ALEXISONFIRE

Iconic rock band ALEXISONFIRE has debuted a brand new song, “Familiar Drugs”. Produced by AOF, long-time friend Karl Bareham (City and Colour), and mixed by Grammy-award winning Jacquire King (Tom Waits, Kings of Leon, Modest Mouse), the impassioned banger marks the first time the band has released new music as Alexisonfire in almost 10 years. A special vinyl pressing is available for pre-order as a single-sided 7” vinyl with a laser-etched b-side. A limited edition glow-in-the-dark variant will be randomly inserted throughout the entire pressing of black vinyl stock. Along with the 7”, AOF will have new “Familiar Drugs” inspired merchandise on their official storefront.

Alexisonfire has announced select headline shows this June kicking off in London (UK), with stops in New York, Los Angeles, and wrapping up in Toronto at Budweiser Stage. Alexisonfire has partnered with PLUS1 so that $1 from every ticket sold will be donated to Indspire to build a brighter future for Indigenous students. Indspire is a Canadian-based Indigenous-led registered charity that invests in the education of Indigenous people for the long term benefit of these individuals, their families and communities.

Says George Pettit about the new track, “‘Familiar Drugs’ is about recognizing you need to make a change in your life, being presented with the opportunity to make that change, and then choosing to do the same thing you always do. It’s about something very specific to me but it can be taken literally or interpreted in any number of ways. Most people have something in their lives they can’t quit, substances, unhealthy relationships, lethargy, self righteousness, a job they hate. ‘Familiar Drugs’ is about choosing comfort over self betterment.”

Hailing from St. Catharines, Alexisonfire rose up out of the Southern Ontario underground in late 2001, to become one of the most successful indie bands out of Canada. The band’s success also reached far beyond Canada’s borders. AOF released four hugely successful studio albums, Alexisonfire (2002), Watch Out (2004), Crisis (2006), and Old Crows / Young Cardinals (2009). Crisis debuted at #1 on the Top 200 Soundscan chart (Canada), and Old Crows / Young Cardinals debuted at #2, and charted at #9 on the US Billboard Independent Album chart. Watch Out helped earn the band New Group of the Year at the 2004 JUNO Awards. All four albums achieved Platinum certification in Canada.The band also topped charts and graced several notable music magazine covers internationally (Kerrang, Blunt, Big Cheese, Canadian Musician, Exclaim!). AOF’s sold-out 10^th Year Anniversary Farewell tour in December 2012 touched down on four continents in 24 days, illustrating how meaningful the band still is to their legion of fans around the world.