Jonas and the Massive Attraction are a massive attraction in Europe, but always look forward to coming back to Lethbridge as they will be June 28 at Studio 54 with special guest Age of Days.
Their last CD “Big Slice” cracked the top 15 in Canada. The title track cracked the top 10.
“ We can’t wait to come back. Lethbridge has always been very supportive of us. We have a lot of fans and friends who are putting down what we are putting out. So we want to give a little bit of that love back,” said frontman Jonas Tomalty, who just brought his band back from their sixth tour of Europe in three years.
“Western European audiences are great for the unknown band. European audiences are curious. They are willing to spend 10 to 15 Euros, thats 20 or 25 bucks to see a band they have never seen just because they know a venue has good music on Thursday nights. And they are very loyal. Actually they are very much like Canadian and Lethbridge audiences,” he observed.
They just released their latest CD “Live Out Loud” about five weeks ago and immediately went to Europe.
“We put out a single “Respire” just in Quebec and it is the number five single on the charts,” he said. The single for the rest of Canada, “Ultimate Low” is currently shooting up the charts in Canada
He did a lot of traveling and co-writing to create thew music for this new CD, which he described as being more mature.
“I jumped on a plane to L.A. and Nashville to write with people like Marti Fredrickson ( who has worked with a variety of hard rock acts including Aerosmith, Def Leppard, Ozzy Osbourne, Buckcherry and more). I was hoping he’d find time in his schedule, but he ended up wanting to produce the whole album. It was really good to work with him,” he enthused.
“Usually I’d just concentrate on writing about sex, drugs and rock and roll. I wanted to write more than just that. This album really reflects where I’m at now in my life,” said the 33-year old Tomalty.
“It is really a life study. I turned 30 a couple of years ago and my priorities changed. It’s about finding a balance between being part of this crazy business and personal life and physical and emotional health,” he described.
“ I ended up recording half of the album in Montreal and half of it in Nashville,” he said.
“ I wanted to tell a story with this album,” he said.
“We’ll do the big push for the album in Canada in September and October. But this will be a mini tour,” he said of the Lethbridge gig, which is the first in a brief tour including stops in smaller communities like Redcliff, Gibbons and then to Regina before they return home to Quebec.
He always enjoys returning to Lethbridge.
“I can’t wait to get there in front of the fans and share a little bit of the sweat that went into this album. People have always been supportive of Jonas and the Massive Attractions there,” he enthused.
Advance tickets for the June 28 show at Studio 54 are $25. The show begins at 9 p.m.
