| Mobile | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Origin: | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Genre: | Alternative rock |
| Years Active: | –, – |
| Label: | Bieler Bros. Universal Music Group Canada The Militia Group |
| Associated Acts: | Moonraker |
| Website: | https://www.mobiletheband.ca/ |
| Current Members: | Mat Joly Frank Williamson Christian Brais Alex Dionne Pierre-Marc Hamelin |
| Past Members: | Martin Lavallée Dominic Viola |
Mobile is a Canadian alternative rock band from Montreal initially composed of Mathieu Joly (vocals), Christian Brais (guitar), Pierre-Marc Hamelin (drums), Dominic Viola (bass) and Frank Williamson (guitar). Their debut album, Tomorrow Starts Today, was released in 2006. The band was also nominated for two Juno Awards in 2007 and went on to win the award for "New Group of the Year". Hamelin left the band and was replaced by Martin Lavallée.
In 2000, Dominic Viola joined Moonraker, a rock band from Montreal started in 1997 by Brais, Hamelin, Joly and Williamson. After some initial success, including winning the CHOM L'Esprit in 2001,[1] the band moved to Toronto in 2003.[2] In 2005, the band signed with Universal Music Group Canada and Interscope and changed their name to Mobile.
See main article: Tomorrow Starts Today.
On April 18, 2006 Mobile released their debut album Tomorrow Starts Today through Universal Music Group Canada. The music video for their second single, "Out of My Head", was nominated for a MuchMusic Video Award for Best Post Production.[3]
Music from Tomorrow Starts Today was featured in various media such as TV shows and video games. "Montreal Calling" and "New York Minute" were on the soundtracks for NHL 07 and FIFA 07 respectively. The album's title track, "Tomorrow Starts Today", was featured in the Canadian bilingual film, Bon Cop, Bad Cop, and "New York Minute" was featured in an episode of One Tree Hill.
Mobile won the 2007 Juno Award for New Group of the Year. Tomorrow Starts Today was nominated for a 2007 Juno Award for Rock Album of the Year.[4]
On August 21, 2007, the album was released in the United States through The Militia Group.[5]
See main article: Tales from the City.
The band entered the studio with producer Jeff Saltzman in December 2007 to begin recording their second studio album, Tales from the City, which was released October 7, 2008.[6] Mobile released the album's first single, "The Killer", on July 1, 2008.
In late fall of 2008, Mobile set out on a Canadian tour in support of their album, and supported Chris Cornell on his solo tour for his album Scream, on at least seven Canadian dates.
In 2007 Mat Joly recorded "My Life Without Me" as a guest vocalist on Neverending White Lights' second album, .
Drummer Pierre-Marc Hamelin left the band to pursue law. After a few weeks of searching for a new drummer, the band found Martin Lavallée, who joined for the Sound of Fiction tour.
The US version released with four more songs: "Dusting Down the Stars" (2008 rerecording), "Electrolove", "The Low Road" and "Don't Wait".
After the tour, the band began writing their third album. More than 50 new demos were written for the record. According to guitarist Christian "Criq" Brais, the songs had a similar sound as their first album Tomorrow Starts Today. The band were expected to start the recording of the album this summer, expecting a possible release date by the end of 2011. As the band wanted to focus on the album, no tour dates were scheduled before they finished the recording and writing of the new material.
On March 23, 2011, Mobile officially announced the band's break-up. Lead singer Mat Joly ventured into a solo career. There was no announcement on what they would do with the material they wrote for their third album.[7]
In the early 2020s, the band reformed with a few original members gone. Dominic Viola left and was replaced by Alex Dionne, and drummer Pierre-Marc Hamelin returned to the band, rereplacing Martin Lavallée. The third album, Roadmap To Redemption, was released on March 31, 2023.
| Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [8] | |||
Tomorrow Starts Today
| 10 |
| |
Tales from the City
| — | ||
Roadmap to Redemption
| — | ||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [10] [11] | CAN CHR [12] | CAN HAC [13] | CAN Rock [14] [15] | ||||
| 2005 | "Montreal Calling" | — | — | — | 5 | Tomorrow Starts Today | |
| 2006 | "Out of My Head" | 6 | 5 | 5 | 11 | ||
| "See Right Through Me" | — | — | — | 21 | |||
| 2007 | "Dusting Down the Stars" | — | 31 | — | — | ||
| 2008 | "The Killer" | 68 | — | — | 5 | Tales from the City | |
| "Hit the Floor No. 7" | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2023 | "In My Heart"[16] | — | — | — | — | Roadmap to Redemption | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||