Evolutionary Band to tour southern Ontario

Confederation Secondary School's Evolutionary band will embark on a tour of southern Ontario, performing four concerts in four days as part of its Bring it to the Wall tour.

They will begin in Lindsay and Belleville where Zack Werner, Canadian Idol judge and president of Venus Records, will join them. Other concert locations include Cornwall and Carleton Place.

When Zack Werner visited Confederation Secondary School last November, he brought along a film crew to shoot footage for a trailer to pitch a 10 episode reality series about Evolutionary.

“The trailer/pitch so far is spectacular," Werner recently said in an e-mail to the band. "Now I want to make it unbelievable.”

“This is the time of your lives and I feel so lucky to get a chance to capture it on film and then show it to the world. We are hoping to sell this trailer to major entertainment channels nationally and internationally. Who knows?  Maybe by this time next year, you may be rock stars on a reality TV series.”

Music director Norm McIntosh said students can expect a grueling four days.

“They will get a first hand look at life on the road as they experience long hours of traveling on the bus as early as 5:45 a.m., unloading sets and equipment, setting up, performing, re-loading and then moving on to the next venue.”

He added: “The band and crew have worked hard all year long to prepare for this tour. They are also responsible for all the fundraising that is required to pay for the trip.”

McIntosh said the students are “especially excited to have been invited to drop in at Werner’s 100 acre farm for a swim, a volleyball game, and a barbecue.”

“We are so proud of our students in Evolutionary and what they are accomplishing,” Mike Mirka, Confederation Secondary School principal, said in the release.

“On Saturday, May 8th, our school gym was packed with a crowd of close to 800 for the band’s annual Mother’s Day concert. The band received several standing ovations throughout the evening. It is an honor to have someone of Zack Werner’s caliber interested in shooting a reality series about our Evolutionary.”

Evolutionary is a 25-piece rock band with a 16-member stage crew. The band set the Guinness World Record in 2007 for the deepest concert below sea level under the earth’s crust when they played a concert at the 3,400 ft. level at Vale Inco’s North Mine.

Evolutionary campaigns against drinking and driving at all of its concerts.