Elliot C Way is the visionary front man, singer, and lyricist of the Wild North. Way's die hard commitment to the spirit of 1970s and the music and lifestyle of that era, is very real. His voice is worn by life’s hard lessons and carries an unmistakable rasp that can’t be faked. His words reflect on heartbreak, love, and the struggles of the world we live in today. Elliot lives the life of a young man on the fringes of this modern age. Way has for years worked tirelessly developing community and promoting other people’s music. He has helped many friends carve out their way in Vancouver while putting his own passions on hold. It is finally time that the world hear Way’s voice, and it is finally the time of the North, The Wild North.
The Wild North is that feeling you get when listening to your dad’s record collection for the first time and realizing that singular magic those words, sounds and stories create. Maybe that’s why some call them "dad rock", a title they are not ashamed of, for their influences are not hidden or hard to hear. Dylan, Springsteen, Neil Young, Tom Petty and the Band are obvious in the Wild North’s tones and song stylings. In a world overwrought with new technology, these boys ARE trying to reinvent the wheel, bringing back the five piece band with old wooden guitars and tube amps.
Erik Nelson, John Sponarski, Matt Kelly, and Leon Power make up the official line up of the Wild North. These musicians collectively make up some of Canada’s greatest roots and rock bands. They are members of The Deep Dark Woods, City and Color, Ben Rogers, Bob Sumner, Frazey Ford, and Rich Hope. These dudes are the elite of Vancouver’s roots, country, and rock players and when they come together with Way as the Wild North it would be no stretch to call them a ‘Supergroup’.
The Wild North began their epic quest for freedom in 2013 and have played all over Vancouver at all the best venues. They’ve opened for big bands and they throw kick ass parties. In the five years they've been a band they’ve done a hell of a lot without ever having a record but that’s all about to change. The first full-length Wild North record "Welcome to…The Wild North" is set to be released Fall 2019.
‘Welcome to…The Wild North’, the much anticipated, triumphant debut has been a long time in the making. Over the course of the last five years the band had amassed a collection of demos that could have passed for a debut, but the boys felt they could do better. Working with Erik P.H. Nielsen of Afterlife Studios and enlisting the help of tone wizard and vibe master, Andy Bishop of White Ash Falls and Twin River, as well as legendary engineer Colin Stewart of ‘The Hive’, the band was able to take these songs to the next level, making the record they always dreamt of. Fall of 2019 the world will finally get the chance to hear this long overdue timeless classic. Maybe someday your child will dust off his dad’s collection and find the gem that is ‘Welcome to…The Wild North’.
