Exit This Side inspired by SeaBus
Local band headlines all-ages Centennial concert

Jan-Christian Sorensen
jsorensen@nsnews.com

IN hindsight, they could've been called the MV Burrard Beaver.

Longtime bandmates and Carson Graham grads Ben Wooton and Dan Caetano were preparing to disembark from the SeaBus (remember that mode of transit, fellow frustrated commuters?) about six years back when they hit upon their new band name in big, bold and cherry-red lettering: Exit This Side.

Thanks to TransLink, the band took its first baby steps toward a healthy, long-term career and loyal audience here on the North Shore.

Tonight the band is headlining an all-ages Youth Hunger Awareness show at the Centennial Theatre starting at 7:30 p.m. Local acts Surefire and Crowned King will open the concert. The band will donate a portion of the proceeds from the concert to the Harvest Project.

The show follows hot on the heels of Exit This Side's new self-titled CD, which was unveiled three weeks ago at a launch party at Richard's on Richards.

Wooton handles lead vocal duties while Caetano is the man on rhythm guitar.

The pair had their own acoustical group in high school but expanded by the end of Grade 11 to include bassist Craig McLaren and lead guitarist Tarek Elneweihi.

The last piece of the puzzle -- and a bit of a self-styled enigma himself -- is the man on skins, who McLaren and fellow bandmates refuse to identify by surname, only saying that his first name is Julian and he goes by the stage name of "Ghoulz".

"What is this guy, on the lam?" I ask McLaren.

"No, nothing like that," he replies. "He's from Handsworth, but we're not allowed to give his last name."

Even in band photos, it's clear Julian the enigma is trying to create his own "out-there" persona.

Heck, it worked for Dee Snider and Devo, so why not?

Exit This Side will also be playing later in May at the Commodore as part of a tribute CD launch party for longtime East Coast rockers Trooper.

They recorded a cover of "The Moment That it Takes" on the album, joining such established bands as DOA, The Real MacKenzies and Dayglo Abortions.

"It's getting exciting now. We've got this new album we're totally happy with and everything's just going really well," said McLaren.

He said one of the biggest thrills for the band has been the recognition and fans they have attracted because of their music.

"It's really cool to say you're in this band and people say 'Oh yeah? I've heard of you guys. It sort of makes it all worthwhile."

It's been a real accomplishment for these guys to have held together for six years now -- and a testament to their friendship outside the band.

"We're all good friends, we all get along well and we're all understanding of each other. We see past those petty differences."

To that end, the songwriting process is designed to be a collaborative effort, with each member of the band getting a crack at writing their own songs for the album.

While McLaren said the band wanted to improve vastly on their first demo CD released a year-and-a-half ago, two songs from that EP have made the jump to the new release -- "She Goes Down" and "Wasted".

But don't rush out to your local HMV or Sam's to look for a copy. You can only get it at their shows and on <www. exithiside.com>.

Their first CD spent a month on the HMV Indie Charts last year but McLaren is hoping for greater penetration with this latest offering.

As for style, there's one inevitable comparison to be made when listening to the CD -- Ben's almost eerie similarity to Geddy Lee of Rush.

It happens a lot, said McLaren, who sounds none too pleased when I note it over the phone.

It's clear he's been asked about it more than a few times.

"We were on a Web site called Garageband.com and in order to move up people rate the bands and half the comments were about him sounding like the lead singer from Rush, which is too bad because I'm not too big a fan of Geddy Lee. I like to think that (Wooton's) better than Geddy Lee."