Management: Brandon Friesen 404-441 Main St. Winnipeg, MB  R3B 1B4 Ph. (204) 942-3429 email Publicity: Danielle Strueby Race Day Promotions Ltd. 402-441 Main St. Winnipeg, MB  R3B 1B4 Ph. (204) 654-4493 Fax (204) 663-0140 email the Band: the Harlots 791 Scotland Avenue Winnipeg, MB  R3M 1W8 email The Harlots Connoisseur of Ruin     If you already knew how to spell "connoisseur,"' you don't need this page. But you should bookmark it anyway, because you might just grow enamored with a couple of interesting factoids relating to The Harlots.     OK, so who are The Harlots? A four-piece rock band from Winnipeg, a city of about 700,000 in the middle of the Canadian Prairies. Their sound is straight-up and generally melodic, despite vestigial influences of metal and punk-pop.     Why should I care about The Harlots? In Winnipeg and other parts of the Canadian Prairies, this quartet has made a name for itself as a live band. More importantly, the new album - Connoisseur Of Ruin - is the best the band has ever made.     How many others have they made? Two. The Harlots in 1998 and Crawl Spaces in 2003. The latter album was distributed by Universal and produced a single, Alien, that wound up in the low-budget but well-regarded movie Phil The Alien. The new album, also distributed by Universal, is way better, quite frankly.     Who’s in The Harlots? Three brothers, who sing and play guitars and a very close friend on drums. Lee Charles Garinger (b. Fairbanks, Alaska) plays bass and keys, Lane Bradley Garinger (b. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) plays guitar and keys, Buck Garinger (b. Whitehorse, Yukon) plays guitar and Mark Sawatzky (b. Winnipeg, Manitoba) plays drums.     Why was each Garinger brother born somewhere different? Their father Larry was a globetrotting civil engineer who worked in exotic locales such as Nepal and Swaziland, as well as many parts of Canada and the U.S. After he passed away, the Garingers wound up in tiny Kelvington, Sask., which is more famous for a different trio - former National Hockey League players Wendel Clark, Joey Kocur and Barry Melrose.     How did the Garingers end up in Winnipeg? One by one, the brothers migrated to the Manitoba capital and took up jobs as hairdressers, gigs that allowed them to play in bands and occasionally travel.     How did The Harlots form? Lane and Brad started jamming with Mark after the drummer got a haircut from a mutual friend named Robin Black. The foursome formed a glammish band called the Ballroom Zombies, which broke up in 1998 when Black moved to Toronto. His departure paved the way for the youngest Garinger brother, Buck, to rejoin his siblings in a new, less fashion-dependent band dubbed The Harlots for no particular reason.     What do you mean, "no reason?" Despite the name, The Harlots aren't a cock-rock band. They even tried to change the name once- to Raised By Ghost, which reflected the Garinger brothers' fatherless years in Kelvington - but that 2001 experiment proved disastrous. Momentum was lost. The band is now quite content to be The Harlots, vague and irrelevant sexual implications be damned.     Where's the best place to see The Harlots? Indoors, in a club. This is not a band that thrives on sunlight, although all four members are sunny enough in real life. The Harlots' favourite venue in Winnipeg is The Zoo, a rock 'n' roll bar with an undeserved reputation for toughness. "It's not a biker bar and you won't get killed," says Sawatzky. "Bring the family!"     What was the best gig The Harlots ever played? Opening up for Motley Crue at Winnipeg Arena in 1999 is a contender, especially because the old hockey barn has since been torn down. But a much less glitzy gig at a Calgary pub trumps the arena-rock experience. "There were only 20 people there but every one of them came up after the show and said it was like a spiritual experience," says Brad.     And the best move The Harlots ever made? Ditching the idea of presenting Buck as a lead singer and going with three frontmen/vocalists on the new album. It sounds natural and it works. The band also was able to record Connoisseur Of Ruin on its own, with no music industry interference. "Previous experiences have taught us to be true to ourselves and uncompromising," Brad says.     Why call the album Connoisseur Of Ruin? Is this a Goth thing? Hell, no. It’s a cliché of another sort. The title refers to the way rock bands keep motoring down career paths despite the hard knocks they encounter along the way. They're basically gluttons for punishment.     Why is the album only 39 minutes long? Because no album should be much longer than that. If the band can't stay interested, why should you? Winnipeg's Brandon Friesen produced the album, which is out on Curve / Universal records, in case you care about such things.     Nah. I like music, not the music industry. What are The Harlots' favourite albums? Buck like The Bends, which Radiohead made before they got wanky. Brad loves the Tom Waits classic Mule Variations. Charles puts Fleetwood Mac's Rumours on during the wee hours of the night. Mark, a huge fan of KISS and metal in general, loves Motley Crue's Shout At The Devil.     That's pretty diverse. Are all bands in Winnipeg that open-minded? Depends who you talk to. Some people in Peg City are annoyed by the constant deification of Winnipeg's 1960s rock 'n' roll glory days. The Harlots prefer to focus on the present.     Presents? I like presents. Then go buy yourself some ice cream or something. Go, connoisseur, go, now that you know how to spell the word.  Buck Garinger  vocals, rhythm guitar     Lane Bradley Garinger  lead guitar, vocals   Lee Charles Garinger  bass guitar, vocals     Mark Sawatzky  drums  the Harlots P.O. Box 68034 RPO Osborne Village Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3L 2V9 theharlots@theharlots.com webmaster@theharlots.com