bio

In 2003, the Fathoms emerged, phoenix-like, from the remains of the White Lights, a garage rockin' Kitchener band. Former members Conal Smiley and Jess Spieker, the night after severing themselves from the Lights, formed the new band, recruiting Spieker's then-and-still-hubby Eric "bangs-the-drums" Bell. It was a recipe for success. Spieker, a classically trained cellist, Bell, a precise and powerful percussionist, and Smiley, a zealous music geek to make all others look tame by comparison, would collectively give birth to a musical leviathan named the Fathoms.

Hanging on to some of the songs of the White Lights that Smiley co-wrote, the Fathoms suffered a sort of sequel syndrome. Much of the garage sound of the White Lights carried over into the Fathoms. Listening to the Drugstore Hero ep, the Fathoms' first release, one can hear the garage remnants, but also, a band refining their sound. While many would go on to praise this ep, including Echo Magazine.

As the band grew as songwriters, they began to feel the limitations of their 3-member setup. Smiley, craving to escape the verse-chorus-verse structure of songwriting, and to delve into experimentation with sound and form, found himself locked in a position he could not escape. It was simply not possible to do what he wanted with just himself, Bell, and Spieker. Smiley's saviour came in the form of one John Gavanti, a tall and amiable northern-Ontarian with an affinity for bagels and coffee. Originally a friend of Bell's from class at university, Gavanti gradually became friends with both Smiley and Spieker. But it was not until March of 2004 that Smiley would pull aside Gavanti and ask him to join the band. Gavanti accepted, and the Fathoms became a four-piece, the new member acting as Smiley's extra limb, providing a second guitar to make noise and other pretty sounds.

During initial recording for the new LP over the summer months of 2004, synthesizer parts were added to the new songs, and, eventually, the songs could no longer be performed with just four musicians. Smiley found himself in another predicament. Looking all around, he finally found his solution standing right in front of him. Cat Collins, Smiley's belle of 2+ years, reluctantly joined the band during the summer, initially uneasy due to her lack of musical experience. But, several practices later, after witnessing the lack of finesse in the playing of Smiley, Bell, and Gavanti, (Spieker doesn't really need to practice, she's the most professional musician of us all) Collins became more relaxed, and settled comfortably into her new role as synth player.

Having only played one show as of yet as a 5-piece, at the El Mocambo in Toronto in October of '04, the Fathoms look forward to any opportunity to play live, and share with any willing listener their unique brand of experimental noise-pop (i'm still looking for a good descriptive line... help me out here).