During the early years of the band, many demos were recorded and ripped to CDs which were often distributed for free. The demos were titled “Demo in a Bag” and the name references the fact that the CDs were “distributed” in plastic bags with homemade confetti.
In 2009, they self-released their debut album Record in a Bag in 2009 as a free download on their website. The name of their debut references their string of demos. Later that year, the band entered and won a “battle of the bands” contest in Ottawa, Ontario which was hosted by a local radio station. With the $250,000 prize money, the band reissued their self-released debut and formed Royal Mountain Records. Royal Mountain Records has since helped launch the career of other Toronto, Ontario artists such as PUP and Alvvays.
In 2011, the band was nominated for the Best New Group Award at the Canadian music awards show the 2011 Juno Awards, but lost out to Said the Whale
On February 26, 2013, the band released their second LP, White Paint. The pre-order sales of this album lead to the ambitious 111 Songs project which was eventually released in 2015. At the time, Hollerado stated "as part of the deal we would write them a custom song. The idea was the person would send us their name and where they were from and two facts about themselves, and a few months later we would send them a song we wrote for them”. The band sold over 100 of these packages before they realized the tremendous amount of work all these original songs would be. “111 Songs” actually resulted in two years of work on the songs and many of the songs were used in the band's third full-length album Born Yesterday which was released in 2017.
In early 2019, Hollerado announced the group would be disbanding following one last album and tour. Retaliation Vacation was released later that year and the band embarked on a final tour titled The One Last Time Tour. The band played their final shows on December 11th-13th at the Danforth Music Hall with a final performance at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto on December 14, 2019.
Since the disbandment, frontman Menno Versteeg (vocals, guitar) has joined the Canadian supergroup Anyway Gang and released some music under the moniker Mav Karlo. Jake Boyd (drums) is part of the newly formed supergroup Girlfriend Material. Nixon Boyd (guitar) is an additional guitarist/tour guitarist in “Anyway Gang” and is credited as as a producer/composer on many albums/songs from bands signed under Royal Mountain Records.
Got To Lose
Hollerado Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like a whip on my back
And we still have not spoken
Since the day that I left
You got to lose love if you want to find love
You got to lose, you got to lose
Train pulled into some kinda burned out town
I was aching like a half past dead
There was a man with a monocle eating pineapple outside
He offered me to trade his ride for head (what?)
How far a walk to town where a bar could be found?
I got just enough change for a drink
There was a rubbie with a bible and some bad news on the brink
He said, "It's not too far now I think"
We came down from the trees, singing
We came down from the trees
You got to lose love if you want to find love
(You got to lose, You got to lose)
You got to lose love if you want to find love
(You got to lose, You got to lose)
When darkness fell it held the rain like water in my shaking hand
With no one there to lead the walk
And so the night was getting dirty and I begged the lord for mercy
And He said, "Oh, so now you wanna talk?"
Found myself in a garden of Eden just as the sun began to rise
And we sipped red wine with our lips upon the vine
And our bodies got tangled in the night
We came down from the trees, singing
We came down from the trees
You got to lose love if you want to find love
(You got to lose, You got to lose)
You got to lose love if you want to find love
(You got to lose, You got to lose)
We came down from the trees, swinging from telephone lines
We came down from the trees, singing and telling lies
Like you got to lose love if you want to find love
You got to lose love if you want to find love
You got to lose love if you want to find love
You got to lose love if you want to find love
You got to lose, you got to lose
You got to lose, you got to lose
You got to lose, you got to lose
You got to lose, you got to lose
The lyrics of the song "Got to Lose" by Hollerado depict a journey of losing and finding love. It starts with the singer waking up on a Sunday morning, feeling the pain of a love lost and not having spoken since the day they parted. The chorus "You got to lose love if you want to find love" is repeated several times, reflecting the belief that in order to find real love, one must be willing to let go of what is not right for them.
