Holding the heavy-weight vinyl pressing of *Now or Nowhere*, you can almost feel the grit of the Montreal pavement and the sweat of a Vancouver studio session rubbing off on your fingers. This is not just another rock record. It is a loud, unapologetic statement from The Damn Truth, a quartet that seems to have finally found the frequency where classic rock thunder meets modern alternative urgency.
But the story of this band does not start in a rehearsal space in Quebec. It starts, quite literally, with the bare essentials. Lee-la and lead guitarist Tom Shemer first crossed paths while completely naked at a hippie festival near the Sea of Galilee. It is the kind of rock and roll origin story that feels too scripted to be true, yet it perfectly frames the raw, uninhibited chemistry they bring to the stage.
And that chemistry is exactly what caught the ear of the man who helped define the sound of Metallica and Mötley Crüe. The band teamed up with legendary Canadian producer Bob Rock for this nine-track assault. When I sat down with the duo—who, for the record, were fully clothed for our chat—we dug into the mechanics of their evolution.
Lee-la reflects on the timeline of the project, which was nearly derailed by a global catastrophe. She says, "The album’s called 'Now or Nowhere'. It was recorded in November 2019. We were in Vancouver and we were invited to The Warehouse Studios by the incredible legendary Bob Rock to record with him. We recorded six songs in four days. We were booked to come back in March 2020 to finish the album and then COVID hit our world. So we had to figure out what we were going to do to finish the album. We ended up finishing it here in Montreal, part in Dave, our drummer’s, studio and part here at Tom’s studio called Grandma’s House. We’ve finished the last three songs ourselves."
There is a certain irony in a band recording with a titan like Rock in a world-class facility, only to be forced back into the DIY trenches of a home studio. But that forced pivot arguably saved the record from becoming too polished. The contrast between the Vancouver tracks and the Montreal sessions provides a tension that works.
Take the lead single, "This is Who We Are Now". It is a track that carries a certain swagger, a feeling of running away from something while keeping your head held high. Tom explains that the song was born from the monotonous, hypnotic rhythm of the American highway.
Tom says, "It happened quickly. While on tour in the States somewhere in Texas, I was driving somewhere really late at night, to or from a gig and it just hit me. I heard it in my head, but complete with the lyrics and the guitar riff (sings 'If this is who we are now'). Our bass player PY was sitting next to me and told me to take out my phone and record it on voicemail because it was gonna’ be something. I can’t really tell you what it’s about, but it just kind of popped into my head and we took it from there."
The song captures a specific type of road-weary lightning. It is the sound of a band that has spent enough time in a van to know each other's breathing patterns. When they got back to their home base, the track solidified into something much more aggressive.
Tom continues, "When we got back to Montreal, we were on the road for about four months. We started working on the song and I got the chords, the groove from the drums and the bass, while Lee-la just stepped up to the mic and belted out those verses. She didn’t write anything on paper, it just happened naturally. It’s almost like a hip hop moment where you just spit out the lyrics into the microphone. And those are the lyrics that you hear on the record."
That improvisational spirit extends to their visual output as well. The music video for the single is a technical nightmare that resulted in a stunning piece of film. They collaborated with a Montreal production house called IO to create something that defies the standard "band in a warehouse" trope.
Lee-la explains the collaboration: "Absolutely. Yeah, we filmed it. I think it was at the beginning of April. It’s actually a very, very wicked concept that came about. We’ve teamed up with these videographers here in town - a production company called IO. We’ve been working with them quite regularly in the last couple of years because they’re very like minded, insane people, and they’ve been filming us doing a lot of live stuff. They came with us to The Warehouse in Vancouver to document that, but they’ve always wanted to do a proper music video. They’re like 'we have this crazy concept, but first, do you guys feel comfortable playing upside down?' It was very terrifying and a really an insane concept."
The shoot involved a custom-built rig that would make most professional stunt coordinators sweat. It was a physical test of endurance as much as a performance.
Tom adds the technical details: "They built this box that moves and basically attached to a motor and the whole box rotates in 360 degrees. We were strapped to the walls and completely defying gravity, while Dave, our drummer, was bolted into his drum kit, which was bolted into the floor, and he had to play the drums upside down. But we survived. It took about two days to shoot."
