Diamonds in the Rough 09.20.09: Default

Posted by Leo Rivera on 09.20.2009

What Happened to one of the top modern rock bands the early 2000's? At one point Default were one of the best newcomers to hit the modern rock scene in years! but their star fizzled out in the U.S. as times changed, but now they are back with a vengeance.

Here we go folks, two more installments of Diamonds in the Rough before I fade to black. We go from one of the top Canadian bands in the game (Three Days Grace, if you missed that one last week check it out!) to a Canadian band that has become an afterthought in the U.C. scene: Default.



In the late 1990's and the early 2000's, Default were a part of a crop of bands responsible for establishing what is now commonly referred to as modern rock. Bands like Godsmack, Sevendust, Sum 41, Saliva, Creed and Nickleback helped pave the way for today's top acts like Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin and Seether, Flyleaf and Hinder to name a few. And for a brief period of time Default were on top of that list thanks to their hit singles "Wasting My Time" and "Deny."

So how it that this band that was hand-picked by Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger (love him or hate him you cannot deny his success) manage to fall through the cracks and drop off the radar? This week I look to answer that question as I zero in on one of the most overlooked rock bands in recent history, Default.



Default (like many of the great modern rock bands) formed in Canada; Vancouver, British Colombia to be exact. They were discovered by Chad Kroeger in 1999 (just before Nickelback broke huge in the U.S. with Silver Side Up). By 1999 Nickelback were already headliners in Canada and were a major force in the country's burgeoning hard rock scene. Kroeger was looking to spread his wings into producing and mentoring young bands, in hopes of taking them to the U.S. when his band eventually broke big. In Default, he saw a band that had all of the tools and potential to make it on an international platform; he turned out to be right!
Dallas Smith (vocals), Jeremy Hora (guitar), Dave Benedict (bass), and Danny Craig (drums) were more than just your run of the mill modern rock band. They had that special something about them, the "it" factor. Not confining themselves to the nu-metal guitar crunch sound of the day, Default were a throwback to the early to mid 1990's grunge/alternative rock era. They were modern in a 3 Doors Down kind of way, yet their sound had bits and pieces of early Pearl Jam and Live. They belted out heart wrenching ballads as good as they wrote pulsating rock anthems.


Thanks to the added notoriety that came with being associated with Kroeger at the time, Default caught the eye of the executives at upstart label TVT records who were building a rock division around their major signee Sevendust. With Kroeger at the helm co-producing, Default entered the studio in 2001 to record their major label debut abulm.



The result of the studio sessions was The Fallout (released in 2002) an undeniable blend of kick ass guitar riff driven rock tunes and soaring power ballads, made Default one of the standout bands of the class of 2001. The album kicks off with a proverbial bang thanks to the Pearl Jam esque rocker "Sick and Tired." Seriously upon listening to the intro to this song, you would think it would fit in perfectly on Pearl Jam's Ten. On the intro Jeremy Hora channels Stone Gossard with a riff that sounds like the song "Once." That quickly transitions inot Dallas Smith belting out pitch perfect vocals, on top of an unstoppable bass and drum back drop making this a very memorable opening, that leaves wanting more. That is a good thing, because on The Fallout Default have a lot to offer!

The second track on the album "Deny" starts off slowly and builds into an explosive guitar riff that makes you feel like you take on anything, it is the perfect gym anthem for sure! The song became a bonafide hit for Default and even featured Layla Ali in a boxing match! The album flows perfectly into the hit ballad "Wasting My Time", my words cannot justify how huge this song was for the band the personification of a power ballad!
Otheer songs like "Slow me Down" and "One Late Night" were good mid tempo rockers that were neither outstanding or disappointing, "Seize the Day" has Chad Kroegers finger prints all over it and features his guest vocals. The song would not be out of place on an early Nickelback record like The State. In fact, Kroegers finger prints and rock sensibilities are all over this record, yet Default do more than hold there own and at times wind up sounding better than Nickelback! The same can be said about "Somewhere" and "Live A Lie"; while "By your Side" is a rock song sprinkled with some country. "Faded" and "Let you Down" round out a more than impressive rookie album for these Canadian rockers and proves that while, yes, they did receive a helping hand from one of the most famous rock bands of our time, Default has what it takes to stand on their own!



Following the massive success of "Wasting My Time" and "Deny", Default we're invited to join 2002's MTV campus invasion tour alongside Canadian pop-punk rockers Sum 41 and another rock class of 2001 alumni Saliva. The tour hit college campuses throughout the United States and was a catalyst in Default spreading their wings and breaking through in America. On the Canadian front, Default won the coveted Juno Award for "Best New Group" and Fallout became certified platinum in both Canada and the U.S. by 2003.

With momentum on their side, Default released their follow up album Elocation in late 2003. The album was a continuation of what we came to expect from Default an energetic no frills rock album sprinkled with a ballad or two for good measure. The album starts off strong with "Who Followed Who" a fast paced uptempo rocker with a slowed down chorus that really showcases Dallas Smiths vocal range. That is followed up by the standout ballad of the album "Taking My Life Away" which is along the vein of "Wasting My Time" sans the up-tempo chorus, so while a bit slower than its predecessor still very solid. One of the more up-tempo and standout tracks on Elocation is "Throw it All Away" a refreshingly awesome rocker with great guitar parts and awesome vocals. "Cruel" is a cover of a Jeff Buckley song and has a distinct southern flavor to it, which is surpising given the Default are from Vancouver.



The rest of the album varies from average to very good with "Made to Lie" being the most mediocre of the bunch, thankfully the buck stopped there because the riff rockers continued with the in your face "Crossing the Line." "Without You" seems out of place and slow, but every time you think Default is going to phone in the rest of the record with filler, they come back with songs like "Breaking Down Doors." Just a rocking song from start to finish, that shows the Default don't take their ballads (and themselves too seriously) and can dish out fun, non-formulaic rockers that gets the parted started, an excellent guitar solo to boot.

Despite the fact that Elocation was a great rock record and solid follow up to The Fallout, it failed to set the rock scene on fire. Two things can be attributed to this one: the changing of the guard and the musical landscape, like I Have touched on countless times in past articles, industry executives were changing direction and (unfortunately) a band like Default did not fit into their plans. That and the fact that TVT records were on its last legs as a viable record company with enough stroke to make an impact on the mainstream.

With this drastic change in fate, Default began their descention from the top of the charts and away from the limelight (at least in the U.S.). Undeterred however, the band released the aptly titled One Thing Remains in 2005, the album while not really registering on the radar in the U.S. was a huge hit in Canada (much like Elocation had been as well).



While Defaults growth had stunted in the U.S. they were still growing in popularity leaps and bounds in Canada and had actually won countless Juno Awards for Elocation. The single "Count on Me" became a bonafide hit in Canada and was even briefly played in heavy rotation in the U.S. But the fact remained that Defaults star had fallen in America. It's really a shame actually, as they were more a victim of circumstances then any wrong doing. They still produced solid rock records, they just did not seem hip enough (in th eyes of moron executives who do not know the first thing about being cool and hip) next to bands like My Chemical Romance.

Default ran into another snag in 2007 when TVT Records officially filed for bankruptcy, which would have spelled the end for most bands, but Default are not "most bands." They continue to truck along and have even recorded a new album titled Comes and Goes which is set to be released by EMI Canada records on September 29, 2009. So why Default may be out of "fad" here in the U.S. they continue to rock the great white north with no frills rock n roll the way it is meant to be. Besides the music scene in the U.S. has been in an abyss for close to a decade anyway; I mean there pushing acts like Fall Out Boy for crying out loud. Enough said, long live Default and true rock music!



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