The Junction To Headline The Shack, by Jaymin Proulx

If your weekends have been plagued with humdrum tunes blaring from your stereo,
come to the Out Back Shack on Friday, October 15 to be energized and uplifted by
Toronto pop-rock band, The Junction.
The Junction is a trio, that has been working together for more than a decade si
nce forming in high school. Singer-guitarist Brent Jackson, bassist Matt Jameson
and drummer Mike Taylor have played hundreds of shows across Canada including E
dgeFest and The Virgin Festival, and have toured with the likes of Moneen, The P
lanet Smashers and Bedouin Soundclash.
Quoting older musical influences such as Pearl Jam and Radiohead, Jameson cites
other current bands, as well as Brit Pop, as staples in their steady diet of mus
ic. They know that in order to succeed in the music business, listening to bands
both past and current is what fuels their desire to create honest, upbeat songs
and chart-topping hits containing exciting and fresh material. Gus Van Go and W
erner F are two producers who worked with The Junction, in addition to working p
reviously with the Stills, The Trews and Priestess.
Their third album, titled Another Link in the Chain, was intended to be an album
about living a simple life. The visual representation of a circle of smoke on t
he album cover was actually liquid ink dropped in water, a graphic design trick
used by Taylor's brother. This visual representation, the twisting and turning o
f a chain, is meant "to be seen as organic like water ... fluid with a full spec
trum of light, (synonymous) with living life without boundaries," said Jameson.
And life can have its twists, turns and unexpected pitfalls. When asked about th
e interpretation of the song Miles in Denial, Jameson confides the song is about
the drummer's brother who battles with alcoholism and fights a promise with him
self to stay sober. This is an emotional exposure, uncovering the layers of the
song with haunting vocals and a slow-yetpowerful, instrumental performance. It l
ets fans see a dark, yet real-to-the-bones addiction that can infect anyone youn
g, old, musician or not.
A positive spin to their adventures is the excitement of travelling and seeing w
here they go. The Junction have been to Whistler, British Columbia to hang with
Devon Soltendieck on MuchMusic, as well as Hannah Sung at the MuchMusic headquar
ters in Toronto. They have been showcased on MuchOnDemand in March 2010 for thei
r release of their second album. Surely there is a great future ahead, and The J
unction are, as their songs states, "Wanting to be another link in the chains /
Keeping the music around," and taking a highly anticipated adventure.