First You Get the Sugar
| Company type | Band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Founder | Adam Kagan, Mick Mendelsohn (from earlier bands) |
| Defunct | 2015 |
| Fate | Disbanded |
| Headquarters | Montreal , Canada |
Key people | Adam Kagan, Mick Mendelsohn, Dan Moscovitch, Alex Silver |
| Products | Albums, EPs, Singles |
Number of employees | 4 (band members) |
First You Get the Sugar was a Montreal-based Canadian rock quartet consisting of Adam Kagan (guitar and vocals), Mick Mendelsohn (bass and vocals), Dan Moscovitch (drums), and Alex Silver (guitar and vocals).
Their musical approach fused elements of post-punk, new wave, classic rock, 1960s pop, and 1970s soul and funk. In January 2012, The Gazette from Montreal characterized their sound as "danceable, irresistibly catchy... and noted their promising trajectory.
History
Established in 2007 through the combination of Kagan’s and Mendelsohn’s earlier bands, the group’s name is derived from a line in the The Simpsons episode "Lisa's Rival," which itself pays tribute to the movie Scarface (1983).
Between 2009 and 2010, they independently produced their debut self-titled album in Montreal. This record was mastered at Masterdisk in New York City and officially released in May 2011.
In December 2011, during an intensive 16-hour session at Converse’s Rubber Tracks studio in Brooklyn, they recorded three songs with Grammy-winning engineer Geoff Sanoff. Their work attracted attention from prominent media such as CNN and MTV.
The initial single "Pearson" was unveiled in January 2012. Later that June, the band performed at the Rubber Tracks studio in Toronto as part of the North by Northeast Festival.
They made appearances on CBC Radio and were featured in The Gazette in January 2012, which compared their style to that of Paul McCartney. Their September performance at Pop Montreal earned highly favorable reviews.
In March 2012, they showcased their music at Toronto’s Canadian Music Week festival to positive acclaim. The second track from the Rubber Tracks sessions, "Hannah," premiered on Montreal’s CHOM-FM that same month and received considerable airplay.
October 2014 marked the release of the single "Foreign Lands" along with its video, which CHOM-FM designated as the "Big Shiny New Song of the Week." On October 23, 2014, they performed at New York’s CMJ Music Marathon. Shortly thereafter, on October 28, their Foreign Lands EP was released; it was hailed as a significant artistic advancement blending classic rock roots with contemporary indie rock influences.
Their final major live appearance occurred at Pop Montreal on September 17, 2015, followed by a Halloween event at a club. By December 2015, the band ceased activity and their website became inactive.
Members
- Adam Kagan
- Mick Mendelsohn
- Dan Moscovitch
- Alex Silver
Discography
Albums
- First You Get the Sugar (self-released, 2011)
- Foreign Lands (self-released EP, October 2014)
Singles
- "Tell Your Mama"/"Sabre Rattlin'" (self-released, 2011)
- "Pearson" (self-released, 2012)
- "Hannah" (self-released, 2012)
- "Foreign Lands" (self-released, 2014)
See also
- List of alternative rock bands
- List of indie rock musicians
- List of Montreal music groups
- Music of Quebec
External links
- , official website of the band
- CNN Interview