Edmonton band catch big break

Edmonton-based band Ten Second Epic will be hitting up London's Call the Office on February 23. However, you can guarantee it will be epic but the sensation their music will fill you with won't just last ten seconds.

A great band usually includes a tight group of friends, and these guys have been friends from very early on. Guitarist Craig Spelliscy and drummer Pat Birtles went to public school together where they began playing music together in the fifth grade. Later in high-school, bassist Sandy MacKinnon added to the duos budding musical career, while guitarist Daniel Carriere later joined to complete the instrumental aspects of the band. However, things were not complete until they found a lead vocal to bring the band together. They found the vocals they needed, ironically enough, in music dropout Andrew Usenik.


“I failed out of grade seven music class because I was forced to play the bassoon... Let's just say it wasn't exactly where I saw my love of music going,” Usenik recalls.

In 2003 Ten Second Epic started playing shows in Edmonton and began to really shake-up the music scene. By 2005 the band had a spot on the Canadian Vans Warped Tour and had nearly sold 4,000 copies of their first independent album One More for the Road. They were also voted “Best Band in Edmonton” by SEE Magazine.

Things were looking up for Ten Second Epic and they were heading back into the studio December of that year when their producer dropped out of the project. At first this was a serious blow to the band's budding career, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The loss of their producer compelled management to send their disc to Canadian super producer GGGarth Richardson (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against The Machine, Mudvayne, Hedley) and while touring in Toronto in early 2006 they got the call that changed them forever.

Richardson signed on to produce Ten Second Epic's latest album Count Yourself In and the experience has certainly developed them into a much more solid band.

“GGGarth taught us so much. He taught us the difference between a song and a great song. He taught us that everything in the song has to matter, every single part has to have a reason for being, and nothing is filler,” said Usenik.

Ten Second Epic has also shared the stage with Alexisonfire, The Used, My Chemical Romance and Thrice, as well as playing across Canada and also on the Taste of Chaos tour.

The band will be hitting up Call the Office on February 23, and Usenik seemed like he was looking forward to it.

“It's definitely one of our favourite places to play, especially because we are all 21-year-olds, so when we get to play in a University city we definitely see both the younger music fans and a lot of people our own age,” he added.

If you can't make it out to see these guys then be sure to check them out on the web at www.tensecondepic.com or on Myspace. You can also find their latest release at all HMV outlets, see their music video on MuchMusic and occasionally on FM96.