Nowhere Band is going places
Foursome continues to draw attention country-classic rock-modern mix
It started out as four working men and good friends, getting together for a basement jam and to practise music. As the friendship grew, something else happened – a popular local cover band surfaced.
Presenting a mix of country, classic rock and some modern music, Nowhere Road has been attracting a larger following as they please audiences by doing songs by other artists.
“ e plan is to keep the momentum going,” said Matt O’neill, 37, of Truro.
“We’d like to increase the frequency of gigs and we hope to maintain and continue to grow our following. It’d be nice to strive for more high visibility shows.”
With O’neill performing on drums, the band also includes Matt Macdonald on guitar, Mark Macdonald on bass and Phil Miles on rhythm guitar. All four are involved with vocals.
“We’ve been together ve years now,” said Matt Macdonald, 38, of Masstown. “Every year has been getting busier in terms of the number of gigs we do and the number of people that hang out with us. Playing live versus jamming, this has been really great for the con dence.
“It’s really been a combination of experience and confidence; what’s really built our confidence up has been performing together often before audiences. I feel that we all have been improving as musicians.”
O’neill said when they first started playing together, “we would be nervous if 30 people
were in attendance. Now, we can play before 300 and it’s just another night.”
Miles, 38, of Alton, shared his version of how the band came about.
“I’m kind of the fifth wheel, these guys have known each other all their lives. We decided to get together and have a basement jam; our rst gig together playing before an audience was because of a bene t for a lady who had a medical problem. e Truro Horsemen’s Club were having a battle of the bands competition and we decided to enter.”
Miles explained that up until the competition, the four-piece band had no name.
“Jay Roode, a friend, came up with the name Nowhere Road,” Miles said. “We
Placed second among several bands. After the competition, we realized we had
enough songs and material to get out and play for our own live shows.”
Mark (Macdonald) shared that the band soon began playing at private parties,
campgrounds, a number of weddings and local bars.
“We try to pick songs by popular artists,” said Mark, 37, of Greenfield. “In picking these songs we try to make selections other bands don’t usually play.” Miles agreed. “Although it’s important to play songs people know and enjoy – we still want to be di erent. We get a great response from April Wine songs and from the east coast- avoured songs, like by the Rankins.”
e band has had its share of highlights, generated by behindthe-scenes commitment.
“One of the big crowds we played before would have been at Onslow Rocks,” Matt MacDonald recalled. “ ere would have been a few hundred people at the junior high school; it was great, it made you feel like a rock star.”
O’neill re ected on Nowhere Road being part of the entertainment during Mud Hero held at Ski Martock.
“We played there two years in a row, there were thousands of people coming and going throughout the day. It was really exciting, it was de nitely a new chapter as far as attendance goes. Another highlight that comes to mind, we had the opportunity to open, warm up the crowd, for Signal Hill on two occasions.”
Miles said he feels that a thank you is in order.
“We de nitely want to thank the people who come out and support us,” he said.
“ e numbers have been growing, we really appreciate the local support.”
Band members explained that to set up the band equipment, play and entertain and then pack everything away following a show, takes six to eight hours.
“We’re fortunate that all four of us work Monday to Friday and that we have the weekend open,” Mark said. “We all appreciate how our families support us, it’s a hard struggle to juggle between shows and family sometimes, but we make it work. Being on stage is a high, it’s an adrenalin rush and it’s addictive.”
To learn more about Nowhere Road – go to @Nowhere_ Road902 .