"We had a goal," states Chico, guitarist for pop-punk-rock banc Not By Choice about their humble beginnings. "In '95, we went to see Lollapalooza, watching the bands saying how cool it was. So we swore that by 2001, we had to play it. Lollapalooza died, so we played the Warped Tour in 2001. Our goal was met."
With two demos, major label interest and a stellar roster of opening slots for the likes of Sum 41 and Pennywise, big things are afoot for this band from the small town of Ajax, Ontario (gee, where've you heard that before?). Garnering interest for their intense live shows and devastating good looks, Not By Choice are somewhat humbled by the attention. Laughs guitarist-singer Mike, "To think that in '95, we couldn't play our guitars for shit - now we're looking at record deals!"
Staying away from the pop-punk tag that hounds virtually every spiky-haired band, Not By Choice prefer to be dubbed a rock band. Of course, there are still bits of a punk element in what they do, but Mike and Chico reveal that they feel the rock.
"Up until three years ago, I don't think we even had a style," admits Mike. "We were just following the influences we had at the time, but now we're working then into our own sound. Basically, that means stealing from three elements: punk, rock and emo. You can't call that pop-punk."
Adds Chico, "We've always been fans of the rock. When we were learning to play, we'd be listening to to Green Day, Nirvana and Hole, but my brother was into G N'R, Bon Jovi and Cinderella. I loved it, but my friends weren't into it. I'd go home after school and belt it out in the closet."
Now he can let it out, like hometown buddies Sum 41, who constantly let you know it's all about the metal. As natural as Manic Panic in a pre-teen's medicine cabinet, being from Ajax immediately brings up the Sum 41 connection. Especially given their recent invite to play across Canada come September. But it isn't to the point of bothering them. Yet.
"It's cool, 'cause we're friends anyway and it's only helping so far," states Mike.
Chico agrees. "You get those detractors who are like, 'You're only good cause you're friends with Sum 41,' but we don't care. Most people are like, 'Oh, that band's from Ajax,' then they scream and go mental. They think it's Disneyland or something!"
