Montreal’s finest, The Damn Truth will release their third album “Now or Nowhere” on Friday 7 May via Spectra Musique/Sony Music.
The first single off the album, “This Is Who We Are Now” has now been released and is already beginning to get air-play.
The Damn Truth are a band that, in many ways, has been hiding in plain sight for the last nine years, slowly bubbling up from the underground on to the radar of a wider audience. They have extensively toured Europe and the United States, opened tours for ZZ Top (and partied with Billy Gibbons in his pyjamas), the Sheepdogs, Styx, and Rival Sons, sold out the legendary Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles, sold out the Corona Theatre in their hometown of Montreal, and even had one of their videos featured on the official Janis Joplin Facebook page. It’s a culmination of a lot of blood, sweat and tears that’s come fruition with “Now or Nowhere”.
The Damn Truth (L-R): Tom Shemer (lead guitar, vocals), Lee-la Baum (lead vocals, guitar),
PY Letellier (bass guitar, vocals) and Dave Traina (drums, vocals). Photo by Mikael Theimer
The single is available to pre-save and the album is available to pre-order.
“Now or Nowhere” chronicles the band as they navigate life, love, and everything else in a world gone seemingly upside down and sideways during the past year. Six tracks on the album were produced by legendary Grammy Award winning Bob Rock, Bob’s album production credits include Metallica’s “The Black Album”, Motley Crue’s “Dr. Feelgood”, Bon Jovi’s “Keep The Faith”. He engineered and mixed Aerosmith’s “Permanent Vacation” album. He’s also produced albums for The Cult, The Offspring, Joan Jett, Bryan Adams, David Lee Roth, and many more. This new album was recorded at Bryan Adams’ recording studio “The Warehouse” in Vancouver.
Unable to finish the album with Bob because of COVID-19 restrictions, the band recorded the remaining three songs with help from Juno Award-winning producer Jean Massicotte (Patrick Watson, The Damn Truth) who mixed “Everything Fades”; and the rest of the mixing was done by Vance Powell (Jack White, Chris Stapleton), Nick DiDia (Bruce Springsteen, Rage Against The Machine), and Mike Plotnikoff (Van Halen, Cranberries, Three Days Grace). It’s worth noting there are three Grammy Award winners on this album (Bob Rock, Vance Powell and Nick DiDia).
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When Lee-la and lead guitarist Tom Shemer first met, they were both naked at a hippie festival not far from the Sea of Galilee (where the Bible says Jesus walked on water). “Yeah, totally naked. Just Lee-La and her guitar,” Tom adds. “And we’ve been together ever since. No pretensions. Nothing to hide. Just love.”
“I realise that people see us as a hard-rock band,” singer and guitarist Lee-la Baum says. “We are, but we’re also, deep-down, rock ‘n’ roll hippies. All those things about being self-reliant, and community, and peace, and love. Well, that’s us. That’s who we are.”
The ‘60s ethos of organic self-sufficiency is the lifeblood of The Damn Truth and the secret to a work ethic that has garnered them almost 2 million streams on Spotify, 60,000 followers on TikTok and over 2 million YouTube views.
Lee-la’s voice on the Yves Saint Laurent “Mon Paris” perfume video ad has been heard internationally, doubling their fan base overnight as the word about The Damn Truth and their powerhouse singer circled the globe.
The band’s DIY attitude appealed to Bob Rock and was reminiscent of his early days working with indie bands during his formative years in Vancouver. He was so impressed with The Damn Truth’s attitude and songs, and with Lee-la’s voice, that he decided to record them live off the floor, in keeping with the band’s ‘70s rock roots. This allows for a better band dynamic and ensures the bed tracks have that powerful live gig energy that’s so crucial to the Bob Rock sound. Bob refers to it as “getting the feels”.
“He just got us, what we were about, what we were trying to do,” Lee-la recalls. “He was all about the music and having the band support the song every step of the way. He had a clear vision but was also very open to our suggestions and ideas. I remember our first phone conversation. We were all like giddy teenagers, but his vibe and attitude immediately put us at ease. Same thing in the studio — those first few moments of shock: ‘OMG, we are recording with Bob Rock!!’ Pinching ourselves in disbelief quickly turned into, ‘Yes! This is going to be awesome because he is so awesome.’
He was inviting and encouraging, enthusiastic and excited, like we were! Bob was like a kid in a candy store, pulling out all these incredible vintage guitars and gear. ‘Try this one out for size,’ and so on.”
The first single “This Is Who We Are Now” is a song of empowerment and inspiration. “Like almost everything The Damn Truth has ever produced, this song was born on the road and could be considered a 100% collaboration among the four of us,” Tom points out. “I’ll never forget the moment when I was driving to a gig in eastern Texas and PY was sitting in the passenger seat next to me. I told him, ‘Dude, press record on the voice memo,’ and I hummed, ‘This is who we are now’ into his phone. Months later, as the band laid down the track in the studio, Lee-la walked into the control room, grabbed the microphone and without writing anything down on paper, she did the take. That was it. Done.”
The Damn Truth’s family vibe and down-to-earth accessibility have endeared them to a loyal fan base who have championed the band by word of mouth, with Lee-la as their unofficial den mother.
ALBUM TRACK LISTING
1. THIS IS WHO WE ARE NOW (4:06)
2. TOMORROW (4:27)
3. ONLY LOVE (2:46
4. LONELY (4:43)
5. EVERYTHING FADES (4:31)
6. THE FIRE (4:28)
7. LOOK INNOCENT (4:14)
8. FULL ON YOU (3:44)
9. SHOT ‘EM (4:37)
ALL SONGS WRITTEN BY THE DAMN TRUTH
BAND LINE-UP
LEE-LA BAUM – VOCALS, GUITAR, TAMBOURINE
TOM SHEMER – GUITARS, KEYBOARDS, MANDOLIN, TAMBOUIRINE, VOCALS
PY LETTERLIER – BASS GUITAR, TAMBOURINE, VOCALS
DAVE TRAINA – DRUMS, VOCALS
