"That's crazy," laughs The Stanfields' vocalist/guitarist Jon Landry, with a sigh of disbelief, when he's informed about the stack of golden records the band won in this year's readers' poll. It's a couple of days after ripping up hotel suites at the ECMAs in Sydney and the work's not yet over. When we speak to Landry, the boys (Landry, Jason MacIsaac, Jason Wright, Craig Harris and Mark Murphy) have barely wiped the well-deserved sleep out of their eyes before they leave for Canadian Music Week in Toronto. According to a rave review on chartattack.com, Landry finished off their Horseshoe Tavern set atop a chair in the audience, with huge guitar notes and an old-school rock 'n' roll glass smash.
Fill that pint glass up with a little bit of The Pogues, aggressive guitar moxie, some clever wordplay and that legendary kitchen party you could kick yourself for missing and there are The Stanfields. The Celtic quintet is living up to your award for Most Likely to Make it Big: They had international crowds literally bouncing at Atlantic House during the Vancouver Olympics, too, drinking up that "east coast bastardization." And speaking of thirsty, according to Landry, the two-time winner in the Best Band To Get Trashed To category is living proof of the Best of Music power. "We're a case study," he says. Last year one bar owner in Port Hawksbury wouldn't book the band until they told him about their righteous title.
All this from a group whose first full-length album isn't even available yet. Watch for it in May, on Ground Swell Records.
In the meantime, expect The Stanfields to "stick close to home" for a bit, keeping it "loud, hard and fast," just the way you love it.
Best band first runner-up: Three Sheet
Best band second runner-up: Share
