The Darling DeMaes.

Once upon a time …

There was a girl living in Oregon. Eugene,Oregon to be precise.

It was a town filled with hippies. A real – peace and love kind of town. This young lady adored music. She played piano growing up for her Dad. A man who loved the Beatles and at the same time, was very proud of her daughter’s singing and keyboard playing. According to Tasha Cyr, so much so – her Father would inadvertently embarrass her by playing her songs to visiting guests …

At the age of seventeen, she moved back to Montreal with a new skill. A guitar playing skill. An acoustic guitar playing skill. This young lady brought her love of the Dave Mathews Band and John Mayer to university where she also became involved in theatre. Places such as Brutopia Pub and Grumpys – her new found Montreal venues where she was able to showcase her musical skills.

Meanwhile …

There was a young man, originally from Vancouver who was living in Asia teaching English. The young man spent a lot of his down time, writing songs with his acoustic guitar. His influences as a young man; Nirvana, BoyzIIMen,New Kids on the Block,Pearl Jam and the Beatles.

Following his departure from South Korea, the man in question decided to broaden his horizons and instead of returning to his western roots – the aspiring writer and musician chose Quebec because of it’s flourishing artistic scene.

Frequenting places where music was played, places such as Brutopia and Grumpys, Erik Virtanen met other artists and formed a band.The Darling DeMaes.

The lady singer in the band at that time, one day received a gift. A pregnancy. A condition which eased the pain of the band letting her go. A mutual parting of ways during the recording of the group’s first cd ; A Users Guide to Raising the Dead ( Songs of Spring ).

The young lady who was embarrassed by her father so many years ago – met the young man who had written forty plus songs while living abroad. Tasha Cyr fell in love with Erik Virtanen because of his songwriting. Tasha also joined the current roster Trevor Lashmore, Marc Andre Mongrain, Stephan Jovanovich and Erik in the Darling DeMaes as a singer/ piano/ keyboard/ guitar player..