Hollerado

Hollerado is a Canadian indie rock and power pop group from Ottawa, active from 2007 to 2019. The band forms in Manotick, Ontario, and its lineup consists of Menno Versteeg on vocals and guitar, Nixon Boyd on guitar, Dean Baxter on bass and Jake Boyd on drums.

In its early period, the band records many demos and distributes them on CDs in plastic bags with homemade confetti. These recordings appear under the title Demo in a Bag. In 2009, Hollerado self-releases its debut album Record in a Bag as a free download on its website, with the title referring back to the demo series.

Later in 2009, the group wins a battle of the bands competition in Ottawa run by a local radio station. The prize money from that contest helps the band reissue its debut album and establish Royal Mountain Records. The label later helps launch Toronto acts including PUP and Alvvays.

Hollerado receives a nomination for Best New Group at the 2011 Juno Awards. The band releases its second album, White Paint, in 2013, and the pre-order campaign leads to the 111 Songs project, which is released in 2015. The project begins as a series of custom songs written for supporters, based on their name, where they are from, and two personal facts. More than 100 of these packages are sold before the workload becomes too large, and the project takes two years to complete.

Material from 111 Songs is later used in the band’s third full-length album, Born Yesterday, released in 2017. In 2019, Hollerado announces that it will end after one final album and tour. The final release is Retaliation Vacation, followed by The One Last Time Tour and the band’s last shows in December 2019 in Toronto.

After the split, Menno Versteeg joins the Canadian supergroup Anyway Gang and also records under the name Mav Karlo. Jake Boyd becomes part of Girlfriend Material. Nixon Boyd works as an additional guitarist and touring guitarist in Anyway Gang and also appears as a producer and composer on many releases by artists on Royal Mountain Records.