By Divine Right is a Canadian

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band led by guitarist and vocalist José Miguel Contreras.

History

The band was formed in 1989 by high school friends Contreras, drummer Mark Goldstein, bass guitarist Liz Teear and guitarist Steve BermanGraham Rockingham, "Placing By Divine Right in the proper light". ''

Hamilton Spectator ''The Hamilton Spectator'', founded in 1846, is a newspaper published weekdays and Saturdays in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. One of the largest Canadian newspapers by circulation, ''The Hamilton Spectator'' is owned by Torstar. ...

'', February 12, 2016. while members were attending

Thornlea Secondary School Thornlea Secondary School is a public high school, in the Regional Municipality of York, that opened in 1968 and is located in Markham, Ontario, Canada, in the Thornhill neighbourhood, on the northeast corner of Bayview Avenue and Willowbrook R ...

Thornhill, Ontario Thornhill is a suburban district in the Regional Municipality of York in Ontario, Canada. The western portion of Thornhill is within the City of Vaughan and its eastern portion is within the City of Markham, Ontario, Markham, with Yonge Street ...

. The band issued a number of independent releases before signing to Squirtgun Records for their 1997 album ''All Hail Discordia''. Bassist

Brendan Canning Brendan Canning (born 1969) is a Canadian indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used ...

and guitarist

Leslie Feist Leslie Feist (born February 13, 1976), known mononymously as Feist, is a Canadian indie pop singer-songwriter and guitarist, performing both as a solo artist and as a member of the indie rock group Broken Social Scene. Feist launched her solo ...

joined the band in 1998 in the run up to their 1999 release ''Bless This Mess'', which was supported by a Canadian and American national tour opening for

The Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, was a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassis ...

. Canning and Feist later left the band, and co-founded

Broken Social Scene Broken Social Scene is a Canadian indie rock band and musical collective including as few as six and as many as nineteen members, formed by Kevin Drew (vocals, guitar) and Brendan Canning (vocals, bass) in 1999. Alongside Drew and Canning, the ...

. In 2001, the band released the album ''Good Morning Beautiful''. In 2003, By Divine Right was one of the only Canadian bands to do a concert tour of China. From 2001 to 2004, the band's line up consisted of Contreras, Colleen Hixenbaugh, Brian Borcherdt, John Hall and Dylan Hudecki. In 2004, drummer John Hall was replaced by Cam Giroux (who played on ''Good Morning Beautiful''), while Borcherdt and Hudecki both left the band. Hudecki was replaced by Darcy Rego and then Michael Small, both of

The Meligrove Band The Meligrove Band is a Canadian indie rock band, based in Toronto, and consisting of Jason Nunes on vocals, guitar and piano, Darcy Rego on vocals and drums, Brian O'Reilly on guitar and synthesizer, and Michael Small on bass guitar. History ...

, for tours of the United States, Canada and Britain, supporting ''Sweet Confusion''. Filling in on drums for some dates was Loel Campbell of

Wintersleep Wintersleep is a Canadian indie rock band formed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2001.Heidi Ulrichsen"Wintersleep offers 'sneak peeks' of new album at Boreal" ''Sudbury Star'', June 30, 2014. The band's original lineup consisted of vocalist and gui ...

. After these tours, the band's line-up changed again, to Contreras, Hixenbaugh and Small with drummer Derek Downham, followed by a September 2006 show at the Drake Hotel (Toronto) that saw the band perform all new songs with Rego, Small and Jason Nunes (

) under the By Divine Right name. By Divine Right's next live show was on December 31, 2007, at the Tranzac Club in Toronto, at which the band's new full-time line up of Contreras, Stew Heyduk (of The Golden Dogs) and Mitch Perkins (formerly of

Rusty Rusty may refer to something covered with rust or with a rust (color). Rusty is also a nickname for people who have red hair, have a rust-hued skin tone, or have the given name Russell (given name), Russell. Rusty may also refer to: People *Rust ...

) appeared together for the first time. In 2007, By Divine Right contributed a cover of

Rheostatics Rheostatics are a Canadian indie rock band. They were formed in 1978, and actively performed from 1980 until disbanding in 2007. After a number of reunion performances at special events, Rheostatics reformed in late 2016, introducing new songs a ...

' "Shaved Head" to the tribute album '' The Secret Sessions'', with a line-up consisting only of Contreras and Julien Beillard of the band

Wooden Stars Wooden Stars are a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1994. The band, from Ottawa, consists of vocalist and guitarist Julien Beillard, guitarist Michael Feuerstack, bassists Josh Latour and Mathieu Beillard, and drummer Andrew McCormack. Style ...

