The League of One: Dispatchers of the Rock
Nick Murray
Will Maeder is instantly recognizable as the enigmatic front man of the exciting Regina rock band The League of One. His rich red hair curls past his shoulders and he's got a Fu Manchu that is trying desperately to catch up. He looks like Ronald McDonald's rock and roll little brother. Like Ronald McDonald if instead of selling burgers and shakes he was a roadie for Ozzy Osborne. He started The League of One in 2004 and has been cracking away at this rock and roll thing ever since.
"The band was named after a secret global government from a book he had read" Drummer Bill Grant said, referring to Maeder.
Murray "the Rev" Sokoloski joined shortly after and Bill Grant took up his place behind the skins in 2009. This three-piece band has effectively been "a league of one" ever since.
Playing loose with the rules of rock, having fun and recording great music. Now they're playing live shows and promoting their latest album, Dispatch. One of those live shows is going to be at Band City Fest, right here in Moose Jaw, on August 25th.
Dispatch is the band's third official full length album. In 2009 they dropped their debut record Orange and then waited all the way until 2016 before releasing their sophomore record Kill.
Dispatch is straight up rock and roll music, with a sharp dose of humor blended in.
Tattoo said it was "a no-holds-barred bundle of ruthless lyricism and riffs"
"Antz" is a fun hard rocker about ants taking over the world. It sounds a bit like Gwar and has one of many fantastic Will Maeder guitar solos on it.
"Wax Museum" contains some of the most ferocious hard rock guitar you're likely ever to find in the province.
"Plastic Crackhead" sounds like it could be a real upstanding song but actually turns into Primus-meets-Faith No More.
The League of One's Dispatch can be found on Spotify
And my personal favourite, "The Connoisseur" takes the album on a strange ride. At the start you aren't sure if you're listening to the League of One or a Radiohead/No Doubt Mashup but then it morphs into a proggy masterpiece, complete with a breakdown and another great solo. It really is the high point of the record. Listen to it yourself.
"With Dispatch we had signed on with Lil Eve Records, so we just wrote the songs and went in to the studio at Lil Eve and recorded it" said Bill Grant.
Kyle Bottcher engineered the album and co-produced it.
"Dispatch is also a concept album, so the songs were written for the story or theme of the album" said Grant. "We're very proud of how it turned out; not many concept albums out these days."
The League of One will be playing at Band City Fest, at Crescent Park, Moose Jaw on Saturday August 25th.
You can find Dispatch on Spotify