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The Midway State

The Midway State comes at you from out of nowhere. The band’s nakedly emotional, piano-driven songs bear no clear connection to any current sound or scene. Even within the confines of a four-song EP, you don’t know where the emotional undertow is going to pull you next. All you know is that eventually, the combination of youthful drama and mature melodies will tug you under. Perhaps it helps that, geographically speaking, The Midway State came from a small town in the middle of nowhere. “It’s a little ski town two hours north of Toronto,” singer and songwriter Nathan Ferraro says of his hometown, Collingwood, Ontario. 21 year-old Nathan, eldest of eight children, still splits his time between his family’s house in Collingwood and his apartment in Toronto. “We live out in the country, so I had a lot of time to play around at home. We were never involved in a scene or anything from one of the cities, so I never knew what was cool or what was going on.” From a very early age, Nathan took piano lessons, which he hated, so he switched to the guitar. When he turned 16, he shifted his focus back to the piano and while keeping up with schoolwork and playing sports like the other Collingwood kids, Nathan found time to write songs - lots of them. “All through high school I felt like, ‘you’ve got to write a song,’ just to get that feeling like I’d done something good for the day. So I used to come home from high school and write a song every day.” Nathan has tapes and tapes and tapes and tapes of songs. He’s probably written 500 since he was 14. These songs are what ultimately distinguish the Midway State from other bands. “Met a Man on Top the Hill” is like pages torn from a fairytale, with lyrics that switch between the perspective of a powerful figure and his object of manipulation. “It could be anything,” Nathan explains of the manipulating force in the song. “Like the Devil, or someone just pushing stuff on you. I really want to write on a human level that everyone can relate to, and just be honest.” “Change For You” and “Nobody Understands” tread in more romantic territory, but similarly unfold in ways that are both familiar and unexpected. “A Million Fireflies”, with its chunky guitar riffs, has emerged as a crowd favorite. Reaching the audience is a skill that Nathan and drummer Daenen Bramberger, who’s been in the band since its schoolboy origins, learned early on. “When we were 16 or 17, my dad bought us a van and we toured across Canada for the summer,” Nathan says. “We played everywhere, from Cape Breton all the way to Vancouver, just booking our own gigs. We would play in living rooms, in bars… We played with hardcore bands, emo bands—we were always first of five bands at the all-ages show.” “When I look back at it now, I’m like, ‘wait, when I was 16, I didn’t get a job. I spent the summer driving around Canada playing at weird little places?’,” he laughs. A short time later, the band moved out of their parents’ homes and relocated a couple of hours south in Toronto. There they were able to find the other half of the band, best friends Michael Wise and Michael Kirsh, through an ad they posted in the University of Toronto’s jazz studies building. Now, The Midway State is poised to reach many more people than Nathan and Daenen could ever have imagined when they first started pounding those songs out after school on the family piano.

Latest bulletin 11.04.09

Win tickets to an upcoming show!

Check out www.themidwaystate.com for details!

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When the circus comes to town Two days ago
Two new shows have been added! Nov 10
From the van... Nov 8

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Nov 13, 12:11 PM

When the circus comes to town

Arkells coming through the speakers of the envy bus as we are on route to St Catherines for the 4th show of the tour. Warm sunshine glaring off of my blackberry, periodically blinding me as I write this but hey... sun and heat in November....no complaints here.

And so the circus travels on down the highway from one city to the next. I never thought being a carny would a) be my job and b) that I would love it so damn much.

"step right up, the midway is rolling through a town near you."

- kirsh
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Nov 10, 07:29 AM

Two new shows have been added!

Dec. 7th in Kelowna and Dec. 8th in Kamloops.

For ticket information and other info, check out the shows section.
Nov 08, 04:16 PM

From the van...

Hey guys,

Nathan here. Just wanted to send along a note from the van.
Its 2:40pm and I'm traveling with half of Midway (Daenen and Mike Kirsh are in the second van) and half of the Envy. We're on the highway from the southern part of our country up a little to Kitchener, ON for the second show on this tour. Just stopped for gas and downed a pink grapefruit cocktail, one of the smallest pleasures in my life.

