Wayside is approaching its twenty seventh year of existence. They have had two different drummers, three different bass players, four different guitarists, and a keyboard player pass through their ranks. They have evolved from a scrappy university band to a slightly more polished gigging and recording collective. So what do they sound like? Well it’s hard to say. Band members site everything from Motley Crue, to Oasis, to the Posies, to pretty much a bit of everything as influences. But through all the years and musical trends, Wayside has always managed to distill this down into a sound of their own. It’s about melodies, driving rhythms, high energy and most of all, not taking themselves too seriously. They are not making music for the masses, they are making music first and foremost for their friends, fans and themselves. This formula has served them well over the years and kept them going strong while many of their peer bands have packed it in.

When Wayside was formed, their goals were to record a CD, get a song on the radio, play as many shows as possible and entertain people. 27 years later, they have achieved all of these goals and more.

• Wayside released its debut CD “…Until Now” in 1998. It earned them a spot as a finalist in the PMIA/CFOX sponsored DemoListen Derby 1998 and ultimately led to their inclusion on the Vancouver Seeds 13 CD.
• Wayside have had two songs played on local radio station CFOX: Discontent from “…Until Now” and The Only One from their web-released sampler in 2003.
• Wayside have had another song, Weak, place 17th out of 3,054 songs on the Garageband website contest in 2003.
• Wayside have had their music used in EA Sports NHL 2002 Hockey videogame.
• Wayside have played over 70 shows in the Vancouver area and participated in the New Music West festival in 1999, 2000 and 2001.
• Wayside were a finalist in the Bandfest2002 “battle of the band” based on the their live performances.
   

Wayside spent much of 2004 taking a break from the music scene. Band members spent the time traveling the globe, honing song writing skills and basically just spending some time apart. What brought them back together? As clichéd as it sounds, they still had a love for music. They still had songs they wanted to perform and record, and most of all they still wanted to entertain friends, fans and themselves, basically the same reason they started this up 27 years ago.

“Well, what can I say, this song is simply a great pop/rock song. Everything is here. The hook, the melody, the chorus, the structure, the guitar licks, the rhythm, the . . . well . . . you get the idea. Similar sound to Jimmy Eat World (?). It’s the whole package, really. I won’t at all be surprised if one day I flick on the telly and find this song bouncing its way up the Top Ten. I won’t turn over either.”

Garageband.com Review of “The Only One” from our latest CD.

“[Wayside] would be a natural fit on CFOX, wedged somewhere between the Gin Blossoms and Age of Electric on a weekday afternoon. In short, this EP sounds great”

John Lucas, The Georgia Straight

HISTORY

   

Wayside dates back to the fall of 1995. The original line up was Chris Deas (guitar, vocals), Craig Whitehead (drums) and Derek Hemmes (bass).

Mark Belsito (keys, backup vocals) joined the band on September 16, 1997.

Wayside recorded their debut CD “…Until Now” in December 1997 and released it in March 1998.

In February 1998, on the strength of our recent album, Wayside was selected as one of the top bands of that year by CFOX.

In August 1998, Wayside recorded ‘Jubilee’ for CFOX’s Vancouver Seeds 13 CD.

In March 1999, Derek left for Africa for 6 months and shortly thereafter, Bill Semrau took over on bass and backup vocals.

Wayside played at the New Music West festival in May 1999. This was Bill’s first gig with Wayside. No pressure!

Derek rejoined the band in October 1999 resuming bass duties from Bill.

 

In May 2000, Wayside performed in the New Music West festival.

Bill rejoined Wayside in September 2000 after Derek’s departure.

Wayside played at the New Music West festival in May 2001.

The band played their last gig with this line up in June 2001.

In September 2001, two Wayside songs (Merger & Undone) were featured in Electronic Arts’ NHL 2002 video game.

In March 2002, Mark abandoned the keys for bass and Trent was added as a 2nd guitarist.

In August 2002, Wayside made it to the bandFEST BC Championship Finals after multiple preliminary rounds in this battle of the bands event.

Wayside recorded their 4 song EP late October/early November 2002.

In September 2003, Craig went to Africa leaving the band drummer-less.

The band played one more gig in September 2004 before unofficially packing it in.

 

In June 2006, Chris, Craig and Mark reunited and played a set on CiTR radio’s Thunderbird Radio Hell.

Then came a 12 year hiatus… but Chris, Craig, Mark, Derek, Trent and Bill returned for a reunion gig on November 23, 2018 at the Anza Club.

On April 8, 2022, Wayside sees its music hit all major streaming services for the first time with 20 hits that span two centuries. All songs will be under the moniker wayside-ca.

 

 

 

In 2023, Wayside is planning another comeback with the “…Until Now” 25th Anniversary Tour. Rehearsals have started… Stay tuned for more details.

Wayside Website Archive