A Conversation with Canadian Rock Band “Across The Board”

We are sharing here our recent conversation with Across The Board a Canadian rock band who will be releasing their single “Don’t Drag Me Down” in conjunction with International Women’s Day March 8!

Twist Online : First of all tell us about the start of your band?.
Across The Board : Across The Board started from garage jams and basement writing sessions that eventually became a Youtube Webseries “Pick Up & Play” which provided an opportunity for the band to test our creativity with covers and multiple instruments–all which led to our ability to find our own sound and eventually write, record and release our debut album “Jane On Fire”.

Twist Online : Our readers would like to know about the band members and their roles in the band?
Across The Board : Paul Nanuwa is our drummer and co-writer with lead singer/guitarist Jacqueline Auguste. Paul comes from an eclectic musical background and has played some large stages around the world with other acts. Jacqueline’s a classically trained musician with a long list of instruments under her belt including keys, strings and even saxophone. Andy, a bass player and percussionist, is one of the founding members of ATB and brings a unique ability to attract just about anyone to local gigs. Damien, the newest member of the band, is an amazing guitarist and comes from a gospel and jazz background–which really rounds out the ATB sound. The band has been together for nearly 4 years and we spend 2 to 3 days a week together playing, writing, or just hanging out in the “cave”–our band-house garage equipped with TV, stereo, bar, couches, and a pinball machine.

Twist Online : Any particular reasons for naming the band “Across The Board”?
Across The Board : The members of Across The Board come for such varying backgrounds and ethnicities and we wanted to support the concept of inclusion as opposed to exclusivity. “Across The Board” seemed like the perfect name.

Twist Online : You are releasing your New Single “Don’t Drag Me Down” on women’s day what’s the inspiration behind releasing it on women’s day and what’s the track about?
Across The Board : “Don’t Drag Me Down” speaks to the premise of standing strong and not allowing bullies or policy-makers to define you. This song comes on the heels of the global women’s march on Washington in response to a lack of focus on women’s issues in the current administration. We thought releasing it on International Women’s Day was a perfect way to add our voice to the movement.

Twist Online : What are expectations from this release? Your fans must be excited?
Across The Board : We are all excited! We are certainly hoping that “Don’t Drag Me Down” releases widely and gets a great response. It’s not only a catchy tune with a fun retro feel, but we believe it will appeal to a wide range of listeners “Across The Board” so to speak!

Twist Online : Are you working on any other new projects as well? When it will be released?
Across The Board : “Don’t Drag Me Down” is the first release of a three song concept EP called “AMENDS” that includes one other upbeat tune “Broken In Time” and a ballad “Are You Really Here”–all with the common theme of moving forward, not living in the past, and not ruminating on broken ties, lost love, regrets. “Amends” is all about making amend with onesself–not the past. The EP will be released during Canadian Music Week in Toronto, Canada April 22 where ATB will be performing among other acts from all over Canada.

Twist Online : What do you enjoy more performing on stage or working in studios?
Across The Board :For me personally (Jacqueline), I think I get the most satisfaction from performing on stage and experiencing how others respond to our songs. But in studio, where our creative process happens, there are so many magic moments it’s tough to really choose between the two!

Twist Online : What’s the biggest award you won so far?
Across The Board : We won an Akademia Award for best pop rock/Americana song in August of 2016 for “Indifference” from our album “Jane On Fire”. You can listen to those tracks at http://www.JaneOnFire.ca and we recently won a Battle of Bands at Alive & Kicking 2016 in Toronto for a major music video production package which we are so excited about using for our upcoming EP “Amends”!

Twist Online : What’s the best way to follow the band for music and updates?
Across The Board : We are most active on Facebook and Twitter: http://facebook.com/acrosstheboardproductions and @ATBmusicCanada on Twitter. We have regular updates on our website: http://acrosstheboardmusic.ca and our EPK for media http://acrosstheboardband.ca

THANKS!!