Onlyforward

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onlyforward-gig.jpg

Onlyforward consists of four members: Dave Martel (guitar/vocals), Roy Vuorela (drums), Ian Yule (bass) and Jesse Sauvé (guitar). When these four lads end up in the same room, things tend to start "rocking" and/or "rolling" (in no particular order).

They formed in 2003 around material that singer/songwriter and frontman Dave Martel had been performing as a solo artist. Jesse and Dave were high school friends, while Roy and Ian came into the picture through a friend of Dave's who knew a friend who had a friend who ate at Roy's dentist's favorite breakfast spot. Right from the first jam session, everyone knew that something seriously awesome was starting.

"I really enjoyed doing the solo thing for a while," says Martel, "but in the back of my mind, I knew it was just a temporary thing.

"When we started together, we were working on some songs I'd been performing solo," he continues, "but in no time, we were writing brand new material."

"It was so inspiring," says Ian. "There was this incredible energy in the room. We really felt - and still feel - like there was nothing the four of us couldn't do together. It was such an exciting time, and it's been that way ever since. it doesn't stop."

The band's influences stem from a wild mix of tastes: Michael Jackson and Pearl Jam to Bad Religion, NOFX to Radiohead, while their sound veers closer to singer-songwriter melodic pop. The result is an eclectic, unique, and soulful sound that just doesn't exist anywhere else.

onlyforward has played shows throughout Montreal and Toronto, and has just finished their first full-length album, entitled Everything's Perfect. Produced by King Kong Girio (The Kingpins, King Apparatus, Flashlight Brown), the album encapsulates onlyforward's unique sound. Martel's soaring vocals push the band's sound forward with sweeping acoustic guitar sounds, while Ian and Roy's rhythm section lays an incredibly intense and solid base. All this leaves plenty of room for Jesse to rip on guitar. "Rip" is an understatement, actually: Jesse's incredible playing takes onlyforward to new and uncharted places that they could otherwise only dream about.

By turns uplifting, rocking, and spiritual, Everything's Perfect sums up onlyforward. well, perfectly.

There's this thing called onlyforward, you see. They make music. End of story.

management e-mail: rj.guha@matrixentertainment.ca

e-mail: theband@onlyforward.net

web site: http://www.onlyforward.net