Music

Where are the bands from MuchMusic's disBAND now?

by Shazia Khan

Now that MuchMusic barely exists as its former self, it’s hard to remember that the channel once created its own original content, and even better, its own original music content. But you may recall a little something called disBAND, a reality show where budding Canadian bands got their chance to be groomed for greatness by Treble Charger’s Greig Nori and to perform in front of an esteemed industry panel in the Much environment. Some were told they had what it takes to hit the big time (and perhaps would score a record deal on the spot), while others (well, most of them) were told they couldn’t compete in the current musical climate and should “disBAND.” Harsh.

At best, the show was a glimpse into the inner workings of the Canadian music industry and a neat way to discover brand new musicians before they became MuchMusic stars. At worst, it was a painfully staged and strangely addictive hate-watch full of awful music. If nothing else, the show proved itself to be really good at spawning opening acts for Hedley concerts. But several years later, how far have any of those artists gone – and how often did the judges actually get it right? Here’s an update on what happened to some of the lucky featured bands of disBAND.