Kat Harlton
Toronto-based rock band Harm & Ease, recently dropped their killer new single “Cut Me Loose” via all streaming platforms and CosmoCat Records. The track is a stompin’ modern, blues rock anthem that showcases the band’s unique sound, duelling lead singers and puts the subjects of love and betrayal into play through a dramatic yet action-driven storyline.
“Cut Me Loose” was recorded at Golden Carrot Studios in Burlington and produced and mixed by Juno and SOCAN award winning producer Tawgs Salter (Walk Off the Earth, Hunter Hayes, Washboard Union), and Tokyo Speirs (Walk Off the Earth, USS, Gabriela Bee).
The Harm & Ease story is an interesting one, from reaching an international following as they took over the South American rock scene to being discovered by Gianni Luminati of Multi-Platinum and JUNO Award-winning group Walk Off the Earth. Gianni was so impressed by the band that he went on to become their manager.
Originally founded in Burlington, Ontario in 2010, Harm & Ease are composed of Rylan Whalen (Vocals), Danny Lopez (Guitar), John Goodblood (Bass/Guitar), and Alex Hamnett (Drums).
We had the opportunity to chat with John Goodblood about the band’s latest single, memorable moments, and what’s next.
Kat: Can you talk about the inspiration behind your single “Cut Me Loose”?
John: “Cut Me Loose” was originally written as a slower and bluesier number, but the moment we sped it up in the studio, all the fury and longing of the lyrics came to life. It’s a song about love as a battlefield. For some reason, a lot of people online identify with the chorus lyrics “What Happened to the Girl I Knew?”. We posted a video of us playing this song on TikTok and it got over 2 million views in just a couple of days. For us, this was something totally extraordinary and almost dream-like to see thousands of people duetting it, dancing to it and sharing it out of nowhere.
Kat: What do you hope fans take from the track?
John: This track is our introduction to the Canadian Rock scene. We want to make a point of creating powerful and honest Rock & Roll for today’s times. “Cut Me Loose” is our own meld of blues infused rock with the modern production fit for todays airwaves. We’ve gotten such an amazing reaction from this song online just with a few teasers from it. We literally all get multiple messages online every day from people wanting to hear the song.
Kat: What an interesting story about how you met Gianni Luminati! Can you tell us a bit more about how you met?
John: Our band was originally founded in Burlington, Ontario, and through our years working out of Argentina, we always thought it would be amazing to meet Gianni and the rest of Walk Off The Earth. So shortly after bringing the band back to Canada, we got signed by Cosmo Cat Records and Gianni attended one of our shows at a bar in Hamilton. It wasn’t long before we were regularly in touch and he offered to be our manager. It’s amazing to think that out of all the artists Gianni probably sees and hears, he chooses to work with us, and I believe it’s bringing all sorts of positive results for everyone involved.
Kat: How has meeting Gianni Luminati impacted your career thus far?
John: As a new band breaking onto the scene in Canada, the validation and seal of approval from someone like Gianni can’t be understated, but there’s also an artistic relationship he has with the band that has brought out a lot in us. Personally, I can say that Gianni has helped me mature as a songwriter and has shown me how to write about universal themes of life. On another hand, he’s also gotten us to step up to the plate on the recording end and it’s driven the entire band to self produce at a way bigger scale. Basically everything recorded on “Cut Me Loose” was produced by the band at Cosmo Cat Records Studio. Then further production and mixing was done by Tawgs Salter who did an amazing job on the track.
Kat: What do you find is the most challenging part of your creative process?
John: I find that taking on any musical path should be challenging in order to get to somewhere unique and meaningful. It’s not easy. I guess at the same time, everyone wants to strive for that “eureka” moment in which inspiration strikes and everything just flows out perfectly. And if you’re lucky, you may live a few handful of those moments throughout your career, but I find that it’s 90% hard work and 10% of those divine moments.
Kat: What has been a career highlight for you so far? What have you learned along the way?
John: Those are two pretty heavy questions! You know what? The pandemic affected the world in so many ways, and musicians are no exception. Last year, we got to open two nights for Walk Off The Earth at the OLG arena. It was the first time playing a live performance in a long time, and I just remember looking at the CN Tower with the moon behind it and thinking “I’m so glad I made the choice to come to Canada and play my guitar.” I’ve had a couple of moments on stage through the years, and it’s usually if I play outdoors and the moon is out, and everything I’ve learned along the way kind of flashes before my eyes, whatever that may be.
Kat: What are your plans for 2021?
John: “Cut Me Loose” is going to have a lyric video and a live action one, but it’s just one of many songs we’ve been writing and recording. So we have a whole bunch of material that we will be supporting on stage all across Canada as the world warms up to the idea of live concerts more and more. We just want to continue making music, seeing how far we can push it and how many people we can get it to reach.
For more on Harm & Ease visit: http://www.harmandease.com