It’s Only Life is a high-energy rock album 

With It’s Only Life now a familiar and popular tune with local radio listeners, Huntsville band Laganza is getting ready to air a few more songs on its new album of the same name.

It’s Only Life, the CD, will be officially launched at a concert on Tuesday, July 29 at the Algonquin Theatre.

Laganza is a four-piece group featuring Tobin Spring on guitar and vocals, Derek Cochrane on drums, Brian Hawley on guitar and vocals, and Ryan Murray on bass and vocals.

Original band member Benji Jordan is also featured with the band on occasion.

“Ryan does most of our live concerts and Benji is in the studio, but both will be playing at the concert,” said Spring.

Formed in 1994, Laganza began playing at Huntsville High School’s legendary Black Whole and started appearing at other venues about three years later.

To date the band has played more than 1,000 shows across Ontario, and opened for many stars, including Big Sugar, Kim Mitchell, Sloan and April Wine.

Laganza recorded their first self-titled release in 2001 then in 2006 released a demo album, Black Creek Sessions, which they produced themselves under the Etwell Records label.

“A lot of people around town would know it, ” said Spring.

Their original material was a scattering of genres, “a mish-mash of rock, reggae, blues and roots music,” but their new CD is more focused thanks to the expertise of co-producer Huntsville’s André Wahl, who also co-produced Hawksley Workman’s latest album Between the Beautifuls.

“We were writing in a variety of styles, but Andre came in to the studio and heard what we were playing and picked what he liked. He said the album had to be clear cut, that he wanted to harness the high-energy rock and put that on the CD,” said Spring.

Apart from a couple of songs – It’s Only Life and September – the band’s material was little more than chord structures that had come out of their jamming sessions. But in that Wahl saw potential, said Spring. “What were simple riffs we worked into songs and what we now have is a straightforward rock album.”

The CD is a collaborated effort of original material, but it’s the title song, written by Spring, that up to now has been garnering all the attention.  “The idea for It’s Only Life was to have a lighthearted song to encompass the idea that one shouldn’t sweat the small stuff. Originally it was to be a long, hilarious song, throw everybody’s name I know into it and change it up each time we did a show. But it ended up featuring a couple of local, colourful characters,” Spring explained.

 He continued: “I have a tendency at this point in my career to draw on things around me, but I read a book lately that said that is not necessarily a good idea, it’s a bit close to home, but I’ve not learned my lesson yet.”

With the launch of this latest album, the band is hoping for more exposure. “With the exception of Hawksley it’s been a mystery how an artist or band goes about getting the exposure they need to draw a bit of an audience, so we have to find out what it takes to do that. We’ll take it step by step, take the CD out to the CBC, then hopefully tour it across Canada,” said Spring.

Tickets for the CD launch concert are $15 for adults and $10 for youth under 18 and are available from the Algonquin Theatre box office, 789-4975 or www.algonquintheatre.ca.  CDs will be available at the show and from Cripple Creek, Cavalcade Color Lab, and CD Plus in the Huntsville Place Mall.