Whaam! Pow! Bang! Brad, We Need to See Drowning Girl

?By Steven Christianson

Ask a question for which the answer is all-too-obvious, and you'll end up getting, well, an obvious answer.


"So where'd you guys come up with the name of the band?" Doh! I really did pull a Homer with that one. "Lichtenstein, idiot," I think to myself. But she, the Hill Kourkoutis half of the band, smiles politely, anyway, and describes the epiphany, as it were, upon visiting a gallery in New York and standing in front of the original 1963 Drowning Girl.


Like Lichtenstein's Drowning Girl, which embodied many previous artistic spirits, but not necessarily replications, the Drowning Girl of Toronto paints a musical canvass that reminisces without reproducing. But then the club circuit in Toronto is already well on its way to knowing that.


The band has an opening gig for Tara Slone, and in fact playing with Tara Slone, at one of Toronto's newest additions to the club circuit of live music, Tattoo Rock Bar.


Tonight, January 23rd, Hill celebrates her birthday, and many would be freaked to learn that she's only just turned 20. Ryerson film student, formerly of Degrassi: The Next Generation, and co-fronting a band with an eight-track demo CD that you know is going somewhere real fast, she's achieving and burning ground like one of those browners you knew in high school who was probably destined to be named one of Canada's emerging leaders by the Globe and Mail. Yet – and here's the unassuming charm about it all – she's having fun, ostensibly without worrying what others think. And she's no browner.


She and the other 50 percent of Drowning Girl, David Paoli, met at a Starbucks and hit it off immediately. "We should check to see if Starbucks owes us any royalties," she jokingly remarks. "But yeah, that's where David and I started our experience as Drowning Girl."


They balance each other like shrimp and seafood sauce, and, in fact, are in some ways much like an old, married Lennon-McCartney couple.


Paoli is a thinking and articulate musician whose personal fluidity is as dynamic during a conversation as it is while performing on stage. Like most musicians, he feels the notes, and that is visually evident; but one can also see him thinking about the notes, almost analyzing the arrangement and considering how to improve it, or what it means at a particular moment. That doesn't happen too often.


Even in conversation, he's kind of, well, Renaissance.


Someone remarked to me, after hearing a couple of the songs from Bang, Drowning Girl's demo CD, that the band sounds like what a Toronto band ought to sound like.
I asked David what that meant to him and how he would interpret that comment. His response was cautionary, thoughtful and musically wise: he received the words as a sculptor uses clay – feeling, and thinking about each piece, looking to understand the components and the overall relationship. Pretty fucking heavy stuff, I know; but some people are like that. And it's not only refreshing, but cool, when you experience it and see it.


And that's one of the really unique features that puts Drowning Girl along its own trajectory: the complement of styles and personalities and spirits. That, plus the fact that they clearly love playing live.


Live music itself has made a Renaissance in recent years in this city. And someone like Hill Kourkoutis seems to have been born for that very purpose.


"It's an insane amount of emotions all at the same time," Hill explains. David describes Hill's vocal and visual performances as "heavy metal-Beyonce-disco". After watching Hill (both of them, in fact) come alive on stage, David, it could be said, is reserved in his description. Their energy is like envisioning Aristotle on speed.


I inform the duo that several GBA listeners described their music as "speaking", "ringing of a lot of different eras", and "embracing some interesting influences and successfully making them theirs". These comments were actual emails we at GBA received prior to the interview.


David responds: "We [musicians generally] have spent the last eight or so years re-hashing things….It's all about developing the sound," he points out.


And what contributes to that development? "New media and new formats," he says, "will certainly continue contributing to the evolution of music."

"But for that next step to occur, we need to let it all go," Hill explains. "People's true eccentricities need to emerge. It's a really exciting time"


Lichtenstein is credited for having fostered an inspiration of painting that has become hallmark in North America, both for what it reflects and what is reflected by it. Like Lichtenstein himself, bands like Drowning Girl know exactly the sort of questions to ask: how do I become inspired by that thing without becoming that thing?


Drowning Girl's answer? Bang! Get it?


Go to www.drowninggirl.com for more. Once there, or in the club with them, pay particular attention to songs like Bang, Fish Hook and Caught by the Rope. With those in particular you'll begin to understand the elements of oral and visual that these performers cleverly sew together.

