Canadian Indie Band: VANGuard

interact

miscellaneous

VANGuard

Alternative

Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
member since: Mar 24, 2008

Introduction

What happened to good rock music? Though the five men who would come to be known collectively as Vanguard were not always playing together, each of them would ask this very question long before they met. In a music world becoming increasingly divided between cool indie rock and obnoxious dumb rock, there seemed to be nothing in between. There was nothing to appease the hipsters, yet also satisfy the frat-boys. And while each future member of Vanguard tried their best to find this sound with other bands they essentially failed, lost in the gaping void of “could-have-been” that swallows up many a musical outfit.

Tyler Plante and Andreas Houlios, both Environment and Business students at the University of Waterloo looked to each other to find a collective that would bring their desired sound to life. This Vanguard precursor, known as Cash In The Attic, included UW Urban Planning student, keyboardist, and music trivia aficionado Kent Randall, whose passion for playing and songwriting encouraged guitarist Plante and drummer Houlios. With the demise of CITA, the trio pledged to continue their quest to stamp out their place in Canadian music lore by looking for right pieces. Enter Graham Campbell, a UW Recreation and Business student with enough charisma to make Clark Gabel look like a Waterloo city councilor, and a voice that can either shatter windows or put kittens to sleep. As a high school chum of Houlios, his transition to the new group was seamless, and his vision was shared by all. The last link was forged when this new, unnamed band needed a bassist to play a show in the Summer of 2007. Tyler Plante called his cousin, Aaron Muniak, who also happened to be one of the best bassists any band could find.

The “Church Gym” gig, as it is now known, despite its infamy, proved to be a flashpoint for the beginnings of Vanguard. The boys instantly clicked, feeding off each other’s musical talent and virtuosity. With the puzzle now in place, Vanguard embarked on a musical journey that is only just in its infancy. We sit here now, in early 2008, awaiting the release of the band’s first EP, The Garden City – less than one year after their first jam together. So what happened to good rock music? For Vanguard, good rock music is alive and well in their music, for it is their vision to make this question obsolete.