!earshot Top 200 of 2021

The Elliott Brood are on a Roll

The Elliott Brood: Ambassador will be released on
Valentines Day in the US and in Europe in March.Everything comes together naturally for the Elliott Brood. Stephen Pitkin, Mark Sasso, Casey LaForet are best friends, just hanging out, playing some music. Well, that’s how they see it anyway, these down-to-earth Ontario boys are making great music, and they’re once again heading across our beautiful country to spread their charm. Mark Sasso described their life of new record deals, an upcoming international release, and everything else music.

Sasso couldn’t quite put his finger on what it is about their music that fans are drawn to, “I just create music that I like to hear,” explains Sasso. “To think too much about it, you sort of take the soul out of it. It’s just nice that it connects with people. Really you create the music for yourself. It’s sort of selfish like that, but then you get to share it with other people. There are a lot of amazing artists out there, so to see people coming out to our shows is really great.” Elliott Brood have certainly noticed a lot more people making it out to see them play; new fans, old fans, even some fans driving from show to show to catch as much of the experience as they can. Musically Sasso describes the sound as, “dark driving country, black urban hill-billy death country. The influence of the banjo lends itself to writing the kind of songs we write,” he explains.

The Elliott Brood experience is not something to miss, as Sasso notes fans seems to love the live show and it’s not surprising considering the bands’ dynamic performance. “We’re extremely upbeat and energetic,” says Sasso. “It’s pretty much a party. It’s kind of like one of those parties you go to and know everyone. There’s a really comfortable relationship between us and the audience. People shout and yell, there’s lots of feet tapping and dancing.”

They may be too modest to have expected the recognition that they’ve received, but it certainly seems well-deserved. Elliott Brood have spent the last few years hard at work, they’ve You have these dreams, but we never really expected it to come to fruition - Mark Sasso of the Elliott Brood put out one album already Ambassador and have another in the works. And the circle of success is only widening for the band as the album is set for a Valentines Day release in the United States and a European release in March. This all comes as very exciting news for the Elliott Brood.“ Did I ever think this was going to happen; did I ever think it would get like this,” remarks Sasso, “no. You have these dreams, but we never really expect it to come to fruition.” They’ve toured our expansive country twice already and are currently preparing for time number three. They’ve been over to Europe and had a few brief stops in the United States. Fortunately, Sasso is upbeat about the touring and the life on the road: “we equate it to traveling around with friends. You write the music so you can play it and tour it.”

Before heading out on the road, the band has a date during Canadian Music Week, which will be taking place the first weekend of March in Toronto. Canadian Music Week is great for so many reasons, lots of bands in a concentrated area, making it a memorable time for both fans and the musicians. As Sasso explains because they’re on the road so often or so busy they don’t always get a chance to catch up with or see shows played by other bands. This means that gigs like Canadian Music Week are a real treat: “if your touring a lot you don’t get to see a lot of other bands because they’re probably touring at the same time or because you’re geographically spread out. Something like Canadian Music Week brings you all to one spot.”