Worst Live Stream Show Ever by the Worst Pop Band Ever

Despite their name, the Toronto-based Worst Pop Band Ever features Juno and Trille Or award-winning artists that have performed with everyone from the Sultans of String to Blue Rodeo; Bad Plus to the Shuffle Demons. With their mix of irreverent originals and deconstructed covers, they have filled festivals and clubs throughout North America and Asia, from St. John’s to Seattle to Taipei, and now have their sights set on the interwebs. You have been warned.

Adrean Farrugia — Keys
Award winning pianist and composer Adrean Farrugia is one of Canada’s most distinct voices on the piano. Since the late 1990s Adrean has been in high demand as a freelance performer and educator. Keeping a busy touring schedule, mainly as a sideman, Adrean has toured extensively across Canada and the United States as well as in venues across Europe, Australia, the UK, Israel and in Japan. Adrean has performed/recorded with some of jazz’s greatest and most diverse artists including: Ernie Watts, Adam Nussbaum, Larry Carlton, Curtis Fuller, Tom Scott, Bob Brookmeyer, Randy Brecker, Eric Alexander, Cyrille Aimee, Molly Johnson, Jane Bunnett, Ron Blake, Joel Frahm, Matt Penman, Dafnis Prieto, Kinan Azmeh, Brad Goode, Kenny Wheeler, Darcy James Argue, Don Thompson, Lorne Lofsky, Kevin Turcotte, and Pat Labarbera. Adrean currently performs/has performed with such diverse projects as saxophone legend Ernie Watts’ Band, the Matt Dusk Band, the Brad Goode Group (featuring Ernie Watts and Adam Nussbaum), The Ernesto Cervini group Turboprop (featuring saxophonist Joel Frahm), The Johnny Griffith Quintet, Heather Bambrick, Marito Marques, Violinist Drew Jurecka, Kiki Misumi, Tim Shia’s ‘The Worst Pop Band Ever’, the Bob Brough Quartet, Avery Raquel, and the Darcy Hepner Big Band. As a leader Adrean has released four albums. His second album ‘Ricochet’ was nominated for a 2011 Juno award for best contemporary jazz recording. As a composer Adrean has penned more than 30 works to date.

Tim Shia — Drums
Whether it be a jazz festival gig with Rich Underhill; winning a Trille Or with Amelie et Les Singes Bleus; playing Cumbia’s with Quique Escamilla on CBC; adding percussion on a Electronica recording with Milosh (Rhye); to headlining a Hip Hop festival in Taiwan with LEO37, Tim Shia has been fortunate enough to play with a host of Juno and Grammy Award winning musicians in an array of genres. When he’s not performing, Tim has scored and licensed music for film and television including work for CBC, the Toronto Public Library, Teletoon and the NFB. He has given masterclasses and workshops on performance and improvisation at every level from Elementary to Post Secondary Institutions across Canada. He also hosted a radio show on Jazz Fm 91.1 called “Jazz is What?!”

Drew Birston — Bass
Drew is a versatile bassist, composer, producer and singer/songwriter living in Toronto, Canada. He has been contributing to the Canadian music scene as a composer and bassist for over 25 years and has toured the world with a variety of different artists. After completing jazz studies in Antigonish, NS and Montréal, QC, the Toronto music scene was calling and his good friend, Mark Mariash, invited him to come and audition for a pop band there. He got the gig with Lava Hay in 1992 and that opened up the incredibly rich and diverse scene that Toronto had to offer. From there he recorded and toured with The Leslie Spit Treeo, The Wild Strawberries, Melanie Doane, Chantal Kreviazuk, Justin Hines, Tomi Swick, Lily Frost and Moon V Sun. He has also had the great fortune to work with producers such as Brent Bodrug, Justin Abedin, Ron Lopata, Danny Leblanc, George Seara and Stephan Moccio and has appeared on over a 100 recordings. Along his musical journey, he joined good friends Chris McKhool and Kevin Laliberté’s band Sultans of String and has enjoyed recording 6 albums and extensive touring throughout Canada, US and the UK.

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