It was a whirlwind weekend for members of Chaos Theory. The band, with little notice, was asked to perform during a Nova Scotia Music Week showcase and just three days later, received its first Nova Scotia Music Award.

The band accepted its award for “Loud Recording of the Year” for its self-titled album, which was released this past April. Chaos Theory is just the fourth band to receive the award, joining the likes of Stone Mary, Black Moor and Shelter with Thieves. The Loud Recording of the Year award recognizes bands in heavier music
genres such as hard rock, metal, and hard alternative styles.

“We’re all very proud,” said Rock Johnson, lead vocalist for the group. “It’s a real honour that our peers thought enough of us to give us the nod. We’re very thankful and appreciative of all the support we have received over the past two years. To join the list of winners in this category is awesome. If you’ve ever seen any of those bands perform, you know they’re awesome. We’ve been lucky enough to share the stage with two of them, but we’re fans of all three. It’s really humbling for us.”

The awards were given out as part of the Nova Scotia Music Week brunch in Liverpool. Approximately 1,300 Music Nova Scotia members consisting of industry professionals and fellow musicians are eligible to vote.

Johnson, who hails from Truro, says the band can be nominated for an award two ways. The first is by having a member of Music Nova Scotia nominate them and the second is for the band to apply for a nomination on its own.

“We’re kept in the dark throughout the process,” he said. ‘We didn’t know we had even been nominated until it came out in the newsletter. We were all pretty surprised. For us, the nomination alone was pretty big, but now that we’ve won, it’s a pretty cool feeling. It’s cool because it’s fellow musicians; it’s the people who are in this industry that are giving you the thumbs up. It’s not like American Idol where the general public is voting for you. This is actual musicians. This is actual people who know this industry and one of the biggest honours you can get is being respected and appreciated by the people who do the same thing you do.”

Once all the applications for nominations have been submitted, a jury is responsible for choosing the nominees. Johnson says there are great bands from across the province just as worthy to receive the award.

The hard rock and metal scene is strong in Nova Scotia and that’s good news for fans of that genre. Johnson says there’s something more being offered than just Celtic music and Indy Rock when it comes to seeing a good show.

The band had a chance to prove that point when they took to the stage and performed during one of the showcases. Although it was short notice, Johnson says the opportunity was too big for Chaos Theory to pass up.

“We’ve worked exceptionally hard and we’ve never expected anything free to come our way,” continued Johnson. “We don’t have a lot of industry contacts so it was surprising we were able to get in there, have a chance to play our music and come home with the award. It’s cool. We’re really grateful we get to do this. We saw a lot of people we knew, met a few new people and some new fans, which to me, is the most important part.”

Despite the victory, it’s business as usual for the band, which in addition to Johnson, includes Lex Coulstring (guitar), Tim Garagan (bass), Scott McKenzie (lead guitar), and Craig Brown (drums). They’re currently in the process of recording their second album, which will include a video for the first single.

They’ve also just completed a live performance video for the album that just won the award. Johnson says they’re looking to expand upon their touring circles while focusing on new material.

“I enjoy the business side of things just as much. We all would love to do this all the time,” said Johnson. “That’s the dream. Sometimes people think it’s the rock star lifestyle but that’s not the dream. The dream is to be able to wake up every day and your one responsibility is to play music. These awards are great for opening the eyes of people who maybe haven’t heard of us. It’s another stepping stone towards the big goal which is to continue to make music.”

Posted on November 13, 2012 by The Hub now
Source: http://www.hubnow.ca/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=298%3Achaos-theory-picks-up-music-nova-scotia-award&Itemid=7