NOT YOUR AVERAGE BOY BAND
The Tenors coming to Southam Hall
“The whole perception of the group at the beginning was that we were just singers,” says Remigio Pereira. “We had to demonstrate at some point what we could do creatively.”
On their new album, Under One Sky, Pereira, Clifton Murray, Victor Micallef and Fraser Walters show they’re not a one-note act by including more original songs than ever. For instance, Pereira contributed the song Nada Mais, written shortly after the passing of his father — his mother Joanne is credited with the lyrics.
“When we write music, that’s why it’s inspiring,” Pereira says. “It’s about love and it’s about peace and things we definitely need in this world.”
Despite those impeccable Armani suits, the Canadian quartet had a humble start. Its first tour was of rural Saskatchewan with the guys marvelling at the night sky and pushing their Corolla down a hill to get to the next gas station.
Some eight years later, they’re touring arenas, they’ve had PBS specials, won a Juno award and have done 500 concerts on five continents.
From a recent interview with Micallef and Pereira, here are The Tenors in a few key words:
TEARS
With songs like Johnny Reid’s Angel’s Calling, concertgoers are frequently moved to tears. “We have parents who’ve lost their children either to sickness or accident and they’ll come to me saying, ‘It’s your music that pulled us through.’ For that we’re thankful. That’s the testament that tells us we’re on the right track here. We’re touching people’s lives. It’s a great feeling. There’s nothing like it.” (Micallef ).
CONFLICT
”We’re four very strong individuals, we have very strong opinions and good ones — but you can only go with one idea at a time. Obviously, there are going to be moments where it’s tense, but we get over it each and every time because we realize the end goal. It’s usually because everybody wants the best for the group. Conflict is good. A little bit of tension creates energy that’s very exciting.” (Micallef )
NOVELTY
”We always try to surprise our audience and offer something we never offered before and raise the bar from our last tour. We’re super-excited. A lot of visions we weren’t able to do in the past because of budget, now we’re able to do.” (Micallef )
DVD
Recorded last March, the concert video Under One Sky Live is full of music and emotion. “It’s always crazy to put a show like that together. There are so many moving parts. To have everything come together like that and to have 5,000 people singing the music you love and spreading good vibes through the music, it was really an amazing experience for us. There was definitely an energy we remember from that night.” (Remigio).
ARMANI
”We’d be lying if we said they don’t feel good.” (Micallef ). “It depends on how many Twinkies you had that day.” (Pereira). “The president of Armani likes things very tight. If you’ve indulged in some chocolate for the past week, you might be in trouble.” (Micallef ).