Lee-la admits the initial rotation was a shock to the system. She says, "It was really scary by the first moment. They didn’t tell us to go step in and go slowly. Instead let’s go down there, let’s strap you all down and start rotating and see how you feel. I felt like I was on an amusement park ride - like I was 14 again, screaming my head off. But eventually we got used to the rotation. But it was really insane."
They built this box that moves and basically attached to a motor and the whole box rotates in 360 degrees. We were strapped to the walls and completely defying gravity, while Dave, our drummer, was bolted into his drum kit, which was bolted into the floor, and he had to play the drums upside down. But we survived.
The jump from indie darlings to Bob Rock collaborators was not a matter of luck. It was a calculated risk managed by a veteran who knew exactly how to play the game. Rock is not the kind of guy who takes a "let's see" approach to new talent.
Tom recounts the high-stakes gamble: "We have this guy named Ralph from our management team. He used to manage the Payola$ back in the 80’s – that was Bob Rock’s band. He always said when you guys want me to reach out to Bob and send him some songs, we can do that, but you only get one shot. When you send stuff, he’s going to listen to it. He’s going to like it or maybe he’s not gonna’ like it, but you never get a second chance. It’s a first impression thing."
Lee-la chimes in with the pressure of that moment, saying, "It’s got to be good."
Tom agrees, noting, "It’s got to be really good. So when we were writing this album, 'Now or Nowhere', I felt we had something really good here. I was really pestering Ralph, let’s go. Now’s the time and it took a few weeks for me to convince him, but he did it. We heard back from Bob within 12 to 24 hours. It was like, come down to Vancouver and let’s make this happen."
The band did not just send the files; they brought a film crew to document the transition. It was an acknowledgement that this was a pivotal moment in their career, one that deserved a cinematic record.
Lee-la says, "About filming, it was a bit more about this production team that we met. When we came back from our European tour, we had a really big homecoming outdoor festival show and they were there documenting the before, the after and during. The minute we got booked to go into The Warehouse, my second call was to IO to see if they’ll come on board, because you don’t want to miss out on an opportunity of having these guys as flies on the wall. It was really an experience and such an honor to be able to record with such a man."
The logistics of getting to Vancouver were as old-school as the music itself. No first-class flights here. Just a van, a long road and a lot of gear.
Tom says, "It was really cool. They jumped in the van with us and went for the drive from Montreal to Vancouver in two days. It was packed. Everything we have, along with the camera crew - they weren’t scared of any of it. Some people think, oh, we’ll fly and we’ll meet you there or whatever, but they wanted to be in the van seeing what it’s like to cross this great country of ours and they made a really nice little movie out of it, which is cool."
Working with Rock provided a steep learning curve. While he is known for his technical prowess, his real strength lies in the psychological management of the artists in the room.
Lee-la explains the vibe: "Oh, yeah, plenty. Bob’s a real character. First of all, you have the legend that goes with it, and all the stories and all the people they work with. So for us, we were all extremely excited and honored and terrified to meet the man behind the name. I think we were all like giddy teenagers, you know. We had one phone call with him to iron the little musical details out before getting there, and within seconds, he put us all at ease. We spoke the same language and we love the same records. He’s just a really cool laid back, awesome dude."
Tom was particularly struck by Rock's ability to balance the technical with the emotional. He says, "He’s just a great Canadian boy who loves to play with toys. The most amazing part about the guy, obviously, is that he has a vast, vast, enormous knowledge of music, which is really inspiring. He knows his technical side, to a tee. He knows how to set up the microphones and knows the buttons. But what’s really impressive, is the fact that he knows how to get the best performance out of you, which is something that I never felt from another producer before. He just knows how to get in there and get the most out of you."
Rock’s methods are subtle. He does not demand; he nudges. He uses the studio environment to manipulate the energy of the room until the take is exactly what it needs to be.
