The White Wires were a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

band formed in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 2007. The band is in

rotation Rotation, or spin, is the circular movement of an object around a '' central axis''. A two-dimensional rotating object has only one possible central axis and can rotate in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. A three-dimensional ...

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

. The ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...

'' calls the band "energetic and entertaining" with a clear sense of mission, while the ''

Ottawa Sun The ''Ottawa Sun'' is a daily newspaper in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is published by Sun Media. It began publication in 1983 as the ''Ottawa Sunday Herald'', until it was acquired by (then) Toronto Sun Publishing Corporation in 1988. In Apri ...

'' identifies them as one of the city’s "favourite bands". The White Wires first 2008 independent release ''Girly Girly Girly'' was

reissue In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or Single (music), single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New aud ...

d in 2009 on Douchemaster as a self-titled ''The White Wires''. The band's second album ''WWII'' was released in 2010 on Dirtnap. The band's third album ''WWIII'' was released in the summer of 2012.

History

Origin

In July 2007 Manhire (formerly of the Cryptomaniacs) moved to

from

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

. Manhire is the founder of Going Gaga Records, the founder of Ottawa's music festival Going Gaga Weekend, and co-founder of the "Rock N' Roll Pizza Party" (RRPP) events. The White Wires members are Luke Martin (also of Street Meat, Million Dollar Marxists), Allie Hanlon (also of Peach Kelli Pop), and Ian Manhire (also of the Sedatives). The White Wires were formed in September 2007 in

at one of the city's RRPP events. The band's name is taken from a song written by primary lyricist Manhire. The band first played under this moniker at their performance 28 December 2007 at the Cafe Dekcuf.

''Girly Girly Girly'' (2008–2009)

The band's first full-length album ''Girly Girly Girly'' was released independently in 2008 on Manhire's label Going Gaga. The

vinyl album A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near ...

had a limited pressing of 325 copies. It was

d as a self-titled album ''The White Wires'' 3 November 2009 on Atlanta's Douchemaster Records and was made available on Apple's iTunes service 14 September 2009. Also in 2009, the band contributed the single "Let It Go" to ''Ottawa Gaga Volume One'' released on Going Gaga. In August 2009, the band signed for a new album with

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, Oregon's punk rock

music label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produc ...

Dirtnap Records Dirtnap Records is an independent record label specializing in punk rock. It was founded by Ken Cheppaikode while he was living in Seattle, Washington, in 1999. He bought Green Noise record store in Portland, Oregon, in 2005 and then ran the lab ...

. Also, the band finished recording two complete 45's. The first 45 rpm single was "Pretty Girl". It was released 11 September 2009 on Chicago's Trouble in Mind Records. The second 45 rpm single was "Pogo Til I Puke Tonight". This recording was released March 2010 on Toronto's Ugly Pop Records.

''WWII'' (2010–2011)

The band recorded a cover of The Messengers' 1971 song "That's the Way a Woman Is". The four track various artists' compilation album ''Trouble in Mind 7"'' was released 17 April 2010 by Chicago's Trouble in Mind Records. Only 1,000 copies of this

7" EP An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

were pressed as part of a promotional compilation featuring cover songs by Trouble in Mind artists. In 2010 the band recorded a cover of

The Nerves The Nerves were an American power pop trio formed in 1974 and based in Los Angeles, California featuring guitarist Jack Lee, bassist Peter Case, and drummer Paul Collins. All three members composed songs and sang. They managed an internation ...

song "Letter to G" written by Jack Lee. It was initially released as an

audio cassette The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Otten ...

27 December 2010 on Los Angeles' Volar Records titled ''Under the Covers: A Tribute to Paul Collins,

Peter Case Peter Case (born April 5, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His career is wide-ranging, from rock n' roll and blues, to folk rock and solo acoustic performance. Biography Early career Case was born in Buffalo, New York a ...

and Jack Lee''. In March 2010 The White Wires met The

Mean Jeans Mean Jeans are a Portland, Oregon-based punk rock band formed in 2006 by guitarist Billy Jeans and drummer Jeans Wilder. They are known for their loud, humorous, fun-loving songs, and for their music's intentional resemblance to that of the Ramon ...

a band from

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. The two bands became good friends and decided to record together. The first single from this collaboration was "Please Write" released 31 August 2010 on Dirtnap Records. The band's second single from their collaboration "Born on a Saturday Night" from the

split-single In internal combustion engines, a split-single design is a type of two-stroke where two cylinders share a single combustion chamber. The first production split-single engine was built in 1918 and the design was used on several motorcycles and ca ...

''I Remember How / Born on a Saturday Night'' was a song written by The Mean Jeans. The single was co-released 2 September 2010 on

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

P. Trash Records and

Timmeheiehumme Records to coincide with the band's European tour. Their second full-length album ''WWII'' was released to Apple's iTunes service 30 November 2010. The first single from their 2010 album ''WWII'' was "Be True to Your School ('Til You Get Kicked Out)". The band's third album ''WWIII'' is expected for release in July 2012.

Live performances

The band played the

Ottawa Bluesfest Ottawa Bluesfest is an annual outdoor music festival that takes place each July in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. While the festival's lineup historically focused on blues music at its inception, it has increasingly showcased mainstream pop, ...

17 July 2010. The band played the

Halifax Pop Explosion The Halifax Pop Explosion was a music festival and conference that occurred every fall, typically two weeks after Thanksgiving, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The term "Halifax Pop Explosion" also came to be adopted in the 1990s as the name o ...

22 October 2010. The band's release party for ''WWII'' was 23 December 2010 at the Babylon Club in Ottawa.

Band members

*Ian Manhire –

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income ...

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

(2007–present) *Luke Martin –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

(2007–present) *Allie Hanlon –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(2007–present)

Discography

Singles

Split singles

Various artists compilations

Albums

Footnotes

Notes

Citations

References

* * *

External links

PunkOttawa.com

''Standard Issue'' (punk print zine)

Rock N’ Roll Pizza Party (RRPP)
{{DEFAULTSORT:White Wires, The Musical groups established in 2007 Musical groups from Ottawa Canadian garage rock groups 2007 establishments in Ontario