!earshot Top 200 of 2021

All Purpose Voltage Heroes

2 of 2 <Back

Two full lengths to their name, the most recent being 'The End of Daniel Jonathan Poole', and a tour this fall including dates with the Hidden Cameras, the Unicorns, and Wax Mannequin that will take them as far as Halifax could make the All Purpose Voltage Heroes unstoppable as a new force in Canadian indie. There is one thing though, the law. With Chearney and the Poole brothers still only 18, they often need to sidestep a few legal barriers to get their music to the eager masses in clubs and bars across the land, So far their intense live showing has thankfully only been stopped once.

APVHTheir Edmonton birthplace is also home to a local scene that is thriving with strong bands, high attendance, and a plethora of venues. Chearney cites fellow Edmontonians the Wolfnote and The Floor as favourites. Oiler country is also home to another band called the Wednesday Night Heroes and when asked who would win in a duel for the title of official Heroes of Edmonton, Chearney concedes that their heroic scenemates are "pretty rough and hardcore, have been around for a long time and there's five of them. They'd win". And while unable to defend the gateway to the Rockies, APVH may just save the national scene from guitar and bass induced boredom.

All Purpose Voltage Heroes try to make their live show more than just another rock. Show. When at home in Edmonton, they come up with a new concept for almost every show. Every home show except for 2 has comprised "of a different onstage costume and scene. Sometimes it�s easy and sometimes it�s more elaborate" muses Chearney. One show in particular still has people talking, As the story goes, it is almost theatre; a bedroom and bathroom scene, pajamas, a sink, an alarm clock, toothbrushes, coffee, and a group of young men getting ready for an average day while playing fervent and fractured keyboard rhythms. It was a well remembered set by fans. Chearney remembers it as their most 'complicated' show.

For those planning on catching the APVH on their fall tour, know that set scenery on the road is toned down, but that the music and energy will remain feverishly high. Now veterans of the longer tour, the Heroes are ready to conquer this one, sibling road spats aside. The All Purpose Voltage Heroes will be hitting Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, Brantford, Sudbury, Guelph, Ottawa, Sackville, Saint John, Halifax, North Bay, and of course Edmonton.

2 of 2 <Back