Our Lady Peace
By: Vesper A. Crow

Our Lady Peace hits it not just big but huge!

Band members: Vocals: Raine Maida, Guitar: Mike Turner, Bass: Duncan Coutts, Drums: Jeremy Taggart.
Discography: Clumsy, 1997; Naveed, 1994
Sales: 2.5 million
Importance: The group's rise to the top is unparalleled. Formed in 1992, when singer Raine Maida answered an ad by a band looking for a singer, Our Lady Peace opted out of the club scene and immediately cut a small demo tape with the help of producer Arnold Lanni. The tape ended up in the hands of a Sony Records exec, who signed the band on the spot and promptly sent the foursome into the studio. They emerged with their first record, Naveed. The response shocked even them: The record went platinum within the year and before they knew it, they were opening for The Rolling Stones.

Typically, some members of the hipper-than-thou music scene have been making whining noises about OLP's quick rise. But the intense live shows, the intelligent lyrics and the uncommon song structures show an unquestionable depth of talent. From the 22-year old whiz-kid drummer to the sexy, charismatic frontman, the band has an achingly earnest commitment to music. "You've got to keep it pure" says Raine, doing the Jimmy Dean cool thing and making it work. "You enter as a musician and if you're not careful, you end up as an entertainer."
Just for the record, OLP's second release, clumsy, is selling more than 15, 000 units a week in Canada and 25, 000 in the States.

Influences: The beatles, Sinead O'Connor: "Her music is naked, plain and basic"

www.OurLadyPeace.com

Meet the band!
The Beginning

At the start of the life of this talented young band, the band was composed of 4 people- Raine Maida, Chris Eacrett, Mike Turner, and a drummer (not Jeremy). Their first song was called 'Out of Here'. It was made in 1992 and although it was done for a school project it is one of OLP's best songs. A video was made to go along with the song; it was black and white and featured the band playing. The song was rarely played, and did not attract much attention. In 1993 the band made three singles with Arnold Lanni, which caused the band to make a deal with Sony Music. Only a few months later, Our Lady Peace signed a full record deal with Sony Music Canada. This gave them full creative control, which was very important to the band. In 1994 the group released their first album called 'Naveed'. The record was a hit. Starseed, one of the singles off of naveed, became popular all over the US. That band would soon become one of the biggest bands of the decade.

Starting Up and Becoming Popular

After many popular songs such as Naveed, The Needle and the Damge Done, and Hope came out, Our Lady Peace started to tour the States. When OLP was finished touring, they came out with their second album; Clumsy. The first single, Superman''s Dead was instantly popular. The video made was just as popular as the song. It featured a girl being trapped, wondering if superman was ever going to save her. Then came Clumsy, an even bigger hit than Superman's Dead; the band was becoming more popular then they had ever hoped. Our Lady Peace then started to do 'Edgefest', which they would continue to do for some years. They also did videos to go along with their songs, which all have great meaning. Our Lady Peace was nominated for 4 awards at the Much Music Video Awards. They came home with two very important awards- Best Band and Best Video for Superman's Dead. This year they came back withthe same awards, but for is anybody home, beating matthew good band! Their new site is up now, and the new cd 'spiritual machines' comes out in December!

The Present and Future

Many concerts and interveiws later, Our lady Peace released their third album, 'Happiness is not a Fish you can Catch'. This album was also a hit, with extemely popular songs such as 'One Man Army' and 'Theif'. At the moment Our Lady Peace is doing the 'Summersault' tour accross Canada. This band has accomplished so much, and the meaning in their songs have touched us greatly as a nation. Thank you Our Lady Peace! Their 4th album, Released in 2001, was also a great hit featuring singles In Repair and Life!

Raine Maida
Raine Maida's real name is Micheal Maida, but he thought it would be too confusing to have two mikes in the group so he took his middle name and had people call him that. He was born on Febuary 18, 1970; he is 31 years old. His parents are divorced, and he has a younger brother. He attended the Universitiy of Toronto and was one credit away from getting a degree in criminology.

Jeremy Taggart
Jeremy Taggart was born on April 21, 1976. He is 25 years old. He has two brothers and one sister. His musical influence is jazz.

Mike Turner
Mike Turner was born on June the 5th, and was raised in Brantford, England. He has three sisters, and his musical influence is punk.

Duncan Coutts
Duncan Coutts was born on Febuary the 4th, and is an only child. He was the original bassist of Our Lady Peace, but then chose his education over music. After college he re-joined the band.

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