RyanKantor.com

Yes, it’s been more than a week (actually, it’s been three), but I felt it was necessary to allow more time for the Digital Summer post to garner some more views. My latest featured band is a Canadian group called The Veer Union. The Veer Union is a hard rock group that hails from Vancouver. I first heard of them when I saw Black Stone Cherry, Theory of a Deadman, and Hinder in concert a couple of years ago. The Veer Union was the opening act, and right before the show, I looked them up and checked out their single at the time, “Seasons.” I liked the song immediately, and while they were only on stage briefly when I went to the show, they were very good and their front man, vocalist Crispin Earl, was cool and genuinely grateful to be there. He thanked the audience numerous times for coming out.

I have since checked out some of The Veer Union’s other material, and it has not disappointed. I like Crispin Earl’s vocal style, and the guitars (courtesy of James Fiddler on lead and Eric Schraeder on rhythm), in my opinion, have an understated power. The backing vocals from Fiddler and and Schraeder also add another cool element to this band. Marc Roots (bass) and Neil Beaton (drums) round out the quintet.

The Veer Union, after releasing an independent album called Time to Break the Spell in 2006 while going by the name “Veer”, released its first album under their current name in 2009. The album is entitled Against the Grain, and was released under Universal Motown Records. Against the Grain has spawned three singles, including the aforementioned hit, “Seasons,” as well as “Youth of Yesterday” and “Darker Side of Me” (click on the titles to hear the songs).

The band is currently working on its next release, called Divide the Blackened Sky. There is no release date as of yet, though it is expected to be out sometime this year, so that is something to look forward to from yet another very underrated rock group.