Calgary trio Secret Broadcast breaks into the mainstream
Serendipity is a funny thing. Fortune coincidence karma or destiny — some events just seem meant to unfold in a certain sequence.
Falling into place like pieces of some cosmic jigsaw puzzle the stepping stones that have appeared before singer-songwriter Matt Lightstone have paved the way to impending stardom. Fleeing the bright lights of big city Toronto after six years of failing to cultivate a working chemistry with a myriad of musical suitors Lightstone grabbed his guitar and headed west arriving in Calgary in 2006. After a few more near misses in his attempts to connect with like-minded performers he placed a want ad in Fast Forward . Sure enough the universe provided. Bassist John de Jesus and drummer Bryan Craig answered Lightstone’s call-to-arms and Secret Broadcast was born.
“As a band everything we’ve done has been about getting ready to make it up to this point” says Lightstone of the group’s commitment to excellence. “We recorded our EP Plastic Fantastic at Reed Shimozawa’s [Zuckerbaby] home studio and the CD was financed using all of the cash we earned gigging. We didn’t have the money for a full-length so we went for an EP that would give us a decent representation of where we were as a band at the time. We definitely picked the songs that were the most pop sounding because they seemed to get the best reaction when we performed them live. We all enjoy an eclectic mix of music and we wanted to get in there and show every style we’re capable of.”
Taking their combination of rock pop funk and old-school punk on the road the trio discovered their mutual love of performing in front of a crowd something they’ll have ample opportunity to enjoy as they open the second stage at the Virgin Festival in Toronto this coming weekend. The festival is yet another unexpectedly auspicious turn of events that has brought Secret Broadcast and their high-voltage pop-rock antics to the attention of music industry bigwigs and it’s all thanks to a chocolate bar.
“Our drummer entered the [Oh Henry! Road to the Virgin Festival] contest on a drunken whim when he came across it in a bar one night. The entire contest was online so Bryan uploaded mp3s to the competition website. He had totally forgotten about it until they called to tell him we had made it to the top five “Lightstone says. “We were selected out of 320 bands from across Canada which is amazing! We found out later that both Sir Richard Branson and radio host Alan Cross voted for our band. I’m not exactly sure what helped distinguish ourselves from the competition. We have always placed a huge emphasis on melody and the songwriting process so perhaps the songs help differentiate us. At first we tried to appeal to the indie scene but we never really fit in. We’ve had to re-evaluate our priorities. Now we realize that whoever likes our music is our audience.”
Securing the support of some 13000 fans Secret Broadcast proved their public appeal by bringing in 4300 more votes than the second place band Before the Flood. Now set to play their first major gig alongside powerhouse acts including Foo Fighters Oasis Stereophonics and Silversun Pickups Lightstone and his compadres are eager to face the tens of thousands of concertgoers who will be in attendance at Toronto’s V-Fest. Hoping to capture the hearts of a few new devotees with their guitar-driven hooks and poptastic beats Secret Broadcast wants nothing more than to continue up the ladder of success. Next on their agenda: getting back into the studio to sift through the 30 songs they’ve written since their last release.
“We’ve had several exciting offers from major labels” Lightstone says. “We’re weighing our options carefully.”
