Montreal rock quartet THE DAMN TRUTH are excited to announce their third full-length album NOW OR NOWHERE is scheduled for release on May 7 via SPECTRA MUSIQUE / SONY MUSIC. With six tracks recorded by Grammy Award-winning legendary producer Bob Rock (Metallica, Aerosmith, Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, Tragically Hip) at Bryan Adams’ The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, NOW OR NOWHERE is a definitive statement about the band, about the times and how everyone navigates life, love and everything else in a world gone seemingly upside down and sideways.
The album’s soulful debut single, “This Is Who We Are Now,” was written on the road during their recent U.S. tour and is streaming now across all digital platforms.
“Like almost everything good that The Damn Truth has ever produced, this song was born on the road and could be considered a 100% collaboration among the four of us,” lead guitarist/vocalist TOM SHEMER points out. “I’ll never forget the moment when I was driving to a gig in eastern Texas and PY was sitting in the passenger seat next to me. I told him, ‘Dude, press record on the voice memo,’ and I hummed, ‘This is who we are now’ into his phone. Months later, as the band laid down the track in the studio, Lee-la walked into the control room, grabbed the microphone and without writing anything down on paper, she did the take. That was it. Done.”
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the band was unable to complete the full recording of NOW OR NOWHERE with Bob Rock so the band enlisted a team of A-list engineers to help complete the album; Juno Award-winning producer Jean Massicotte (Patrick Watson)–who mixed “Everything Fades”–and Grammy Award-winning engineers Vance Powell (Jack White, Chris Stapleton) and Nick DiDia (Bruce Springsteen, Rage Against The Machine) as well as Mike Plotnikoff (Van Halen, Cranberries, Three Days Grace).
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the recording process for NOW OR NOWHERE with the band’s current webisode series ‘A Week in The DAMN Life’ airing now on their YouTube channel. Watch episodes 1-4 and stay tuned for upcoming clips here: https://youtu.be/b-xeLktHguM.
THE DAMN TRUTH originated after LEE-LA and TOM first met—both in the nude–at a hippie festival near the Sea of Galilee in Israel. “Yeah, totally naked. Just Lee-La and her guitar,” TOM adds. “And we’ve been together ever since. No pretensions. Nothing to hide. Just love.” The ‘60s ethos of organic self-sufficiency is the lifeblood of THE DAMN TRUTH and the secret to a work ethic that has garnered them almost 2 million streams on Spotify, 60,000 followers on TikTok and over 2 million YouTube views.
The band has previously performed on stages and festivals in Europe and across North America, including opening on tours for ZZ Top, The Sheepdogs, Styx and Rival Sons and have sold out venues including the legendary Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles and the Corona Theatre in Montreal. The estate of Janis Joplin even shared their TikTok cover video of “Mercedes Benz” on its official Facebook page praising LEE-LA’s vocals stating, “Lordy, she’s got talent.” LEE-LA’s intoxicating vocals also led to her being featured covering U2’s “Love Is Blindness” in a video ad for Yves Saint Laurent Mon Paris perfume that went viral internationally, doubling their fan base overnight.
