The last thing the world needs is another Beatles-inspired band. What enables The Nines, from Toronto, Canada, to stand out from the armies of acolytes who have religiously studied the Gospel of John, Paul, George and Ringo is the vital artistry of Steve Eggers. The piano-pounding bandleader employs the sacred texts not as an end in itself but rather as the springboard for personal expression of a highly personal sort, writing songs that capture real life as it is lived today. (written by Bud Scoppa: Rolling Stone Magazine, Paste, Hits)
Back Story:
The first Nines LP, Wonderworld of Colourful, came out in Canada in 1998 on the Bare Naked Ladies' Page label and was distributed through EMI. Later that year, Universal Music Canada released a piano-based Four-song EP. This preliminary version of the band was sufficiently appealing to connect with the pop underground and top the Canadian college chart, but, as Eggers readily admits, the Nines were then still very much a work in progress.
Still, this initial studio foray did offer a tantalizing glimpse of the young artist's potential. The second Nines lineup cut Properties of Sound, released in North America in 2001 (Airmail Recordings picked up the album in Japan a year later). Additionally, several of Eggers' songs wound up on network TV series, including Dawson's Creek, Party of Five and Joan of Arcadia (and most recently the theme song for Global Television's comedy sitcom The Jane Show). Eggers has worked recently with Andy Partridge (XTC) and Jason Falkner (Grays, Jellyfish, McCartney) on the Nines' album, Calling Distance Stations.
Since then, Eggers has totally committed himself to the making of the album Gran Jukle's Field, with help from Jason Falkner and Bleu (L.E.O)- writing, refining and recording the material, and finding cohorts who could help him achieve his vision, which is predicated upon bringing the grand legacy of the 1960s into the present. Picking up where the Beatles left off is a big challenge, but it can be done, as XTC, Jellyfish and Spoon have proved. The Nines belong in that rarefied company.