(Photo Credit: Josee Scalabrini)



SEE THE ARTICLE HERE: http://www.4npc.com/gba/page13/page13.html

Hello Friends! Drowning Girl has the opportunity to tour Germany...But the only way to get there is if the German population votes! If you get a chance, check out the page. This is the blurb we've sent out to our German friends...if you or any of your friends live in Germany, read the message below!:

Canadian band "Drowning Girl" are one of 10 semi-finalists in a German music competition after being weeded out of thousands of other bands worldwide.

As semi-finalists they are being featured on the N-Joy radio network where fans can go vote via the station's website.

If Drowning Girl makes it to the Finals, a panel of judges will then choose the winner. If they win, Drowning Girl will be flown to Germany, all expenses paid, put on a 2 week tour across the country opening for a local band, and their music will get regular airplay, free promotion, etc..

PLEASE NOTE that ONLY GERMAN fans are permitted to vote. IP addresses will be checked. Votes coming from non Germans will not be tabulated and bands who solicit votes from other territories will be disqualified, so please DO NOT VOTE IF YOU ARE NOT LIVING IN GERMANY.

This is the link to the voting page:

http://www1.n-joy.de/njoy_pages_std/0,3044,OID4332458_REF2158,00.html

Hey friends!

We're excited to announce that our single Dead or Alive has been added to rotation on Mix 99.9. We'll need all of your help during this time! Any help getting the song requested will up its chances of getting played!

You can request it through the following methods:

1. Go here: http://www.999mixfm.com/requests/create
OR
2. E-mail one of your favourite DJ's
OR
3. Call the Mix's line!
OR
4. Join the Mix's Facebook group, connect with other listeners and SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT DROWNING GIRL and DEAD OR ALIVE!

Hope you're having a lovely day. We hope to see you soon. Don't forget, we're playing on Friday.

xo, DG

Welcome to the NEW DrowningGirl.com!
Jul 18, 2007 @ 10:23am
 
Hello Drowning Girl fans and welcome to our brand new website. Thanks to Bev Mckee and the folks at PromoFACT for awarding us a grant to make this fabulous site, we are very grateful.
 
Wow! 2007 has been quite a year and we want to update you on all that is going on for us, starting with our new name. In January the band formerly known as HiLL played a couple of gigs in New York City at The Bitter End and The Delancey. We decided to check out the MOMA during some downtime. After seeing the Lichtenstein painting of Drowning Girl, our name search was over. Drowning Girl the band was born.
 
Shortly following that we won the Mix 99.9 regional songwriting contest for "Dead or Alive" in Toronto which we had entered earlier in the fall, and advanced to the nationals. In March the national winner was announced during Canadian Music Week 2007 at Pipers (Royal York Hotel), following acoustic performances by all the final contestants. Drowning Girl Won!!!! "Dead or Alive" took first place in the 2007 Canadian Radio Star National Songwriting Competition in addition to winning lots of cool prizes. Thanks to all those who supported us and voted, we couldn't have done it without you.
 
"We Are Listening", an online artist development site had some great opportunities as well and proved to be very sweet for us. Drowning Girl won their Songwriting Competition during Round 2 for "Bang", the title track off Drowning Girl's upcoming release. We were also finalists in their video competition for "Caught by the Rope" placing 3rd. Thanks to all who voted and thanks to the judges ... You rock! "We are Listening" will soon launch an internet music television station with their partners to showcase various artists, their music and music videos to thousands (if not millions!) of music fans every day. This is not YouTube, fellow music lovers. We are talking about high-end live audiovisual broadcasting on the web, such as you would expect from MTV (except it's indie!). Drowning Girl were handpicked by the executives to be featured artists.

 
Yet another online opportunity presented itself for Germany through Sonicbids. Drowning Girl have been selected as finalists by Artist X-site and Silver Sonic Records / H'art Distribution for a German Album Release and Tour Competition. In July a team of judges, consisting of H'art personnel, tour promoters, radio programmers and a top notch German artist will select three artists from the finalists. Those three artists will be broadcast on German radio. The final winner will then be voted on by the German public. Stay tuned, and fingers crossed. We'll keep you posted.

