The Musician Spotlight Series shines a light on up-and-coming bands and solo acts creating heartfelt and original work across genres, giving them an opportunity to talk about their music, their collaborators, and why they do what they do.
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“East Coast Rock Band Andre Pettipas and The Giants’ latest release is a 22-track album recorded at the legendary El Mocambo in Toronto, ON. The double album includes tracks from their sophomore album No Fools No Fun, and 5 brand new songs capturing the no holds barred, kick-ass ethic the band brings to everything they do. The No Fools No Fun album released in 2021 received national recognition with the track “Sympathy Card” hitting #27 on Billboard’s Active Rock Chart and top 50 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Chart in Canada, and “Overtime” was used in a montage during game 4 of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Most recently, No Fools No Fun was nominated for the 2022 ECMAS for Rock Recording of The Year. The Nova Scotia natives continue to grow in the industry with multiple singles on the nationally syndicated show, “East Coast Countdown” and they have showcased internationally at Live at Heart (Orebro, Sweden), ASEAN Music Showcase festival, Bangkok Music City festival and Canadian Music Week. They were also named Arkells “Leather Jacket” cover contest winners, were Casino NS Artist in Residence Finalists from 2016-2018, Q104 Homegrown Champions out of 120 bands in 2017, and Jim Beam National Talent Search Regional Winners (Halifax) in 2019″.
When did you know you wanted to be a musician?
Honestly the first time I heard Our Lady Peace’s, “4 am” I knew that I was hooked on music for life. I was six years old and my sister had just got a Columbia House order in the mail. I remember seeing the “Clumsy” album cover in the group of the dozen CDs that arrived that day and from first look I knew it was something I was intrigued by.
We listened to the album and there was something about Raine’s voice and the instrumentation in that song that had me sold.
Are you trained? How did you develop your skills?
I’m a self taught musician who spent many hours in my parents basement learning how to play guitar and stretching my vocal range through trial and error. I was also really into sports growing up so my extra curricular activity schedule was very busy. Whenever I’d make it home from whichever sport I was playing at the time I would go to my room to play guitar and sing until it was time to close my eyes for sleep.
My best buds and I started our first band at age 12 covering bands like Motley Crue, Rush, Poison, Led Zeppelin etc so I was reaching for stars from the very beginning, haha. Once we had a short cover set ready we started writing our own songs, competing in local battle of the bands and getting on any stage that would have us.
As I got into my late teens I realized this is something I could do as a career and began honing in on my skills by fine-tuning my range, focusing on more live performances and expanding my musical repertoire.
Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
My musical taste is very broad, but for some of the most direct influences sound wise I would have to say Butch Walker, Tom Petty, Blind Melon, Nirvana, The Black Crowes and anything 90’s rock/pop based (bands like Gin Blossoms, Matchbox etc.).
How would you describe your sound?
We have defined our genre as “Grease Coast Rock N’ Roll” which can quickly be explained as southern power pop rock. We are huge fans of the warmth and raw feel to southern rock, but love huge choruses and the pop sensibility of those 90s rock/pop songs. Our sound is recognizable but organic. We are a group that definitely wears our influences on our sleeves.
What’s your favourite tune in your repertoire and why?
This changes quite frequently but my current favourite one to perform would be, “Definition Of A Dweeb.” This track is one that is previously unreleased and the first listen of it is on our “Live At The ElMo” record. We’re recording the studio version for our next studio album this spring. It’s a song about those past adolescent woes while not taking yourself so seriously looking back at how easy things could have been if we knew then what we know now.
We took influences from “Teenage Dirtbag” and an ode to The Pixies, “Where Is My Mind?” in this track. During the bridge there’s a drum and bass breakdown so I usually leave the stage and go dance with the audience for a bit. It’s one that new listeners catch onto right away and the energy in the room seems to ignite when we perform it.
What can audiences expect from one of your live shows?
CONNECTION.
Our main goal with every performance is to grab ahold of the audience and throw our energy back and forth with them. We want to make our fans forget about all the regular world problems for the length of our time on stage and just enjoy the music.
We’re going to go out every show (no matter if it’s for 5 people or 5000) and give them a performance to remember. The stage is our playground and we like to have fun up there; which in return makes for a high energy performance that is different every show. We want the live music to make you feel ALIVE.
Where can we find your music?
Website: https://andrepettipasandthegiants.com
Twitter: @APandTheGiants
Facebook: www.facebook.com/andrepettipasandthegiants
Instagram: @apandthegiants