Musician Dany Laj returns to northern Ont. with his band

A Montreal-based power pop band with strong ties to northern Ontario is kicking off its new tour in North Bay, Ont., at the end of the month followed by three other northern stops.

An undated promotional photo of Dany Laj and the Looks used for their 2024 North American Tour. (Supplied/Dany Laj and the Looks)

Dany Laj and the Looks was formed in 2010 and draws inspiration from the Beatles, the Who and the Beach Boys.

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Frontman Dany Laj is originally from Kirkland Lake and has been honing his skills in songwriting and guitar in various bands since his teen years in northern Ontario.

Speaking with CTV News Laj said it feels special that the new tour will kick off close to his roots.

“You know, some of these people that I'm going to play these shows for have seen me play since I was in my teens,” he said.

“That, it's a beautiful thing.”

Musician Dany Laj talks with CTV News via Zoom ahead of the start of his 2024 tour in September 2024. (Amanda Hicks/CTV News Northern Ontario)

Laj said he is actually “a little bit” more nervous to play places where he has lived because he really wants to do well.

“It feels like home,” he said.

“And … I want to give them a show.”

The band has not been on tour since 2019 and said he was getting restless.

“Honestly, we were sick of not touring,” said Laj in a recent news release.

“We miss it and the road is where we belong.”

He added that everything changed when he received a message one late night in March that culminated in a conversation that led to the beginnings of what will be a good old-fashioned tour.

Laj said he decided at that moment to “dust off the van and get the band back together.”

The frontman said excitement only grew in the ranks of The Looks as shows were lined up an books and the reality set in that they were getting back on the road.

“In 2021 we made what we thought was a great record, ‘Ten Easy Pieces,’” said Laj.

“But we haven’t had a chance to tour it yet. Every time we tried to go out on the road, the world just kept stopping.”

The band subsequently released another single in 2022, ‘You Should Know’ – but, is back with even more music ahead of the tour with a new track, ‘Meet Me On the Floor,’ released just last month.

The single cover for Dany Laj and the Looks' new track, Meet Me on the Floor, released on August 23, 2024. (Supplied/Dany Laj and the Looks)

Recorded at the band’s own Montreal studio, La La Pop Shoppe, ‘Meet Me On the Floor’ is the band at its power poppiest, reads the group’s news release.

The track features longtime bassist/vocalist Jeanette Dowling Featuring along with a guest cameo from Stacey Case of Tijuana Bibles and Weirdies on tambourine alongside Laj’s lead vocals and guitar and “new Looks” David Laplante on guitar and drummer Alex Pauzé.

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The Looks are set to hit the road this fall, journeying from northern Ontario to British Columbia with K-Man & The 45s in late September through mid-October, the group will then head out on their own until the end of October play gigs in the U.S. before pick it back up again in November, playing more Canadian dates with Paul Collins’ Beat.

The tour kicks off at Lou Daug’s in North Bay on Sept. 26 followed by stops at Greater Sudbury’s Townhouse Tavern on Sept. 27 and the Sault’s Eagles Hall on Sept. 28. The group will round out their northern Ontario stops in Thunder Bay on Oct. 1.

For more tour dates, merchandise and music, visit the band’s website.