Mac band looking for Letterman

McMaster pop-rockers Of Gentlemen and Cowards try to play as many shows as possible.

From the big – playing the main stage at Burlington’s Sound of Music Festival – to the not-so-big – playing a soccer tournament for youth, ages three to six, the next day.

So how does the band feel that their next gig might be on the Late Show with David Letterman?

“That’s the question that’s going to keep me from sleeping tonight,” says lead singer and mechanical engineering student Simon Edwards. “To play Letterman would be just incredible.”

The group was just told their ballad Save Me will be used during a scene in the upcoming film We Made This Movie, produced by Letterman’s Worldwide Pants company.

As a result, Of Gentlemen and Cowards are now one of a handful of bands in the running to take the stage at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City – home of the popular Late Show.

“It’s an opportunity for us to advance in our music careers,” says Edwards. “But we’re really trying not to think too much about it.”

They may not be thinking about the ends, but they’re certainly thinking about the means. Votes are needed to capture the coveted gig, and the band has reached out to family, friends, classmates and anyone else who might help their cause.

“We’re really excited about the response we’ve gotten,” says Edwards.

As of the morning of July 20, the band was in second place in the contest.

Whether they appear on the show or not, the band – bassist Josh Dawson, guitarist Christian Fedele, drummer Jake Warren and Edwards – has already met with success. Formed just a year-and-a-half ago, they’ve released an album, won the provincial finals of the University Battle of the Bands and toured Ontario and Quebec.

The group was also in the studio recently and will soon release a new single, Warminster, on 7” vinyl. Their EP Threads is available on iTunes.

All this while studying as full-time students at McMaster.

“We’re all pretty academic students,” says Edwards. “And we’re all very proud to go to Mac.”

Band mates Fedele and Warren are in sociology, while Dawson works with the double bass in the music department.

An appearance on Letterman would be a boon for the band, but Edwards says the performance wouldn’t just be about Of Gentlemen and Cowards.

“We want to get McMaster on Letterman,” says Edwards, who promises to sport McMaster gear on stage. “We, as a band, feel like we’re so much more than Of Gentlemen and Cowards, so we hope people can see it that way too. We really want to give back to the school and to everyone who has given us so much.”

Contest voting ends August 7. You can cast one vote each day.