Big thanks to All Day Breakfast: The Creative Agency.
Save Me Now - Music Video - Let It Ride EP
Well I Do - Music Video - Let It Ride EP
#MusicYouDanceTo
Checkerboard Floors want to play music you dance to, and they've been doing it for well over a decade.
Aside from their energy-packed live shows that have crowds singing and dancing along, nothing more clearly demonstrates the Hamilton Ontario band's drive than the songs they've been releasing independently. That includes their latest EP, Let It Ride, available Nov 29, 2024.
The new EP puts the trio's full range on display, as it powers through modern indie rock, to classic 70's / honky tonk vibes, to late 60's surf / soul, to vintage British Invasion pop-rock, and includes a contribution by Loretta Hale (The Loretta Hale Big Band, Andre Bisson Band) on cello. During the course of the EP's crushable twelve minute runtime, the listener is met with swagger, catharsis, sorrow, and a dose of optimism.
This is the band's first release, since their 2014 debut LP Art Project, to feature a songrwriting contribution from bassist Matt Outerson. Also featured is the shortest track ever released by the band, clocking in at a TikTok worthy 1:48.
Demos began in 2021 and songs were tracked over the course of 2023 into 2024 in Brant County and Hamilton, Ontario. All tracks were mixed and produced by singer-guitarist Derek Palango in Hamilton.
Two songs, Could It Be and Hold Me Again, were previously revealed as singles in 2023. Two brand new tracks, Well I Do, and Save Me Now, are accompanied by new music videos all shot in Hamilton and Brant County. Each song was field tested live at the legendary Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto.
"As we were getting close to wrapping up the EP we were very fortunate to be given the opportunity to share in a couple of great shows, one of which was at Mills Hardware in Hamilton with Kingston Ontario's The Wilderness, and the other at The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto with fellow Hamiltonians Sarah Church and SG Sinnicks" says Palango. "It was great to get a chance to bring the brand new songs out to an enthusiastic and receptive crowd. We're excited to do more of that when the EP is out."
Let It Ride is the band's first EP since their 2021 offering, Music You Dance To, which was recorded in isolation throughout 2020 as the band sought to remain productive during the pandemic lockdowns. Music You Dance To fused the feel of the band's live show into a set of infectious tracks inspiring listeners to move. Iain Key from Louder Than War wrote that "ultimately Checkerboard Floors, with their layered harmonies and sunny disposition transport me to a place I ve only seen on TV or film, such as Degrassi High or a John Hughes movie which always seemed more idyllic than growing up in a dark and wet Manchester".
Checkerboard Floors are Derek Palango (vocals, guitar), Matt Outerson (bass, vocals), and Kevin Barrie (drums, vocals) who officially replaced founding member Rob Shorney in 2018. Founding member Tyler Wilson (guitar, vocals) departed from the group in 2022. The band originally came together through work, mutual friends, and a shared love of music in early 2009. They quickly secured gigs in local venues playing covers, and spent the next few years refining their act, performing a wide array of music from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers, Tom Petty, Carlos Santana, AC/DC, and more contemporary artists such as The Black Keys, Big Sugar, Simple Minds, The Killers, and The Tragically Hip.
Their sound might be called Indie / Alt-Rock. However, it's not hard for one to also hear varied styles within, which serve as important influences and propel the band s music forward; including though not limited to Blues, Funk, Motown, and Soul.
The band continues to write, record, and gig. In 2024 it seems as tough as ever to know for certain what tomorrow will bring. For Checkerboard Floors, no matter what, the music keeps rollin on.
Hold Me Again
Could It Be
Long Weekend (Recorded At Sanderson Centre)
Canadian Tuxedo
Couldn't Ask For More
Music You Caffeinate To - Coffee With A Good Cause!
Check it out! It's something great from our friends at Altitude Coffee Roasters!
$2.00 from every bag sold will be donated to Guitars for Kids (Waterloo), a registered not-for-profit that collects and repairs guitars and gets them into the hands of kids that may otherwise not have access to one. You can order online at altitudecoffee.ca!
Praise For Checkerboard Floors And Art Project
"their live show is nothing short of a blast and you are sure to find yourself humming along with songs from the album"
-BScene
a multi-layerd, dynamic album packed full of powerful riffs with an alt-rock touch
-Hamilton Blues Lovers
"slick arrangements and crafty vocal interplay"
-Barber Shop Podcast
Buy Art Project NOW!
Order a CD through PayPal or check out Dr. Disc Hamilton!