The Summerlad

The Summerlad were a band from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, formed by singer-guitarist Garrett McClure in 1999 after the demise of The Primrods.[1] McClure was joined by guitarist Sean Grier, bassist Arran Fisher, and drummer Dean Martin.[1] Their first album, 2001's Distance Will Be Swept Up, was released on Calgary's Catch and Release label, and received coverage in publications like exclaim!.[2] Between 2001 and 2005, they released two singles projects, Mandarin Hand and The Golden Hammers Project.[1] The song "Golden Hammers", which had been remixed by artists such as Jace Lasek of The Besnard Lakes in The Golden Hammers Project,[3] reappeared on The Summerlad's second full-length album, Themes: International, released in 2005 on Saved By Radio. Themes:International received significant airplay on Canadian campus radio stations,[4] and The Summerlad appeared at festivals such as North by Northeast in support of the album.[5]

In 2005, The Summerlad also debuted their epic ensemble piece City of Noise, a depiction of a day in the life of an unspecified city, at One Yellow Rabbit's High Performance Rodeo festival; the piece featured 20 performers in addition to the core quartet.[6] City of Noise was released on CD and double vinyl LP in 2007 on Saved By Radio/Saved By Vinyl.[1] Around this time, guitarist Sean Grier left the band, while keyboardist Liz Collins joined.[7]