Quoia

Quoia {Kwoi - a} has built a reputation on the strength of their high-energy live shows, a mix of playful and inspired lyrics, and an uplifting sound that sets them apart. Quoia emerged out of the thriving music scene in Victoria, British Columbia and continues to call Vancouver Island home. Together multi-instrumentalists Mike Hann, Jeff Scotney, Keith Gallant, Alex Nicholls, Hugh Mackie, and Tyler Harvey create a genre-hopping sound that is equal parts original and accessible. This group of devoted and focused musicians are at their best when performing for crowds who love singing and dancing along to songs that epitomize the West Coast Vibe. Through a mix of dedication to perfecting their sound and the power of their live shows these six Islanders continue to develop a loyal fan base. The band has grown from consistently selling out local Victoria favourites such as Canoe Brewpub and Sugar Nightclub to playing Rexall Place in Edmonton and having songs featured in an internationally distributed surf film. Quoia has also excited audiences at festivals such as: Shambhala, Big Time Out, Rifflandia, Victoria International Jazz Fest, Blue Sky Festival, Deraylor Music Festival, Sunshine Music Festival, Kulth Festival, Winterfest, Pacific Rim Whale Festival, and the VIC Fest. In 2010 the band released their first EP entitled "Five Feathers" and the attention surrounding the group grew rapidly. The sound that local crowds had come to love and expect translated and allowed the group to continue their artistic focus. The band released their first full length album "Wildside" in 2011 to great acclaim and attention. The album featured songs that epitomized the foot stomping, singable, folk-rock sound the band sought to create. The influence of Vancouver Island's mix of small city living and rustic rural landscapes are evident beyond the representative album art by local Victoria artist Christian Giessler. These influences were evident and songs from "Wildside" and "Five Feathers" were subsequently featured in a documentary about Avatar Grove (an old growth forest in Port Renfrew, BC) and in a special feature on the DVD of the Ryan Reynolds produced movie The Whale. Members of Quoia are also dedicated to the promotion and growth of the wider Vancouver Island and BC music scene and are instrumental in founding and producing the highly successful Tall Tree and Song and Surf Music Festivals in Port Renfrew, B.C. Tall Tree Music Festival was named by CBC Radio 3 as one it its "Favourite Canadian Festivals" and has featured acts from southern Vancouver Island and beyond including Kuba Oms, Jets Overhead, Current Swell, Jon and Roy, Sweatshop Union, Vince Vaccaro, Aidan Knight, Long Walk Short Dock and more. In 2013, Song and Surf celebrated five years and has featured artists including Gold and Youth, The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer, Shred Kelly, the Funk Hunters, Bend Sinister, and Maurice. In May 2013 Quoia released a self-titled EP. This anticipated release features songs that the band crafted where they are most comfortable - in front of live audiences. On the heels of this release Quoia continues to develop their sound while staying true to the sources that have inspired them from the beginning - and having fun at every step. Landa Mark