Top Maniac was formed in the summer of 2001 by long-time friends Sean Strasbourg and brother’s Jordan and Justin Gow mostly out of response to hearing a New Found Glory record for the first time. They recruited Tyler Payne to play rhythm guitar and Mike Ouellette was brought in to play drums. Sean Strasbourg picked up a bass and taught himself to play. The line-up was filled out by Jordan on lead guitar and backup vocals and Justin singing lead, with both of them sharing song writing responsibilities. Over the past couple of years these five fun-loving guys have played numerous shows in their hometown of Ottawa and the surrounding areas, honing their musical skills and always aiming to improve themselves with every show. Top Maniac combine fast-paced hard hitting guitar-driven rock with melodic, catchy vocals and meaningful lyrics that deal with the emotions every kid faces growing up like heartbreak, failure, deception, betrayal, jealousy, love, loss, apathy and everything in between. Their simple yet effective song-writing melds clever lyrics with strong melodies to create songs that nearly anyone can relate too. On stage, Top Maniac deliver every song with intensity and emotion but their optimistic attitude and sense of humour shine through in every performance, and make for a fun live experience. In the end if the fans liked the show, the band considers it a success. But they always try to out-do themselves the next show, and are constantly working towards improving the experience for the people at the show. Top Maniac have a broad musical taste ranging from emo to hardcore to underground rap to old school rock n roll, and are influenced by such artists as Fall Out Boy, Thrice, New Found Glory, Cauterize, A Static Lullaby and Dashboard Confessional. The guys in Top Maniac are easy-going, crazy and love to have a good time on and off stage, and will always hang out with fans and friends at shows. Many people predict big things in the future for Top Maniac, but for now they are just concentrating on making the music they want and keeping their out-look on life positive, because hey man, it’s just rock and roll.
Mike Ouellette 05 12月 2003 12:00
