‘Catch of the Day’ – Emerson Drive [VIDEO]
Today's catch of the day comes from a band that had the monster hit of 2008, then tragedy hit the group and their rebound has taken a little time.
But, with today's song, Emerson Drive is back!
Emerson Drive first came to prominence in their home of Canada, releasing their first two albums under the name 12 Gauge. The first album, Open Season, came as the prize for winning a local battle of the bands contest in which they all met. The group charted two singles in Canadia, landing a video on CMT.
By 1999, the sextet changed their name to Emerson Drive, moving to Nashville to find a major label record deal. They recorded their next two albums on the DreamWorks Records label, charting several minor hits on both the U.S. and Canadian country charts.
After DreamWorks' collapse in 2005, Emerson Drive signed to Midas Records Nashville, where they resumed their streak of hit singles, including their first #1 single, "Moments". Just as the band was beginning to hit their stride, bass player Patrick Bourque inexplicably and without notice, left the group in August of 2007. On September 26, of that same year, he was found dead in his Montreal, Quebec home. At the time, the cause of death was not released by police and was eventually determined to be a suicide. The members of Emerson Drive learned of his death while traveling to a concert in Valentine, Nebraska.
By the summer of 2008, the group was again shopping for a contract, as Midas Records closed their country division. They then signed with The Valory Music Co. and the CD which Emerson Drive had been working on, Believe, became a co-partnership with Midas Records, who kept ownership of the CD while The Valory Music Co. was in charge of promotion and distribution of Emerson Drive and Believe.
Believe was released in 2008, featuring the band's next single "That Kind of Beautiful" failed to crack the top-30 and soon after, the band's relationship with Valory and Midas crumbled and they again found themselves without a contract. In June of 2010 the band signed with Open Road Recordings. Their first album on the new label, Decade of Drive" was a greatest hits compilation, featuring the new single "When I See You Again", a tribute to Bourque.
Since the release of their last album 2012's Roll, the quintet has become a quartet, with long-time fiddle player David Pichette retiring. Brad Mates (lead vocals), Danick Dupelle (guitars, vocals), Mike Melancon (drums) and Dale Wallace (keyboards, vocals) have carried on. They have recently released a new EP, Tilt-a-Whirl, and the lead single, "Who We Are", recently climbed to #9 on the Canadian Country music chart. The second single from the project is in our spotlight today. Emerson Drive and "Till the Summer's Gone" is today's Catch of the Day, new music you haven't heard, but you'll want to hear it again.