Local band follows Edgefest gig with club dates

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In the midst of a harsh winter storm in February, the boys and girls from six-piece Toronto band Modernboys Moderngirls decided the show they were headlining at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern must go on.

That decision paid off in more ways than one.

First, despite the awful weather that Saturday night, the band played to a sold-out show.

And second, one of the fans happened to be someone working for a local radio station that was organizing the popular summer concert festival Edgefest.

Modernboys Moderngirls then found themselves slotted to perform in front of thousands, with headliners Stone Temple Pilots and Linkin Park also scheduled to appear at the same outdoor festival.

"It was really cool because we got that show without putting a record out," said lead singer and guitarist Akira Alemany, adding they just put out their new record, I Might As Well Break It, themselves in late June.

Edgefest would be just their third show together as a full-fledged band. But Alemany, drummer Brett Millius and bassist Ryan Charkow seemed to be relaxed, hanging out at The Rex on Queen Street a few days before their first big concert appearance.

"I'm not sure what to expect," Alemany said.

"I heard some people bought tickets," Millius joked.

In fact, 17,500 bought tickets to attend the full-day music festival held for the first time at Downsview Park last Saturday.

They seem to have come a long way in a relatively short period of time.

The genesis of Modernboys Moderngirls began with Alemany and Millius, who played together previously before deciding to branch out and start their own band.

"We all met through ads," Millius said.

In the middle of recording material for the recently released album, Charkow came aboard, answering an online ad posting on Craigslist to play bass. Over the past year, keyboardist Alan Zemaitis and backing vocalists Allison Dee and Nicole Freedom were added to the line-up.

While the members of Modernboys Moderngirls all come from different parts of Toronto - from as far north as Bayview and Steeles avenues to Kensington Market in the Annex - they meet in the basement at Millius' pad near Dufferin and Bloor streets to rehearse about three times a week.

Modernboys Moderngirls emerged within the past month, playing a gig at the Wrong Bar for their record release party and a headlining showcase at the North by Northeast Festival in downtown Toronto.

So far, the reception to their music has been mostly positive from both fans and critics. Their sound has been described as garage-soul, dance-rock, and punk-funk from various reviewers, but Modernboys Moderngirls prefer people check them out and hear for themselves.

"You come across how you come across," said Alemany, adding that playing live is a two-way relationship with them and the audience.

Millius agreed.

"It's definitely a 50/50 split," he said. "We're lucky because people actually let loose at our shows."

Hoping for that trend to continue, Modernboys Moderngirls return to the smaller clubs with performances scheduled at the Mod Club on July 26 and back to where things started at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern on Aug. 21.

Visit http://www.myspace.com/modernboysmoderngirls to hear tracks from the current album.