Dave Phillips, Keith Pun, Jonas Tomalty and Chris Vinson form a whole called Rubberman. Ignore one of them and you'll make a hole in that whole.

This kickass band comes to us strait from Montreal. With their high energy and enthusiasm, they'll keep you rocking whether they're on or offstage. The boys have been jamming together since 1996, usually in Keith or Chris' basement. It doesn't seem like that long ago, but the truth is that they've come a long way since then. They've won several contests, including the title "Best Band In Montreal" in 1997, the Musique Plus DemoClip contest (for Breathe) in 1998 and who can forget CHOM FM L'Esprit '99? You'd think they'd have an over inflated ego by now, but no. The guys make up on of the nicest bands out there. They are always interacting with their fans and they actually care about them. If you ask me, they wouldn't have needed to win any contests to be called the best band in Montreal. They were already number one is a lot of people's books, including mine.

They hit it off pretty big in Montreal when they released their first album on a label, DKD, a division of Aquarius Records. Store owners in the west island had to face angry disappointed fans the day of the release, for they had carelessly ordered a mere 10 copies of the highly anticipated album and had run out in no time.

The band did a brief 10-stop tour of Canada with Clark Nova and Cleavage, gaining many new fans everywhere they went. They also opened for a few big names in the Canadian music industry, namely The Tea Party and Edwin. The boys did promotion for the album with television appearances and their video for More Than I Can Chew getting a fair amount of play on both MuchMusic and Musique Plus.

After promoting the album, the guys came back home and started working on new material for the next one. They released five new demo tracks on their website. However, in January 2003, it was announced that Jonas was leaving the band. This is the message Keif left on their message boards on this subject.

[Posted on 06-Jan-03 @ 07:54 PM]
To all our fans and friends,

We are sorry to announce the departure of Jonas from the band due to creative reasons. As you may all know, the band spent a large portion of the past year writing new material for our next album, but after numerous discussions we all came to the same conclusion- It would be wrong to fake and write something that we were not all into.

Jonas has decided to pursue a more blues, 70s rock style of music, while the remaining members of the band will continue to write in the same vein as we always have. Due to these events we will no longer be associated with DKD Disques or Donald K. Donald. While we cannot comment on the exact details on our departure from DKD Disques, we do wish them all the best in their future endeavours.

The remaining members have decided to move on and we are looking for a new singer/frontman. We are currently accepting submissions from anyone interested. All suggestions, comments and enquiries can be addressed to my attention by calling 514-825-5858 and/or by email at keif@rubberman.ca.

We apologize once again to all our fans who stuck with us from day one, but we assure you that this is not the end for anyone. We look forward to the upcoming year and have high hopes with major label interest. We welcome any questions anyone may have and will try to answer them as thoroughly as possible.

Sincerely,
Keifer

They did end up finding a new lead singer and played one show with him. A few weeks later, their official website went offline and I was told by Keif that Rubberman was no more. Keif is currently working on his own top-secret project and Jonas is about to release a solo album. No word yet on what Dave and Chris are doing. Regardless, the guys always gave everyone who attended their shows a good time. Thanks guys.

Dave Phillips, Keith Pun, Jonas Tomalty et Chris Vinson forment un entier appelé Rubberman. Ignore un d'eux et tu feras un trou dans cet entier.

Ce groupe exceptionnel nous vient directement de Montréal. Avec leur énergie et enthousiasme, ils te garderont captivé par leur beats qu'ils soient sur scène ou non. Les gars font de la musique ensemble depuis 1996, la plupart du temps dans le sous-sol de Keith ou Chris. Ça ne semble pas si loin, mais en vérité ils en ont fait un méchant bon bout. Ils ont gagné de nombreux concours, incluant le titre de "Meilleur groupe à Montréal" en 1997, le DemoClip de Musique Plus (pour Breathe) en 1998 et qui pourrait oublier CHOM FM L'Esprit '99? On pourrait bien penser qu'ils auraient la tête enflée maintenant, mais non. Les gars forment un des groupes les plus gentils qu'on ai connu. Ils interagissent toujours avec leurs fans et ils leurs donnent de l'importance. D'après moi, ils n'avaient pas besoin de gagner n'importe quel concours pour être nommés le meilleur groupe à Montréal. Ils étaient déjà numéro un pour bien des gens, moi inclus.

Ils ont fait assez grand succès à Montréal quands ils ont sortis leur premier album avec DKD, une division d'Aquarius Records. Les disquaires de l'Ouest de l'île ont dû faire face aux fans décus la journée de la parution, puisqu'ils avaient manqué de soin en commandant que 10 copies de l'album tant attendu et les avaient vendues dans le temps de le dire.

Le groupe a fait une brève tournée de 10 arrêts au Canada avec Clark Nova et Cleavage, faisant plusieur nouveaux fans partout où ils se pointaient. Ils ont aussi ouvert la scène pour quelques grands noms dans le domaine de musique canadienne, incluant The Tea Party et Edwin. Les gars ont fait de la promotion pour l'album avec des prestations télévisées et le vidéo pour More Than I Can Chew en bonne rotation à MuchMusic et Musique Plus.

Après cette période de promotion, les gars sont revenus chez eux pour travailler sur du nouveau matériel pour le prochain album. Ils ont sorti cinq nouvelles chansons en démo sur leur site web. Cependant, en janvier 2003, il nous a été annoncé que Jonas quittait le groupe. Voici ce que Keif a laissé sur leur message board à propos de ce sujet.

[Posted on 06-Jan-03 @ 07:54 PM]
To all our fans and friends,

We are sorry to announce the departure of Jonas from the band due to creative reasons. As you may all know, the band spent a large portion of the past year writing new material for our next album, but after numerous discussions we all came to the same conclusion- It would be wrong to fake and write something that we were not all into.

Jonas has decided to pursue a more blues, 70s rock style of music, while the remaining members of the band will continue to write in the same vein as we always have. Due to these events we will no longer be associated with DKD Disques or Donald K. Donald. While we cannot comment on the exact details on our departure from DKD Disques, we do wish them all the best in their future endeavours.

The remaining members have decided to move on and we are looking for a new singer/frontman. We are currently accepting submissions from anyone interested. All suggestions, comments and enquiries can be addressed to my attention by calling 514-825-5858 and/or by email at keif@rubberman.ca.

We apologize once again to all our fans who stuck with us from day one, but we assure you that this is not the end for anyone. We look forward to the upcoming year and have high hopes with major label interest. We welcome any questions anyone may have and will try to answer them as thoroughly as possible.

Sincerely,
Keifer

Ils ont fini par s'en trouver un nouveau chanteur et on fait un concert avec. Quelque semaines plus tard, leur site official n'était plus en ligne et Keif m'a laissé savoir que Rubberman n'était plus. Présentement Keif travaille sur son propre projet top-secret et Jonas va bientôt sortir son album solo. Il n'y a toujours pas de nouvelles sur ce qui se passe avec Dave et Chris. Peu importe, les gars nous ont toujours offerts de bon temps à leurs concerts. Merci les gars.