Hard rocking band Magesty building sweat equity on Calgary scene

Magesty: Tanner Riedel, Michael Gluszak, Alem Meren P and Alex MacDonald

Chris Davis

Former Pincher Creek resident Tanner Riedel is the guitarist and backing vocalist for Magesty, an all-originals hard rock quartet now working their way into the Calgary music scene. Magesty released a video for their song 'Jack in the Bottle' in June of this year and they're working on getting as many gigs under their belt as they can. These guys write and play fast, hard, rambunctious, technically proficient rock and roll, and they definitely have their own sound.   Riedel recently agreed to an online interview about the band.

"I graduated from Halton in 2006. As for the other members, our singer (Alem Meren P) is from India, our bassist (Alex MacDonald) is from PEI, and our drummer (Mike Gluszak) is from Calgary," Riedel told me. "Home is Calgary now?" I asked. "Yes, Calgary is home now. I had tried to get something started in Lethbridge for a number of years, but to no avail. I then chose to try my luck in Calgary. I moved here about 3 years ago and eventually met the rest of the guys."

Play it loud

Influences? "Although we all have slightly different musical backgrounds, we all have a mutual respect for classic rock. That is what I personally grew up around and love to play," Riedel said. "My personal favourite is Led Zeppelin! I learned a lot from listening to them. But I try to draw inspiration from whomever I can. There is just so much great music out there!"

I asked Riedel if there was still a viable market out there for heavy duty live rock and roll, and if they had any plans to play Pincher Creek in the near future. "This current line-up has only been together for just over a year, so we're pretty new to the scene. But yes, there is still a market for rock music and there always will be. It may not be as popular as other genres, but rock 'n' roll will never die. More importantly, no matter what style of music an individual plays, it's about loving what you do and having a blast doing it. We're all rockers at heart! As for Pincher Creek, we played there last Christmas which went over really well. Unfortunately due to scheduling conflicts this year, we were unable to book anything. But we do hope to get down there either in the spring or summer of 2015!"

Ready, Set, Rock!

Recording is in the plan for Magesty, but the tried and true method of bringing the music to the people is top of the list for the near future. "There is no album as of yet. We do plan to record an EP this spring. But our main priority other than that is to play as many gigs as possible. We feel that's the best way of getting our music out there."

"She doesn't know"

Drummer Michael Gluszak recently returned from a stint at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and that and other scheduling conflicts put the band on hiatus for a while. "We actually haven't started booking yet, but we'll be playing in some of our usual venues around Calgary as well as some new ones," Riedel explained. "We will also be looking into getting shows in places such as Lethbridge, Edmonton, Vancouver etc."

"To the fans back home, we will do our best to get down there and give you a show to remember!"

Related links:

Magesty Facebook page

Magesty on ReverbNation