Hey everyone,

The gear up to our upcoming CD Release bash gained us some great press coverage, from radio interviews with the CBC and CHUO, to CBC Television News @ 6PM (Friday 16th) to various Ottawa newspapers. Here are a few of the articles in case you missed them:


Ottawa XPress:

Here comes the soul saver
Lara Purvis

The Ethics: saving souls from philosophy

Even the Stars rescues The Ethics from philosophy

"Philosophy saved my soul from religion," Kevin Hersak jokes as he stirs his coffee. "But then my soul needed saving from philosophy. And that was music."
Hersak started singing his own songs at age 3, and began recording onto a tape recorder hidden under his bed by the time he was 5. A handful of university degrees kept him occupied as he got older, but even his master's thesis - a paper on the logic of philosopher Baruch Spinoza - was coloured with lyrics from popular songs.

Hersak is now the lead singer and songwriter for the local roots-rock band The Ethics (named after Spinoza's famous publication). But it was a personal crisis that spurred the band on to release their brand new debut album, Even the Stars.

"I turned 30. Birthdays aren't normally a big deal to me, but all of a sudden I wasn't sleeping well. I was questioning what I was doing with my life, asking, 'Why am I on this planet?' After some time I realized I'm here to write music, to have people sing along. That's it. It was clear. All the others had released albums before but I hadn't. And I was dying to do it."

With its subtle rootsy instrumentation and heartfelt lyrics, the short six-song EP contains hints of Ottawa's alt-country music scene. But the strong bass lines, gentle vocals and warm guitar tones also give the record a certain distinctiveness.

Hersak looks wistfully out the window,

"Releasing this record is what I needed to do. It's about the outsider perspective... the dreams that come to you..."

Hey, whatever gets you those eight hours.


Ottawa Citizen:

The Essence of The Ethics

Fateema Sayani, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Thursday, November 15, 2007

File the new album called Even the Stars by The Ethics under Bytowncore. The four-piece manages to fuse the familiar tones of Jim Bryson with the Weights & Measures, the Wooden Stars, the Acorn and a coterie of other nat-cap bedrocks. The Ethics' sound is a little dreamier, slower and ponderous, which is much reflective of The Ethics' singer/guitarist Kevin Hersak.

He formed the band with Jeff Gleeson (guitar, vocals, ex Jacob Two-Two), a pal since early high school days, some 15 years ago. They fleshed it out with Tim Levans (bass) and Paul Ross (drums, who was also in Jacob Two-Two). They crafted carefully and the result is six songs steeped in earnestness, and a sound that is distinctly Ottawa.

For years, insiders and outsiders have tried to put a finger on what that is. The haters would have it as pallid, sleepy rock made by frustrated public servants. The lovers like to link their cold winters to a spike in creative production. It's as if hibernation conjures up the heavy self-referentiality that is the undercurrent of those bands.
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For The Ethics, the Ottawa sound comes alive in Jim Bryson. The two ought to have his likeness tattooed on their chests. They speak of him with reverence and play tributes at their shows. Hersak and Gleeson formed the band over a back-porch session of The North Side Benches covers.

"It's the aw-shucks thing about him." Gleeson says. "He's the underdog in his songs. It's easy to like him."

Hersak adds: "He doesn't have a particularly great voice, but there's something that's communicated in the songs that's very appealing and genuine. He really taps into the spirit of Ottawa."

It's what they try to convey and with a little nudging, The Ethics manage to put into words what they've said in song.

"There's a kind of longing in the music," Gleeson begins. "It's seeking and yearning. A lot of it is major seventh chords. There's a jarring nature to them, but they're also sweet at the same time. They get my attention and they sound unresolved, but not necessarily in a bad way."

Hersak, for his part is a fan of longing. "It means you're still on a journey. You've not somehow reached a point of resignation."

The Ethics' CD release party takes place tomorrow at Babylon, 317 Bank St., with The Soiree. 10 p.m., $8.


Ottawa Sun:

Newborn Ethics reach for the Stars
The Ethics, Friday at Babylon

By ALLAN WIGNEY, SUN MEDIA

The Ethics is a four-piece, relatively new to the local scene. Or, at least, the full band is but a few months old. Founding members Kevin Hersak and Jeff Gleeson, on the other hand, are very much veterans.

"Our first public performance, back in high school, was playing together," Hersak recalls. "We were terrified to get up in front of people, and we appropriately played Scared by The Tragically Hip."

University separated the pals, but Hersak and Gleeson put that initial stage fright behind them -- the former playing solo, the latter becoming a fixture around town as a member of Jacob Two-Two.

Three years ago, Hersak and Gleeson began working together as a duo, performing songs Hersak had been saving for such an occasion.

And waiting for the right bandmates to come along.

"We had a sound we were developing, and we were a little leery of getting players in," Hersak recalls. "But seven or eight months ago we started playing with Paul (Ross, drums, also a Jacob Two-Two alumnus) and he later brought in Tim (Levans, bass) and it clicked.

"We always knew we wanted this to become something more extended than just the two of us, but we had to have the right players to do it."

INFECTIOUS FOLK-ROCK

The quartet's first release, Even the Stars, features songs originally performed by the two-piece Ethics, reborn as infectious folk-rock like From Outside and contemplative post-rock like opening track Let it Go.

"They're all songs we've been playing for a while," Hersak says of the six selections on offer. "They were the most time-tested when we went to record. But we're already thinking about the next recording now. We had a batch of songs ready, written with the full band in mind."