With an acknowledged nod to the bands of the 60s – The Beatles, The Who, King Crimson, and a touch of Neil Young – The League of Notions has just finished recording its debut self-titled CD, and will be holding a CD release party, June 22 at The Opera House, 735 Queen St. E.
The band is made up of Corey Cousineau, vocals and guitar; Beach resident Phil Hill, drums, backing vocals; Kachiro “Kash” Figueroa, bass; and guest keyboardist Rob Gusevs. Each brings a wealth of musical background and experience to the project, with the result being a 17-track collection of great listenable rock, mixed with blues and soul. Lyrically the songs range from street-wise (Hey Mister) to the ironic (The Park in the Dark) to the solidly-grounded (Any Other Way, or Don’t Blame Me), and as the liner notes say, “the CRTC will not find a reason to flag any of our lyrics for offensive content.” There are more than a dozen guest artists on the CD, including Kash’s brother, Rafael Figuero, principal cellist for the New York Metropolitan Opera.
Phil “Chill” Hill, the Beach member of the band has an interesting story, one that should cement his reputation as the real deal musically. According to the band’s website (theleagueofnotions.com) Hill grew up in Liverpool during the 60s. As the story goes, Hill’s uncle tried to buy The Cavern, and had introduced Brian Epstein to The Beatles (he managed several bands and was too busy to look after this new band, The Beatles, as well). The family then moved from ‘the Pool’ to Windsor, Canada, where he combined his love of the British sound with the emerging Motown from Detroit. The young teenager was raised on the best of both musical worlds. Several years of touring with bands was followed by several more years of not performing, before hooking up with the others to form The League of Notions. Hill also contributed the illustrations for the CD package.
For more information about The League of Notions visit the website at the leagueofnotions.com.
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