Its crazy how close you become with the guys you tour with, its not like you have a choice, but you just relate so hard to the other guys on the road. Its a weird life style that we've chosen, being away from home, away from a regular schedule, away from reality. Sometimes I feel crazy, good crazy, but naturally, I relate to the other crazy people around me. Right now the conversation is about "pimsleur" (google that)

Last nights show was mayhem, 4 bands, 18 players, 23 people on this tour in total I think. Needless to say, we had a lot of kinks to work out for the show in general. Thanks to Windsor for being such gracious guinea pigs, we owe you an "end of tour" show one of these days soon ;)

Were home for Monday Tuesday and Wednesday this week and so we're going into the studio to work on a new track before we pick up the bus and leave for the long haul. (Especially excited for the bus, this is our first time in a real fancy tour bus. I hear there's a personal TV/satellite in each of our bunks and wireless internet- cooool, ima send pics when we get it)

Anyways guys, speak soon. Keep in touch via twitter @nathan_midway

Word ;)
Nov 03, 08:09 PM

Cross Canada Tour Contest Rules

DESCRIPTION OF THE CONTEST
The Midway State is giving you a chance to win two tickets to an upcoming show on the cross canada 09' tour.

CONTEST PERIOD
The contest will run from November 7th, 2009 to December 19th, 2009.

WHO CAN ENTER
To be eligible to participate in this contest, entrants must have a Twitter account and be over the age of 13.

HOW TO ENTER
1.    No purchase or payment is necessary to enter or win. A purchase or payment will not improve your chances of winning.

2.    Qualified entrants need to simply email their name, phone number, the show they would like to attend and why they should get to go before the show date to contest@themidwaystate.com.

ELIMINATION
Any false information provided within the context of the contest by any participant concerning identity, mailing address, telephone number, e-mail address or non-compliance with these Official Rules or the like may result in the immediate elimination of the participant from the contest.

PRIZE

    •    Two free tickets to contestants show of choice

**1: Travel and accommodations not provided

WINNER NOTIFICATION
1.    Winners will be selected the day before each show and announced on Nathan's Twitter page.
2.     By participating in the contest, each participant and winner waives any and all claims of liability against the contest sponsors,     and their employees and agents, their respective employees and agents, for any personal injury or loss that may occur from     the conduct of, or participation in, the contest, or from the use of any prize.
Sep 14, 10:22 AM

Change For You feat. Carly Rae Jepsen

We recently collaborated with Carly Rae Jepsen on our song Change For You - now available on iTunes.

Check out our profile to listen.
Jul 24, 12:08 PM

Interview with Nathan

Nathan recently sat down with AnnieGmovies.com and did this interview.

Thought we'd share it with you.
Feb 19, 01:02 PM

Tour dates!

Hey guys,

We've posted some dates that are part of our upcoming tour.

Just wanted to let you know that there's going to be a bunch more added soon.

Mar. 12th Barrie, Ontario @ The Mansion (formerly the Foundation).
Mar. 13th Toronto, Ontario @ MuchMusic - Live performance Much on Demand
Mar. 14th Toronto, Ontario @ Fairmont Royal York Hotel (Part of Canadian Music week).
Mar. 16th Winnipeg, Alberta @ The Park Theatre
Mar. 18th Saskatoon, Saskatchewan @ Louis' Pub
Mar. 19th Edmonton, Alberta @ The Starlite Room
Mar. 24th Calgary, Alberta @ The Marquee Room

Love,
Midway
Feb 18, 11:42 AM

We care about the environment and we didn't even realize it.

http://tinyurl.com/ceym8j
Nov 23, 10:48 PM

Call it a tour

Thank you so, so much to everyone who came out to our shows over the past two weeks.

Having just completed our first headlining tour across the country with our new found friends Thriving Ivory and old pals Crowned King we couldn't be happier; and we have all of you to thank.

We had an unbelievable time and I hope we can come back soon!

All the best,
Nathan.
Nov 21, 05:49 PM

"Never Again" #1 on the MuchMusic Countdown!

We're so happy to be able to share with you that after several weeks on the chart, Never Again has officially reached the top spot of the MuchMusic countdown!

We've been having such a blast on this tour we're getting close to wrapping up and its all thanks to you guys.

Thank you so much for all the continued support!

-Midway

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The Midway State

Latest bulletin 11.04.09

Photos posted by The Midway State

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