. In May 2008, By Divine Right opened a show for The Golden Dogs at the

Horseshoe Tavern The Horseshoe Tavern (known as The Horseshoe, The 'Shoe', The 'Toronto Tavern' and The 'Triple T' to Toronto locals) is a concert venue at 370 Queen Street West (northeast corner of Queen at Spadina) in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and h ...

in Toronto with yet another new line up, consisting of Contreras, Heyduk and Darcy Rego returning on drums. In 2009, ''Mutant Message'', the band's first album since 2004's ''Sweet Confusion'', was released in Canada on the Toronto Arts imprint

Hand Drawn Dracula Hand Drawn Dracula (HDD) is a Toronto-based independent record label. Artists who have released music on the label include Beliefs, Breeze, Brian Borcherdt, Bruce Peninsula, By Divine Right, Chastity, Dusted, Julie Fader, No Joy, Postdata, Ta ...

. label The album has José Contreras, Stew Heyduk and Darcy Rego with guest vocals by Jason Nunes and Lily Frost, and features "Que Paso", the first song Contreras wrote and sung in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

despite his longtime fluency in the language. By Divine Right's first tours since 2005 followed, with a new drummer, David Joseph, and bass guitarist, Michael Milosh. Music videos were released for the songs "I Love a Girl", "Cupid in Oilskins" and "I Will Hook You Up". The band's line up changed again after these tours, with Dylan Hudecki and Darcy Rego each filling in before Geordie Dynes and Alysha Haugen joined in late 2010. In 2013, By Divine Right released its ninth album, ''Organized Accidents''. In 2016 they released ''Speak & Spell'', a track-for-track cover of

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

's 1981 album '' Speak & Spell''. Contreras has also released two solo albums, ''José Contreras'' (2014) and ''At the Slaughterhouse'' (2019). In 2022, By Divine Right released the single "St. Leons" as a preview of the album ''OTTO MOTTO'', which was released on September 23, 2022, through Fortune Stellar Records out of Toronto.Dave Bidini
"West End Phoenix: Fuzzy Empire"
'' West End Phoenix'', March 18, 2023.

Band members

Current members

*José Miguel Contreras (1989–present) *Alysha Haugen (2010–present) *Colin White (2023–present)

Former members

*Mark Goldstein (1989–2000) *Steve Berman (1989–1991) *Elizabeth Teear (1989–1993) *Rob Carson (1992–1994) *Scott Maynard (1993–1996) *Cam Bull (1996–1997) *

(1998–2000) *

(1998–2000) * Brian Borcherdt (2001–2004) *Colleen Hixenbaugh (2001–2006) *Dylan Hudecki (2001–2004, 2005, 2010) *John Hall (2001–2004) *Cam Giroux (2001, 2004–2005) *Darcy Rego (2004, 2006, 2008, 2010) *Loel Campbell (2004) *Michael Small (2004-2006) *Derek Downham (2005–2006) *Jason Nunes (2006) *Julien Beillard (2007) *Mitch Perkins (2007–2008) *Stew Heyduk (2007–2008) *Michael Milosh (2009–2010) *Dave Joseph (2009–2010) *Geordie Dynes (2010–2023)

Discography

*'' Buffet of the Living Dead'' – 1992 (independent cassette) *''

By Divine Right By Divine Right is a Canadian indie rock band led by guitarist and vocalist José Miguel Contreras. History The band was formed in 1989 by high school friends Contreras, drummer Mark Goldstein, bass guitarist Liz Teear and guitarist Steve Berm ...

'' – 1995 (Kinetic) *''Some'' – 1996 (four-song EP cassette) *'' All Hail Discordia'' – 1997 (

Squirtgun Squirtgun is an American punk rock band from Lafayette, Indiana formed by record producer Mass Giorgini in 1993. History 1993–1998 Squirtgun originally consisted of Mass Giorgini (Bass, Vocals), Matt Hart (Vocals, Guitar), Flav Giorgini (Gu ...

) *'' Bless This Mess'' – 1999 (

Nettwerk Nettwerk Music Group is an independent record label founded in 1984. The Vancouver-based company was created by principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record label to distribute recordings by the band Moev, but the label expanded in Ca ...

) *'' Good Morning Beautiful'' – 2001 ( Linus) *'' Hybrid TV Genii'' – 2004 ( Linus/

spinART SpinART Records was a New York City-based independent record label that released recordings by The Apples in Stereo, Clem Snide, Frank Black, and Michael Penn. The label was started by Joel Morowitz and Jeff Price in 1991. SpinART filed for ban ...

) *'' Sweet Confusion'' – 2004 ( Linus/

) *'' Mutant Message'' – 2009 (

) *'' Organized Accidents'' - 2013 (

) *''Speak & Spell US'' - 2016 (Headless Owl Records) *''OTTO MOTTO'' - 2022 (Fortune Stellar)

References

External links

By Divine Right official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:By Divine Right Musical groups established in 1989 Canadian indie rock groups Musical groups from Toronto 1989 establishments in Ontario