Ten Too Many

Ten Too Many was a ten piece third wave ska band from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Biography
Origin
Formed in early 2000 by Mat Leveillé and Colin Kelly, Ten Too Many originally consisted of various students from Collège Jeanne-Sauvé, the line-up eventually settling on Leveillé (Guitar and Vocals), Colin Kelly (Trombone), Dave Arbez (Drums), Eliot Britton (Bass), Nick Malzahn (Lead Guitar), Mark Palmer (Trumpet), Sheila Atchison (Tenor Sax), Kevin McPhillips (Alto Sax), Veronica Gillis (Bari Sax), and Tiffany Joy (Vocals). Of this ensemble, only Tiffany Joy was not a student at Jeanne-Sauvé.
In its early stages the band quickly began playing small gigs around Winnipeg, most notably their first performance during half-time of the now defunct Winnipeg Cyclone. It wasn't long before the band had its first line up change, as Leveillé, the band's founder, was also the first to leave. At that point, the band had mainly done covers of various popular third wave ska songs, but it would not be long before the updated line up would begin to write original music. For the next several years Ten Too Many would remain a nine-piece band, despite their name.
Ten Too Many entered the Winnipeg music scene as there was a second resurgence of ska music, the first being some years previous with such bands as Whole Lotta Milka, Grandpa's Army and JFK & the Conspirators. The next few years with the band were full of various concerts around the city, many of which would be at the popular West End Cultural Centre with various other local ska and punk bands, such as Bailey's Car, The Brat Attack The Afterbeat, The Barrymores, The Wedgewoods, The Happy Nipple Project and many more. The band performed at Skalloween, an annual Hallowe'en themed concert, almost every year since 2001. In keeping with the spirit of Hallowe'en, the band dressed in costumes drawing from such themes as the Mario Brothers, super heroes, and The Wizard of Oz.
Selling Out for Free
Ten Too Many's first track recorded, Love Song, was produced with the help of Greg 'Milka' Crowe, local ska veteran, member of The Wedgewoods and former member of Whole Lotta Milka. This track was recorded at Studio 11 in Winnipeg as the second place prize for the RaNrg battle of the bands. Love Song was then accepted by Stomp Records, Whole Lotta Milka's former label, for their compilation CD All Skanadian Club 4, which included several other Winnipeg ska bands. Their second recorded track The Very End of You was released on local label Bacteria Buffet Records' Winnipeg Ska compilation Peg City Skank 2.
In 2004 the band began recording their first album, later to be titled Selling Out for Free. At first this was a lengthy process as it was difficult to co-ordinate the nine members, all of whom were in the midst of earning university degrees. Bacteria Buffet Records and Ten Too Many briefly courted the idea of releasing their upcoming album under the label, but for various reasons (including the unfeasibility of touring) Ten Too Many decided it would be better to do an independent release. After several sessions at High North Studios, located an hour north of Winnipeg, the band had not only their debut album but also a new member: Tim Friesen, who played keyboards on the recording but would go on to become the keyboard player and one of the lead vocalists for the group.
Multiplayer Madness
Shortly after the release of Selling Out for Free, Tiffany Joy left the band to pursue other musical projects, leaving the group without a female vocalist for several months. The band eventually invited Grace Hrabi, a vocal student from the University of Manitoba School of Music, to be the new lead vocalist.
This lineup would go on to record the group's second full length album, Multiplayer Madness. Britton, feeling that he now possessed the ability to do the mastering himself, took on that task for this project. The band made the decision that it would be easier to record the album themselves, so a make-shift studio was created in the basement of Mike Gillis (Veronica Gillis' father), where the entire album was recorded. Released in 2006 after a lengthy absence from performing live shows, the album signaled a new era for the band as they began to take on more gigs and more people caught on to their quirky and original sound.
Hiatus
According to their website, as of February 18, 2007, Ten Too Many went on "permanent hiatus." They cited the difficulties of keeping together a ten-member band what with school workloads and members "living across the country."
Style
While Ten Too Many identified themselves as a third wave ska band, the diverse background and interest of all ten members produced a unique take on the genre. Elements of everything from punk to reggae to classical to jazz and even video game culture can be heard in their music. While much of their music was written by Eliot Britton, every member of the band contributed to or wrote a recorded track. .
Ten Too Many's songs were notable for their offbeat content. Examples of which include video games ("Princess Mario", "Digital World"), the end of the world ("The Very End of You", "Tragic AntiHero"), Winnipeg's Golden Boy statue ("Lonestar") and mullets. ("Mullet Man")
Discography
* Multiplayer Madness (2006)
* Selling Out for Free (2005).
* All Skanadian Club 4 (2003)
* Peg city Skank 2 (2003)

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