Biography:

1UP!: pronounced "one up!", is a common term in video gaming parlance referring to an item that gives the player an extra ‘life’ -- another chance to complete the game. The term "1-up" first appeared in the classic Super Mario Bros. game, where the player could collect 100 coins to get an extra life …or find a green mushroom.

1UP! is also the follow up to illScarlett’s 2007 Gold selling release All Day With It.

The album was recorded in Los Angeles with multi Grammy Award winning producer Robert Carranza (Jack Johnson, Mars Volta, Beastie Boys, Bjork) at Jack Johnson's Solar Powered Plastic Plant studio. Co-produced by the band, 1UP! marks a return to illScarlett’s reggae influenced roots as experienced on their EPdemic release.

When singer Alex Norman is asked the meaning of the album’s title 1UP!, his response is very straightforward, “1UP! takes every lesson we’ve learned as a band, from our days pounding the pavement promoting our first shows to working with world class producers, and channels that amassed knowledge into an album that is better than anything we have ever done!”

Swav Pior reflects, “For older fans, the last record (All Day With It) was an exciting departure from EPdemic. But 1UP! brings back the tempo a touch.”

For 1UP!, illScarlett wrote a plethora of new songs which ran the gamut from loud to chill, but zeroed in on a clutch of titles that worked best together, creating a solid musical flow from start to finish. Alex Norman pipes in, “This record is a lot more Reggae, it is a lot more chill than our last one.” When the band got into pre-production with Carranza they started to see that they were not writing the broader spectrum of music heard on All Day With It.

Not that there is a lack of bombast on 1UP! The first single "Take It for Granted" is a galloping rocker with a rollicking keyboard intro. illScarlett, always the fan friendly group, invited fans to record their own backup vocals for “Take It For Granted” and post them online. The entrants’ vocals were all included on the final mix of the song! The single was added out of the box at The Edge in Toronto, SONIC Edmonton, Live 88.5 Ottawa, TAG Radio Gatineau and CHOI Quebec City debuting at # 28 BDS Modern Rock, # 36 BDS Rock. "Milkshakes and Razorblades" features Canadian Hip Hop icon Kardinal Offishall in an anthemic reggae muse and "Funky Reputation" is a surf song that would’ve made Link Wray proud.

The “chill” Norman speaks of is the result of several different influences. Robert Carranza helped create the atmosphere with his “no pressure” attitude. His hands-on approach to being hands-off is what separates Carranza from many of his peers, and has led the producer/mixer/engineer to multiple Grammy awards. Carranza has the ability to never cross the line of over-producing his acts. The relaxed climate in the studio was also due in part to the fact that illScarlett had prepped their songs at home with Garage Band on their Macs, and then worked them out further at Metalworks studio in Toronto, before heading to LA for pre-production. Swav reflects on the recording process, “The album was recorded in classic illScarlett fashion. The music was pretty much done before we went into the studio.” Usually for Alex Norman, his lyrics come toward the end of the creation process. And this time, it’s clear his lyrics have matured from the last record. Sure, there are some tongue-in-cheek lyrics, but overall the writing is very honest and straightforward. Norman remembers Robert’s initial take on his efforts to find his lyrics:
“Don’t worry, you will write it when you write it, take it easy. If you haven’t written it yet it’s not meant to be written yet.” “Robert was so low key. He more or less wore the same t-shirt and flip flops every day, saying ‘try this’, ‘see if it works’.”

1UP! is also significant due to the fact that the band recruited the skills of Tony Carbone to play keyboards on the record (and live). As a graduate of the Canadian Conservatory of Music with a Jazz major, Tony balances vibe with structure. He’s also a solid singer and just an overall a great utility guy.

Fan interaction for illScarlett has always been a key part of their vision, and it remains so now -- for 1UP! illScarlett opened up their recording process to fans in unprecedented ways. The band re-launched www.illscarlett.com right as they went into the studio with the sole purpose of allowing fans to engage with the band as they made the new album. First, there was a live web-cam broadcasting video from the studio 24hrs a day, 7 days a week. Fans could log in anytime to see exactly what was going on with the making of the album. A chat-room accompanied the web-cam broadcast, allowing fans to interact with each other as well as with the band, who jumped on to chat with fans as often as their schedule allowed. ‘Teaser’ videos were posted on the site offering tantalizing snippets of the band in the studio recording new songs… mysteriously not divulging any of the songs’ real framework. But, if fans listened closely they could catch a hint of what the song was sounding like, as it was being developed in the studio. The band also introduced the illPhone, featuring a published phone number to an in-studio cell phone that fans could call as often as they liked. The band answered the phone every day, and responded to as many texts as they could get to. Chatting directly with lucky fans, the band gave them a first-hand window into what was going on with the album.
After being invited to open for a few dates on the Blink 182 Reunion Tour this summer in Toronto and Vancouver, illScarlett hits the road in November, criss-crossing Canada in support of 1UP! illScarlett are also dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s on their first U.S. tour starting in Sacramento, CA on September 23rd w/Pepper. But first they’ll play a sold out show at The Opera House in Toronto on release day: September 29!
Historical:
The band’s previous album, All Day With It, recorded with superstar pop/rock producer Matthew Wilder (famous for penning and singing the feel good, smash hit “Break My Stride” in 1984, and producing No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom) was released July 10th 2007 and has received countless accolades. All Day With It debuted Top 10 on the Canadian Nielsen Soundscan Top 200 sales chart and had a #1 Video on MUCH MUSIC for the first single “NOTHING SPECIAL”. “WHO’S GOT IT” was chosen as the theme song for FIFA’s 2007 U-20 SOCCER WORLD CUP. illScarlett had three TOP 15 Rock/Alt radio singles from All Day With It and EPdemic and in early 2008 were nominated for a Juno Award for New Group Of The Year.

With more than 2 million MySpace plays (30,000+ Friends, 1.7 Million views) and over 60,000 illScarlett records sold to date (44,000+ albums sold in Canada, 50,000+ albums shipped, 19,000 EPs sold and shipped in Canada), illScarlett have set the stage for a much anticipated sophomore release. 1UP! is set to hit the streets on September 29th, 2009.