Terra Firma Band

Terra Firma was formed in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1999, by songwriters Kevin Mantik (vocals, guitar) and Graham Sharkey (guitar, keyboard). Although both were touring with the band "Boxtree", Kevin and Graham discovered a common artistic vision that took their musical careers in a new direction. "It immediately became synergistic," says Graham, "we had the ability to feed off each others ideas, and songs would start flowing." Soon, the other band members came on board: Graham's wife - Jennifer (vocals, keyboard), and his brothers Jordan (bass) and Sam (drums). The band has been gaining notoriety within the Alberta Indie music scene for some time now, particularly with shows in the Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer areas. Their mysterious and eclectic musical style has appealed to a wide range of audiences, as proven from performing along side pop-rock bands like, "Starewell" and "Tupelo Honey", or the spaghetti-western surf band, "The Ramblin' Ambassadors", or the instrumental post-punk band, "Fractal Pattern", or even the Punk band, "Mongoose". (Hey, name-dropping is good here 'cause they're all great western Canadian bands, right!)

Terra Firma aren't new to T.V. and the internet either. A recent live appearance on A-channels' "Wired" variety T.V. show gained them a spot on the station's "Best-of-2004" broadcast. The song "Disillusioned" has fared very well on the Garageband.com website, currently placing in the top 6% of 10,000 songs in the rock (all-time) category from reviewer-ratings. One example is, "If you were driving in the wee hours of the morning, just as the sun was rising and touching the earth... , this would be a song you would want to be listening to. This song comes across like a fresh start to a new day, full of positive energy and possibility. Well done." (Reviewed by selfinflicted11 from Kelso, Washington). Download.com describes them as, "bring[ing] their own unique sound, yet melodies full of subtle familiarity." A reviewer from the well known indie-band resource site Taxi.com said, "Intriguing merger of avant garde and commercial impulses, and 'Disillusioned' could be a left-field hit."

Currently, the bands' hunger to explore and create new material has them recording a 6 - 8 song compilation of new songs and previously recorded material. Drummer Sam Sharkey describes this project (as only he can), "Yep, its gonna be good."
Though all members share a passion for artistic expression, they value their commitment to each other above everything else, and it shows in their live performance.

To quote a fan from a recent show, "Terra Firma is music for people who like music."