What started out as a beer, a barbeque and a gathering of friends, and included singer Blaine Braun and bassist Mark Radloff on the guest list, ended up turning into more than a few drinks and the beginning of Canada..s newest sensation, the band named Tourist. This quintet certainly has the fortitude and accolades to become the next biggest International success story in Modern Rock. The accolades include being semi-finalists in the M.E.T.R.O. Search 2004 in New York (USA) and finalists in the Doniryeed Records Talent Search in Boston (USA). The track ..Newradio.. has maintained a top ten spot in the Rock category of Garageband.com, as well as placing in the top 5 on numerous music Web sites. The band won the 2004 99.3 CFOX..s Vancouver Seeds Competition, whose past winners.. list includes Nickelback and Default. Finally, their track ..Everytime We Touch.. was the official single to support the release of the 1970 reissue of the Converse classic shoe. Sign on a veteran producer/mixer in Mike Fraser (Metallica, Slipknot, The Cure, AC/DC) and Tourist hit the market running with their first release entitled The Relevance Of Motion.

The release starts with slick production and a rather sullen fade-in intro during ..Jacob..s Ladder... What follows is a crisp, clean, opening bass line and drum rhythm, which is then overtaken by the melodic vocals of Blaine Braun. The second track, ..Stay,.. has a slightly more ..amped.. feel to it where some comparisons in sound can start to be made to a more melodic version of bands such as Tool, one of the band..s stated influences. The aforementioned first single ..Everytime We Touch.. is a little more boisterous then its two predecessors and is highlighted by a very catchy Rock chorus. ..Throwing Stones.. is more of the same where any of the opening four tracks could do very well on FM radio stations.

Starting midway through the release, with the track ..LRT,.. some of the band..s U2 influences bubble to the surface. The band does very well with the bobbing bass line, rhythmic drum, and melodic, almost spoken, vocal combinations. ..High Speed.. is a bombastic track where more of the Tool influences are pronounced. Also, the track contains some nice falsetto vocal work, presumably by Blaine Braun. ..Newradio,.. the other track discussed above, is very upbeat and catchy, chockfull of more FM radio potential. Once again Braun puts forth a strong vocal performance where the chorus has a familiar Bono vibe to it.

As is indicative with this genre of music, the guitars take a backseat and take on more of a supporting role versus being a focal point. So, any substantial ..lead guitar.. is virtually non-existent. Fans of guitar-orientated Rock/Hard Rock just need to be aware of this fact.

Bottom line, Tourist has all the makings of being big hits in countries like the United States where similar Modern Rock bands dominate the FM band..s airwaves. Overall, represents a very solid slab of Modern Rock, which ushers in a very commendable start for the band, and is recommended for any Tool fan who can stomach a bit more melody.

http://www.metalexpressradio.com/menu.php?main=reviews&id=1883

Hahahaha.......ok here it goes Blaine I will give u the gist of the article
and review........

The first part of the article explains how u guys got together and breaks
down the music.....Tourist is a tradtional rock group that brings something
new. Their music has high standards but they use simple methods. Blaine "Everytime we meet everyone brings their ideas, when we meet again if we cant remember what we did that it wasnt good enough"...Tourist music can be explained as powerful and melancoly like with hard guitar rifts and
hooks....A classic rock combo. "It Just doesn't matter" is a very personal
song as well as "throw it Away". Blaine " This song means a lot because I
wrote it for a very good friend going through rough times. Even though its a
personal song a lot of people can relate. To me its important that I dont
tell people what I think, I want them to think their own ideas when they
listen to the music so that it has a personal meaning for everyone.":

now the good part the review =):

Well known band from Vancouver, who has been successful with the song
"Everytime we Touch"...Music has a mixture of powerful guitars, melancoly
moments and lots of melody. Everytime we touch as the potential to be a hit here in Germany as well as the songs Throwing Stones and LRT. With his rocky yet soft voice Blaine Braun impresses on a variety of 10 tracks. The
closest comparsion can be made with Nickleback. The personal songs "Throw it Away" and It Just Doesnt Matter" ends the CD nicely with this combination.
AT LAST THERE IS HOPE FOR MODERN ROCK!!! Rating 9/10

I had a great interview with Metal Heart magazine (Germany) today. Should be in the October issue, and you may be able to find it at the odd place that sells imports... at least those outside of  DE.
Here's a question that was asked that I thought was cool...
If you could spend time in any era of the past 5000 years, what would it be?
So, what era would that be for you??

I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours.

B

(BTW, the writer told me he asks this everytime he does an interview... only one other time has another performer said the same era as me... for all you metal heads, here's a hint at who that was... You've Got Another Thing Comin'.)

Hey all.
So the album is due to be released on the 29th of this month, and we're super stoked! Here's some things some of our European friends can check out.

I did an interview last week with Mark Koenraadt from Radio Steenbergen (NL). that was pretaped and will air first week of October.

I have an interview Monday Sept. 18 live on air with Heavy Generations radio show in France. (Gascogne 107.3 FM )

I have an interview for Power Play Magazine in the U.K. this week, so I'll find out what issue that is for. http://www.powerplaymagazine.co.uk

And finally for this week... I have an interview on Radio Panik in Belgium.(105.4 Brussels) I believe that is pre taped so stay tuned for broadcast dates.

Thanks for all of your love and support! Thanks for the notes!! We continue to try to get back to everyone!!

Blaine

Greg found this when he was surfing the net... you can check it out here: Melodicrock.com's best of 2005.

1. Waltham - Waltham
2. Anberlin - Never Take A Friendship Personal
3. Ra - Duality
4. Square One - Supersonic
5. Swirl 360 - California Blur
6. The Click Five - Greetings From Imrie House
7. Shannon Noll - Lift
8. Darren Smith Band - Keep The Spirit Alive
9. Disturbed - Ten Thousand Fists
10. Tourist - The Relevance Of Motion
    

Currently only available for our friends in the US, the following link will take you straight there!!

ROCK YOUR PHONE WITH TOURIST

... then you can go here to have a listen:

or preview the whole cd and get what you like at:
And then you can come back here and hang... THANKS EVERYONE FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!

New interview up out of Europe.  Check it out:

http://www.lionspridemusic.com/tourist.html

 

Thanks to Juice for letting us know that FREQ 107 has been spinning us everyday for the last week... all of our Winnipeg friends... keep up the requests!! We'll be back there as soon as we can.

Hey everyone!! I just wanted to drop a line for any of our friends who may be in the IA area on Sunday... make sure you tune in to Sioux City's Z98 The Underground and check out an interview with me, myself and I. The three of us had a little chat with Andy Mattson, so check it out!!

Hey all!! Here's another podcast that's all about Tourist!! Based out of Seattle and appropriately named Seattle And Beyond. Check it out here:

Seattle And Beyond

We are now part of a site called bandspace which is in beta mode. We will have a couple of songs available for download there. If you have been around the internet and heard more than the four tunes on Myspace, such as on our player on our website, or on one of the many other sites we are on, such as garageband... let us know what your favorites are. When we get feedback we will probably switch them around according to popularity, or perhaps by a time limit. Thanks for your support!!