BY KALISHA MENDONSA
Toronto band Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker (USS) is hyped and ready to rock the Enmax Centrium alongside Hedley and Classified on April 6.
“It’s always a fabulous time (touring) mainly because you get to explore new things about Canadians and the provinces and cities across the way,” said Jason ‘Human Kebab’ Parsons, the turntablist in the duo.
“I think Ontarians have a tendency to be really consumed by the greater Toronto area but if you actually get outside of it and you go coast to coast, you get to know fellow Canadians and see the landscapes that they get used to every day.”
Parsons met Ashley (Ash) Buchholz nine years ago while they were each performing in separate bands as opening acts.
The two hit it off immediately and began recording in Parsons’ parent’s basement in a small town outside of Toronto.
“We started performing and never dreamt in our wildest dreams that we would have been to nine countries many years later and that we would have had criss-crossed Canada probably a dozen times or more,” said Parsons.
Parsons says that coming back to Alberta is very inspiring for them because of the vast and beautiful landscape. He explains that the first time he ever heard a song of his and Ash’s creation outside of Toronto was when he was leaving a 21-day shift from Cold Lake, and was driving to the Edmonton airport.
“That was kind of like our first reach outside of Toronto and I just happened to be there,” he said. “It was like two worlds converging.”
When the duo hits the Centrium, Parsons says that they are ready to let Red Deer “Witness the fitness of a USS show.”
The Toronto musicians have been to Red Deer once so far and Parsons says they are very excited to come back and show Albertans what they can really do.
Parsons also said that Red Deer concert goers can expect USS to “hammer through” the very singles that brought them so much success on Calgary and Edmonton radio stations which include Hollow Point Sniper Hyperbole, Laces Out, Damini, This Is The Best and Yin Yang.
What sets USS apart from other artists is their use of turntables mixed with Buchholz’s singing. When the two met, Buchholz approached Parsons to mix their influences of grunge, hip-hop, alternative rock and 50’s-60’s pop music.
“Ash sat behind the drums and played me the two-step beat that he wanted, pressed play on a cassette of Buddy Holly and then he referenced this Bittersweet Symphony drum and bass remix from the 90’s.”
“As soon as he started hitting me with all of this stuff all I could say was wow. He sang an acoustic song over these beats and I was like, I totally get it,” said Parsons.
Ash and Parsons have worked hard to develop an identity for their band.
They have grown from their attraction to minimal beats and acoustic recordings to a more developed and ‘full’ sound production.
Parsons maintains that the duo work hard to remember the “Original incarnation of USS. When we first started getting bigger, we were a little bit intimidated,” he recalls.
“We were always drawn to the allure of how minimal and basic we could keep it. However, in the world of music, everybody’s doing their thing and you really need to stand out and accentuate your features.”
Parsons says he and Ash are excited to come back to perform in the west because of the support and popularity gained on Alberta stations.
The Red Deer concert will take place on April 6 in the Enmax Centrium. Tickets are available online at the Ticketmaster web site and on the USS music site.