The Phonies History

The Phonies are a result of over 6 years of band evolution coming out of Newmarket, Ontario. It all began when four highschool friends thought that being in a band "would be cool." The ensuing years were comprised of kicking ass and taking names on stages all throughout…well, at least in parts of…the GTA. The first band formed was called Mr. Kazoo & The Fabulous Blender Children, and the story begins here…

MKATFBC

Mr. Kazoo & The Fabulous Blender Children was comprised of Chris Kettlewell, Daniel Morgan, Brandon Anderson and Jeffers Lennox. They rocked out twice a week in Brandon's basement, and after a month of rehearsals decided it was time to unleash on the world. In only their third show, the band won first place in a "Supernova Battle of the Bands" at the now defunct Ozone Club on College Street. The band's first album was called "My Friend Adam", and received some radio play on local college stations in Toronto. In time, the executive decision was made to change the name of the band to Johnny Popular.

Johnny Popular

Johnny Popular was the same band with a different name. The follow up to "My Friend Adam" was the self-titled "Johnny Popular". Under the new name, the slightly older group of friends enjoyed sharing the stage with Tristian Psionic and The New Grand (of Sonic Unyon Records), as well as Marilyn's Vitamins (of Raw Energy Records). The band also had two television appearances on "The Garage" on CKVR, which led to having a song appear on a television commercial (selling out at the ripe old age of 18). Sadly, Johnny Popular witnessed the local music scene crumble to nothing but really bad punk shows in Aurora, and apart from a hilarious show at a Japanese karaoke bar in Toronto, their concert appearances dwindled. The band still jammed out in basements all around Newmarket because they loved making music, and they even recorded stuff "so that we could show it to our kids and prove we were cool in highschool". But, things were never the same. In 1998, departures to various universities brought about an end to Johnny Popular and its fearsome foursome, but the best was yet to come…

The Phonies

In the summer of 2000, the three surviving members of Johnny Popular-Brandon, Daniel, and Jeffers (Chris didn't die, just moved to Sudbury)- decided that it was high time they reunited for one last hurrah, this time under the name The Phonies. With a new name, a heavier sound, and a rekindled desire to play "in front of millions of screaming fans, or at least our parents" the boys wrote some new material and played a few local shows. Over a three-week period in December 2000 and January 2001, "The Phonies", another self-titled album, was recorded in Daniel's basement (something to keep in mind when judging sound quality). The band was so pleased with their newest creation that they decided it was time for one last attempt at world domination on the musical scene. They describe their music as "the illegitimate love child of Weezer and the Foo Fighters, but with our own original twist and distinctive sound." The Newmarket threesome looks forward to playing more shows, recording more music, and having a blast doing it. "If people dig us, sweet. If not, then get the hell out of Dan's basement!!"