Revive the Rose


So I am a little late on this, but I wanted to talk about something that is inspiring to me. To fully grasp why this is something I want to talk about, a little back story is needed.

13-14 years ago, my best friend, Andrew Gagnon,  decided to try playing drums one night, and he fell in love with them.  After that he starting taking lessons and practicing on pots pans in his basement.  He did that until he got his own kit.  Since then, his life has been about music.  He constantly learns new techniques and is trying out different genres.  It really isn't hard to see and hear the talent that he has for drumming.  He knew that it was his calling, and has been working towards it for over a decade. He has been involved with bands of all genres, but rock and roll seems to be the sweet spot where he lies.

In 2017 he formed a friendship with the guys in Revive the Rose.  At the time, the singer, Andy Colonico, was drumming as well as singing.  He needed a break from the drums in order to fully stretch his vocal chords.  The band decided to make Andrew the new drummer of RtR.  For the first time, Andrew was in a made with like minded people.  They wanted to make music that people could really rock out to.

Along with Andy, the band has the guitar shredding duo of Pete Antoniou and Matt Cookson.  Together these guys make super catchy riffs that are crisp and tight.  The pair are very talented, switching between rhythm and lead guitar effortlessly.  Often Cookson is found leaping off stage in the true spirit of rock and roll, while Pete is lending his voice to harmonize with Andy's.

The most recent addition to the band is Steve "Big Rig" Stercho on bass.  To people who see him on stage, he pumps out those bass lines, often in a power stance.  But what people don't know, is that Big Rig never played bass before that.  With hard work he was able to quickly learn all of RtR's songs and fully complete the band.

After many shows and lots of hard work, the band released their debut, self titled album on May 25th.  This was a major day for them, as this was their first full album, and for any band, that is a major milestone.  Since then, the band has played so many shows, opened for big bands, toured through southern Ontario and even played the Sound of Music Festival.

This is inspiring to me for multiple reasons.  The biggest one is that through them, it is easy to see how through determination and hard work, you can accomplish your dreams.  The boys in RtR prove that constantly with every practice session and with every show.

What I really am thankful for, is my relationship with the band.  I have sat in on practice sessions, gone to shows where I was front row, and even been in a music video of theirs.  With the Sound of Music festival, Andrew and the band got me back stage.  That was a moment I will never forget.

But what has been an amazing opportunity is the collaborations I have done with Andy.  I have done some vector work for him on shirt designs, and I have even made my own shirt based on a design he gave me.  This shirt blew up and people seem to love the design.  The most surreal moment was knowing that shirts that I helped design were being sold next to bands like Our Lady Peach and The Headstones.

I just want to thank these guys for inspiring me, giving me some unreal opportunities and for pumping out rocking tunes.

Rock on.

Cody S

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