For four years, Thirteen O’clock has built their sound from the ground up. The post-hardcore trio from Listowel, Ontario involves many themes and sounds in their music to create a variety of catchy and unique rock songs.
Since their conception in mid-2004, the band has been writing music to keep themselves sane, and trying to find some way to sustain themselves while doing so. Alex Mason, the lead guitarist of the band is the driving force behind their unique sound thanks to his catchy riffs, most of which somehow relate in feel to the lyrics of the lead singer/ drummer, Mitchell Dekker. The bass player for the band, Cameron Ketchabaw, writes smooth and digging bass lines, which fill out the sound with powerful simplicity.
Each song by the band has its own special flavor and influence, setting each apart from the next. “Dead To The World”, starts with a dynamic, overdriven guitar riff, that could only be the creation of the lead guitarist, Alex Mason. The crowd-pleaser, “Troubadour” draws from Spanish folk music and alternative rock.; ending with a hardcore rendition of “The Mexican Hat Dance”. Songs like “Shadows” or “Carnivalé” which take from the James Bond theme song and Circus music, work in a similar way, taking something remotely recognizable, and turning it into something extraordinary. The band has lately been concentrating and writing their first official full-length album. Mitchell Dekker, the lead singer and drummer of Thirteen O’clock records and mixes all of their music in his garage studio, where they also currently film their live YouTube videos, and most recently the music video for Troubadour, which is also available for view on YouTube.
The bands live show is a very intimate and energetic spectacle. With Mitchell Dekker, managing to stay fully energetic behind drums and keep singing at the same time, the other two are free to do whatever they want. This usually involves jumping in with the crowd during a song, kicking each other on stage, or just plain rocking out.
In an industry where bands are constantly fighting to keep ahead and stay original, Thirteen O’clock consistently orchestrates original material that can dance between the lines of pop and macabre, or can break the barriers of folk and punk. The band will keep playing local shows and wowing audiences with their lively performances and their new flavor of alternative rock.