Lee-la shares an anecdote about the process: "He’s got little techniques, little tricks that he used on us that were really, really cool. You don’t even think about it as it’s happening. For him, it’s second nature and for us, we’re just along for the ride. We came there to learn from him and to try everything out; we didn’t come with a closed mind, we were definitely there to learn and to gain everything we could from the experience. I think it just went really, really smoothly. I remember there was a moment in the studio where Ralph, our manager, came with us. Bob stepped out for a minute and Ralph huddled us over and he goes, 'you know, Bob just told me, you guys could be a little bit more difficult kind of thing?' And it was just really funny (laughter) because we really weren’t difficult at all. We were there to have a great time and to record a great record. That was really our purpose. We weren’t there to be stuck up snobs. (laughter)"
One of the most drastic changes Rock implemented was on the track "Only Love". What began as a standard ballad was stripped down and rebuilt into a high-octane rocker, a move that initially baffled the band.
Tom describes the transformation: "There’s a song on the record called 'Only Love'. It was written as a ballad while on the road. You get to see the world and you get to see all kinds of different people from all walks of life. One thing that’s apparent is that the thing that binds us together is love and hope. Anyway, that’s what the song is about, and it came together as a ballad, but when Bob heard it, he changed the tempo of the song. He almost made it a double time song. So it’s a formula being nice and slow and ballady kind of song and it went to a really fast rock song. We get to click it in our ears and we’re trying to play along to it. It just felt so awkward, like, how can we do that, but he never gave us a second to think about it. It is just do it, do it, do it."
The proof, as they say, is in the playback. Once they heard the result through the studio monitors, the logic became undeniable.
Tom says, "One thing about the recording studio is that the speakers never lie and when you hear something that’s amazing, you know right away that’s good. So when we came back into the control room, listened back to it, it just sounded right. This is what the song needed."
Despite having a decade of history behind them, *Now or Nowhere* feels like a debut for a large portion of the global audience. To bridge the gap, the band has leaned heavily into digital transparency, showing the unvarnished reality of the music industry.
Lee-la points to their video series as a starting point for new fans: "We have a fun little weekly webisode happening right now. Once a week we’re putting out A Week in The Damn Life, which is basically chronicling what we’re doing that week - if it’s recording, a video, putting out the album, or talking about getting signed or not getting signed. So every week, we basically choose a topic, chat about it. It’s Anyone can check it out on YouTube or on our Facebook page. That could bring them up to speed."
The strategy is working. While Canada is their home, the UK has become a massive secondary market for them, with major press and radio support propelling them up the charts.
Tom notes the international traction: "Also maybe some Canadian audiences should check out some of our past work and some of the stuff that we’re doing right now. We have a huge wave of publicity and radio love in the UK right now and we’re getting played on the biggest radio station in England, so the song is climbing up the charts and we just got a full page and a half story in Classic Rock mag to go with it. All that stuff is really cool and big for people in the UK. For a lot of people, maybe in Ontario and out west that have never heard of us before, just know that we’re out there representing you as well."
That representation often comes through their choice of covers. Their version of "Gimme Shelter", released during the height of social unrest and pandemic lockdowns, resonated because it felt like a necessary emotional outlet.
Lee-la explains the timing: "Well, at the time we were in lockdown number two or three here in the city. There were riots going on, people were really going a little crazy. There was also Black Lives Matter happening at the same time. I remember watching some live clips of people looting Steve’s Guitar Store - that’s one of our favorite stores in downtown Montreal, and I was just sitting there thinking 'What is going on?' What we need right now is love and it feels like we’re going towards war. Gimme Shelter just popped into Tom’s head like this was it, this is the song we should do tomorrow. We basically did that when we woke up the next morning, and we recorded it at home."
What started as a home recording for sanity's sake turned into a surprise radio hit, proving that the band's instincts are sharp, even when they are working in isolation.
Tom says, "The idea really came from just staying sane and to not go crazy. We want to play music together somehow, because at the end of the day, with all the press and everything that we do, we play music, because it’s therapeutic and we love it - it’s what we wanted to do. So we started doing these videos, and they started getting more and more popular, and actually, 'Gimme Shelter' charted for a few months on the Canadian radio charts. That was unexpected for something that was recorded at home. The only reason we stopped doing them was because we were booked to play the first Canadian Drive-In show. We were the first band in Canada to do two shows in one night."
The Damn Truth is a band that understands the labour of rock and roll. They are not waiting for a handout; they are building the box, rotating it 360 degrees and playing through the vertigo. *Now or Nowhere* is the sound of a band that has stopped asking for permission. And if the rest of the world is finally listening, it is because they made it impossible to look away.