The hit Canadian TV Show "Whistler" shown on CTV will feature two Drowning Girl tracks in their upcoming season so tune in and listen for "Fishhook" and "Caught by the Rope". We'll keep you posted once we find out which episodes these tracks will be featured on. Check out the show, it's a fantastic series and we believe you will be immediately hooked.
 
We are now getting ready to release our new record to the masses. Drowning Girl, signed to PuckEye Records, have just secured distribution through EMI Music Canada, and we have repackaged the "Bang!" CD and will be re-releasing it on August 14, 2007. The newly remixed single "Dead or Alive" has already been released to radio, and the response has been amazing. Listen to your favorite radio station, call in and request "Dead or Alive" and help make Drowning Girl a big fat hit!
 
We are currently gearing up to get back out on the road to tour Canada in support of the release, so check the TOUR section for updates as we may be coming to your town soon.

www.drowninggirl.com 
www.myspace.com/drowninggirlmusic
www.sostarstruck.com

Dearest Drowning Girls and Boys,

Last time we were in New York City, we answered a series of questions for UncensoredInterview.com. There are dozens of video clips of this interview spanning over five pages and they can be found here:

http://www.uncensoredinterview.com/vlogs/list?category=55

We had a blast doing this...hope you find it entertaining and enlightening.

Word.

xo, Hill and Dave

text voting is AVAILABLE TO USA RESIDENTS ONLY

Any votes would be appreciated, friends!

Thanks for all your support.

xo, DG

Ok...so it's not the MMVA's but the NEW MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS (NMVA)

Drowning Girl's video "Caught by the Rope" is one of six finalists in Round 2 of the 2007 New Music Video Awards!!!

The objective now is to generate as many votes for this video clip as possible. Check out the finalists at:

http://www.wearelistening.org/vote_nmva.php

…and if you like what you see, vote for Drowning Girl. One vote per IP Address/Computer is allowed. Share this link with friends and family if you like as every vote counts. Voting ends May 17.

Hey Friends!

Indigo TV has posted some more live footage and interviews of DG on their website. Check it out, yo!

http://www.indigo.tv/search/Hill&page=1
http://www.indigo.tv/search/Drowning%20Girl

DROWNING GIRL MAKING WAVES

April 15th, 2007

It's not surprising that this strikingly unique duo is making their mark on Toronto and New York City's music scenes. Hill, who started her first band at the age of 12, is no stranger to the rock music stage. Having worked with some of Canada's most respected writers, and playing guitar and bass with artists such as Tara Slone, Graph Nobel, Simon Wilcox, Andrea England and Jeen O'Brien, this glamorous little rocker baby is propelling quite a career at the ripe old age of 19.

Paoli, who is best known for making his guitar sound like anything but, is the male alter-ego of the band named after a famous Lichtenstein painting. He studied jazz and arranging at Toronto's Humber College, moved towards a more unorthodox experimental approach (reminiscent of his heroes, Johnny Greenwood [Radiohead] and Graham Coxon [Blur]), then electronica and country before finally Drowning. Like his playing, which has gone through many evolutions to get to where it is, Dave jokes about his personal style and wardrobe, which looks like it has been through multiple revolutions, "if it breaks, I try to fix it myself".

Most recently, Drowning Girl are being recognized for their unique writing style. When asked about what inspires their songs, Dave leans towards the idea of catharsis, and his frustration with the general mentality of the North American culture. He also stresses randomness and the importance of keeping everyone guessing. Hill, on the other hand leans towards channeling heartbreak and negative encounters, her own personal catharsis perhaps, while maintaining a level of ambiguity so that everyone can relate. It's hard to believe that someone so young can come out and sing with such conviction and experience. There must be something profound hiding behind those big beautiful black locks and china doll eyes; whatever it is, she makes us all feel it too.

I asked Drowning Girl to take some time to think about their thoughts of the stage, their relationship and music in general.

What's the difference between "drowning" Hill/Dave and downtime Hill/Dave?

HILL: I don't think we're THAT different. There are elements of our "downtime" incarnations that are carried with us on stage. In my moments of downtime, I could go through extremes of being extremely social and hyper to remaining static, simply living life as an observer. My absurd humor also isn't really revealed to the public very often while I'm on stage.

DAVID: Totally different I think. I save up all my energy for stage. Maybe it's adrenaline too. Off stage, I'm kinda sleepy, and I like watching TV shows. I don't go drinking anymore if I'm not playing that night. But if I am relaxed, say in an enormous lazy boy with a huge Duvee, then I can make some jokes, or do some accents or something.

