 hits; engineered, mixed, co-produced and performed on two breakthrough albums for Kyp Harness, 2001’s All Her Love and 2002’s The Floating World; and co-produced, co-wrote and performed on The Fourway Flashers’ 2007 debut EP. He was the side guitarist for Laura Repo for six years; recorded and mixed the soundtrack to the 2002 Gemini Award winning The Film Club; and mixed the music docu-drama about Spain’s Mashala. He also held his own in two improv/jazz bands, The Tiny Specs and Hotfogandhi, from 2004 to 2006.

“As my career progressed, I wanted to learn more and I wanted to find out what my limits were,” he explains.

So why did he want to put together another rock band?

“It just seems absolutely essential for me, ever since I was a kid,” says Adam. “I absolutely want as many people as possible to hear what I play, which is a big change for me. I was more concerned with converting people and now I have so much fun and have such a great perspective, I just want to play to as many people as possible.”

Fourway Flashers

Fourway Flashers hail from Toronto, Canada and are built around the songwriting of vocalist Tom Desson. He's been writing and performing for years with outfits such as "Letters on the Phone" and "Joywood", and has now assembled a cast of characters who are total kindred spirits, musically and personally. The fact that they are recognized as amongst the most skilled and original musicians in Canada just happens to be one serious plus.

Derek Downham, former front-man of the band Grindig, is a hard hitting, one-man show on the drums. Recently Derek has been drumming with The Hugh Dillon Redemption Choir and By Divine Right. On bass, there's Tim Bovaconti, a seasoned veteran of such bands as The Lost Dakotas and The Love Cows, now often found touring the globe as guitarist for Ron Sexsmith. Checking in on guitar is Adam Faux, also a long time payer of musical dues. Adam led popular '90s punk band Pigfarm and other credits include The Lost Dakotas and The Urban Decay Group.

These guys are in major demand as players and are all accomplished singer/songwriters in their own right. Together they transform Desson's eloquent compositions into fascinatingly different musical shapes. From gentle, haunting ballads to full-blooded and invigorating guitar-led assualts, listeners can expect to be treated to songs that are both intriguing and honest.