Jon and Roy

Jon and Roy is a Canadian three-piece folk rock and reggae band from Victoria, British Columbia.

Jon and Roy
Jon and Roy at the original Richard's on Richards venue, in Vancouver on January 23, 2009.
Background information
OriginVictoria, British Columbia, Canada
GenresFolk rock, reggae
Years active2003 (2003)–present
Associated actsBocce Avocado
Jon Middleton
Ocie Elliott
Current Swell
Websitejonandroy.ca
MembersJon Middleton
Roy Vizer
Louis Sadava
Past membersRyan Tonelli
Dougal McLean

Career

Singer-songwriter and guitarist Jon Middleton and percussionist Roy Vizer met at University of Victoria. They formed Jon and Roy, and began performing around Victoria and Vancouver in 2003. They added multi-instrumentalist Dougal Bain Mclean in 2004 and recorded their first album, Sittin’ Back, in 2005 with recording engineer & producer Stephen Franke.[1]

After traveling together in Australia, Jon and Roy went on hiatus from 2006 to 2007, during which Middleton recorded the solo album, After A Trip, while McLean and Vizer relocated to Vancouver. In 2007, Jon and Roy reformed and the duo recorded the album Another Noon, once again with Stephen Franke, at Blue Heron Studios. The album's title track was featured in a Volkswagen TV commercial that ran for nine months across the USA, giving the group considerable profile in that country. The success of the album also spawned the YouTube hit "Little Bit of Love".[1]

In April 2010, Jon and Roy released Homes. Reviewers stated the music "wants you to get outside, enjoy the sunshine and leave all your material possessions behind." Homes earned them further airtime and exposure, as well as a placement in a six-month Scotiabank ad campaign, in addition to a headlining performance on Canada Day.[2]

With the fourth album, Let It Go, the band were deemed notable, by some critics, for their "folk sound, their light swing rhythm and their predominant use of acoustic instrument."[3] Their fifth LP, By My Side, released in 2014, was written during jams at Roy Vizer's house.[4]

Discography

Albums
  • 2005 Sittin' Back
  • 2008 Another Noon (2009 US)
  • 2010 Homes
  • 2012 Let It Go
  • 2014 By My Side
  • 2015 Riverside
  • 2017 The Road Ahead is Golden
  • 2019 Here

References
  1. "Artist Jon and Roy biographical info" Archived 2016-03-01 at the Wayback Machine, CBC
  2. "Album Review: Homes by Jon & Roy, by Aldo Singer, Indie Media Mag, April 29, 2010
  3. "Jon and Roy – Let it Go album review" by Melissa Mendoza, MCRemix website
  4. "Jon and Roy By My Side" by Alex Hudson, Exclaim! website, May 20, 2014
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.