The second verse details a strange encounter in a burned-out town where the singer meets a man with a monocle eating pineapple, who offers him a ride in exchange for something explicit. The singer has just enough money for a drink when he meets a man with a bible who tells him the bar is not too far away. The bridge reflects on the struggles of finding love, with the darkness holding rain like water in a shaking hand, no one to lead the walk and the singer begging the Lord for mercy.
The final verse describes the singer finding himself in a garden of Eden just as the sun began to rise, sipping red wine with lips upon the vine and bodies getting tangled in the night. The song ends with the singer and the rest of humanity coming down from the trees, singing and telling lies. Overall, the song depicts the ups and downs of love and the need to let go of what is not meant for us to find true love.
Line by Line Meaning
Sunday morn has a-broken
It's Sunday morning and the day has just begun
Like a whip on my back
It feels like something heavy is weighing down my spirit
And we still have not spoken
We haven't talked since we last saw each other
Since the day that I left
Ever since I left, there has been no communication between us
Train pulled into some kinda burned out town
The train I was on arrived at a rundown town
I was aching like a half past dead
I was in so much pain and fatigue like someone who was almost dead
There was a man with a monocle eating pineapple outside
Outside, there was a man wearing a monocle and eating pineapple
He offered me to trade his ride for head (what?)
The man suggested that I give him oral sex in exchange for a ride
How far a walk to town where a bar could be found?
I wondered how much distance I had to cover before I find a bar in the town
I got just enough change for a drink
I had barely enough money to buy a drink
There was a rubbie with a bible and some bad news on the brink
I encountered a drunken man holding a bible with some terrible news to share
He said, "It's not too far now, I think"
The drunken man told me that the town is not far from our location
When darkness fell it held the rain like water in my shaking hand
As darkness came upon us, the raindrops felt like they were being held in my trembling hands
With no one there to lead the walk
I had no one to guide me as I walked in the darkness
And so the night was getting dirty and I begged the lord for mercy
The night became dangerous, so I prayed to God for help
And He said, "Oh, so now you wanna talk?"
God responded as if saying, 'You only remember to pray when you're in trouble?'
Found myself in a garden of Eden just as the sun began to rise
I discovered myself in a beautiful location just as the sun was coming up
And we sipped red wine with our lips upon the vine
We enjoyed red wine while savoring the taste of the grapes
And our bodies got tangled in the night
We got intimate in the midst of the night
We came down from the trees, swinging from telephone lines
We descended from the trees, swinging and hanging onto the telephone lines
We came down from the trees, singing and telling lies
We climbed down from the trees while singing and lying
Like you got to lose love if you want to find love
You have to let go of the love you have before you can find new love
You got to lose, you got to lose
You have to let go in order to move on
You got to lose, you got to lose
You have to lose something in order to gain something else
You got to lose, you got to lose
You have to give something away to get something new
You got to lose, you got to lose
You have to let go of what you have before you can truly receive something better
Contributed by James G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@nathanmclean1619
To this day. Still my favourite Canadian band, had the privilege to meet them a couple times, truly beautiful souls. Long live hollerado.
@Daswunderkind69
I just saw them in concert today they were SO GOOD! They are the pride and joy of Ottawa!
@mikegualjr
I’m so happy got to follow way back when and catch 10+ shows! Some of best music videos ever and absolutely amazing band 😎
@fishflavoredicecream
hollerado has the best songs, the best music videos, coolest stage presence and awesome band members. what more can one ask from a band???
@joshuakelly9666
the 1st thing u mentioned and playing good live are all i need
@Zachari123
What makes this video for me is the fact that the background noise of shuffling feet and opening umbrellas wasn't all cut out. It adds something really unique to it.
@Whatjayareyounuts
Best use of the umbrella testudo ever...if I were rain I would so not attack you....good tunes as well.
@SolarSurfLeo
One of the best Produced and Groove Right Canadian Singles of the Year! :)
@MOTUmanagement
This video give me a rod... that then opens up into an umbrella! Congrats DUDES!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!
@HolleradoOperaHouse
Playing drums is always fun, and playing music with your friends is the best thing in the world. :)