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Out of the rubble of urban sprawl, warehouses and strip malls that is the wasteland of the Greater Toronto Area, comes G-13 - a four piece with a new rock attitude. From Brampton, Ontario, G-13 are four twentysomethings who can crush with the likes of any band on new rock radio.
Comprised of members Ryan Hustler (vocals), Brandon Dawe (guitar), Brian Purvis (drums), and newest addition Sean (“Beastkeeper”) Best (bass), G-13 are a band built on big guitars, bigger grooves, art rock production values and clever rhymes. Friends since grade school, together as a band since 2000, G-13 began by showcasing for various promotional companies in the GTA. They played numerous shows ranging from small clubs to major venues - including Kool Haus and a sold out show at the Opera House – amassing a loyal and ravenous base of music fans along the way.
Spring of 2002 found the band sequestered in the studio with producer j. englishman in the control room. Under englishman’s direction the band further developed their sound and writing. The resulting 4-song ep Treading Water showcased a band with a penchant for aggressive modern rock that incorporated the best of G-13’s hard music influences while allowing the band to begin to define its own unique voice. Replete with clever arrangements, lush layering and breakneck meter shifts, Treading Water saw yet another increase in G-13’s army of supporters, moving all 500 units of its independent pressing.
Through 2003 – 2004, the band continued to build its reputation and fan base by playing numerous shows in the GTA, including a 6 week development residency at the Reverb, capacity performances at Raxx in their hometown of Brampton and SRO shows at ZEN Lounge and The Rivoli in Toronto
Armed with an arsenal of new songs the band headed back into preproduction with englishman in 2005. Over the course of a year the band stripped down their material and sound to its base elements. Songs were reduced to their core hooks. Complex multilayered guitar arrangements were pared down to live off the floor single takes in the tradition of AC/DC and Rage Against the Machine. And in a bold move Ryan Hustler stepped forward determined to find his voice as a vocalist as well as lyricist and MC. The final distillation is G-13’s 2006 full length debut Strangeway, which features 13 compact, guitar driven modern rock anthems that, like the band’s namesake strain of government grown narcotic, pummels the listener into a blissful stupor.
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