Constantines

History

Constantines formed in 1999 from the emo band Shoulder, which had been active from 1994 to 1997. The founding members were vocalist and guitarist Bryan Webb, drummer Doug MacGregor, and guitarist Paul Bright, with bassist Dallas Wehrle later joining. Bright was asked to leave early on and was replaced by Steve Lambke. The band's name came from an episode of Coast to Coast with Art Bell, where Bell played recordings of ghost voices in static, one of which was named Constantine.

The group relocated from Guelph to London, Ontario, then to Toronto, where they released their self-titled debut album in 2001. The album received widespread play on campus radio and earned a Juno Award nomination for Best Alternative Album. Its first track, "Arizona," is based on the suicide of Danny Rapp, lead singer of Danny and the Juniors. In 2002, keyboard player Evan Gordon joined the lineup for the EP The Modern Sinner Nervous Man, but left soon after to pursue his own songwriting.

Will Kidman replaced him, and the band released Shine a Light in 2003, their first album released outside Canada on Sub Pop. The album topped the !earshot National Top 50 chart in September 2003 and earned a second Juno nomination for Alternative Album of the Year. Sub Pop reissued the self-titled album in 2004. The following year, Constantines toured across Canada with The Weakerthans as the Rolling Tundra Revue.

Their album Tournament of Hearts was released on September 27 by Three Gut Records in Canada and on October 11 by Sub Pop in the United States. Members occasionally performed under the name Horsey Craze, covering Neil Young songs. In early 2006, they released a vinyl-only split album with The Unintended, featuring four Neil Young covers by Constantines and four Gordon Lightfoot songs by The Unintended.