Do you leave yourself room for experimentation on stage?

HILL: It varies. For the most part when we're on stage, in terms of the delivery of our performance, we're just putting it all out there so we never really know how we'll react or what we'll be doing. On the other hand, our set is usually rehearsed a certain way and we generally don't deviate musically from that very often.

DAVID: We have one tune that I leave a little uneasy called "In Retrospect (you were the asshole)", There's some main slide guitar bits I'll always play, and a solo section, but I'll try to leave the end verse open, to experiment with those chords, and let the magic happen. It's the end of the set anyway, so the audience is beaten and battered to death with tight focused rock music, so a little looseness helps to ease them out of the show.

What musicians do you admire most?

HILL: So many musicians to admire. I go through phases of admiration but the artists that have stuck with me include Blondie, The Pixies, Sloan, Radiohead, Hawksley Workman, PJ Harvey, George Gershwin, Sheryl Crow and Janis Joplin (to name a few).

DAVID: I grew up with Radiohead and for a long time tried my best to be Johnny Greenwood. Graham Coxon from Blur was my other big influence at the time guitar playing became most important to me Andy Summers from the Police, Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin for both his Rhythm and Lead stuff, Bob Dylan for his lyrics and nonchalance singing, The Divine Comedy for their brilliant lyrics and orchestral craft. Wilco for being Radiohead's american/country counterpart really experimenting with sounds and pushing music so far.

If you weren¹t musicians, what would you be doing?

HILL: I'd be six feet under. Sorry…that was dramatic.

DAVID: Computer Programmer. I was the first kid on the block with an IBM 286.

What scares you most? Anything.

HILL: Judgment and abandonment. People and politics. S.A.R.S.

DAVID: People who treat this planet like it's their own personal resource and simultaneously toilet bowl. Toxins, disease and super bugs that we brought upon ourselves. Political unrest, and unevenly distributed wealth.

Have you ever had anything unexpected happen on stage? If so, how did you deal with it?

HILL: Oh god, yes! I guess the most prominent occurrence is having your gear fail on you for no good reason. We've had amps and pedals failing, guitars and drum kits breaking. Sometimes I move around so much that I get light headed and am on the verge of tripping over myself or falling over. THAT'S embarrassing. How do I cope? Wing it! Keep doing your thing and figure it out once the song is over. The mishaps, ninety-seven percent of the time, are fixable.

DAVID: I did a jumpkick once, and had my eyes closed, when I opened them again, I was on my ass.

HILL: This girl also came on stage in a province in the Prairie's once and ripped David's shirt off. It was awesome.

What have you learned from sharing the stage with each other? When does it make the performance more difficult/easier?

HILL: I've learned so much from David. He's not only an amazing musician but a unique character. I've been in many bands before but have never experienced quite a connection on and off stage as I have with this project. We respect each other highly and I think that heightens the chemistry and energy we have on stage. If anything, I've learned the importance of chemistry and the impact of having a high energy live show. It makes things more spontaneous and interesting. Naturally, this would make performing much easier. It becomes second nature in a way.

DAVID: Hill is a constant pro well beyond her years on this earth. She is the standard by which I judge everyone else I play with. There is a level of care and dedication to her art/craft that has taught me a lot, and made me more of a professional. We know when we hit the stage, there's a job to be done, that can't go awry…She takes pride in that, and so do I.

Do you ALWAYS get along?

HILL: Surprisingly yes (knock on freakin' wood). Sure, we don't agree on everything but that doesn't mean these events have caused us not to get along. We have always handled these situations diplomatically and with open minds.

DAVID: So far so good.

What 3 words would best describe you?

HILL: Loyal, Neurotic, Workaholic

DAVID: Reliable, Absent Minded, Focused

~ all photos by: A. Janzen

For more on Drowning Girl,
www.myspace.com/drowninggirlmusic
www.myspace.com/hill

Hello fellow Drowning Girls/Boys!!

Thanks so much to everyone who voted for us. Dead or Alive/Drowning Girl was the winner!! You can check out some pictures at www.radiostar.ca.

Much Love,
Hill and Dave

Post Script: Here's a post-winning picture!