“Pop music that punches you in the teeth” is how Georgian students Tom Watson and Brandon Hawthorne describe what their band, Final Thought, produces. “Try to imagine the love-child of Blink-182, U2, Cobra Starship and Underoath,” says Watson, a fourth-year Bachelor of Business Administration student (Laurentian). “Our music might sound something close to that.”
The two paired up several years ago with local songwriter Dustin Dopsa but say that the band has only become serious about their music over the last two years. Getting serious has meant getting noticed; Final Thought has toured all over Canada, played private showcases for the likes of rock-legend Gene Simmons and was featured on MuchMusic Television.
Recently, they opened for Juno award nominated Faber Drive at the Mansion Nightclub in Barrie and were part of an exclusive line-up at Downtown Countdown on Dec. 31 at Barrie City Hall. They also enjoyed hearing their hit “Together on This Christmas Night” over the airwaves this holiday season on Rock95 – 95.7 FM.
“It’s amazing to look back on the progression we have gone through as a band,” says Hawthorne, a first-year student in Georgian’s Business Marketing program. “Performing music you love to a packed house and catching your own tunes on the radio is an experience like no other.”
Hawthorne plays bass and synthesizer while Watson rocks out on drums and Dopsa leads with his vocals and guitar. “We all have similar tastes in music and similar ideas about how our music should be presented,” Watson notes. “There is nothing better than being on the road and living life with your best friends. Musicality, soul…we’ve got a little bit of everything.”
The band is currently working on a full-length record due out in the spring. It has yet to be named, but a few tracks that will appear on the record have already been released on their website http://www.finalthoughtband.com/.
To download some of Final Thought’s tunes and listen to other original music created by Georgian staff, students and alumni, visit www.georgiancollege.ca/playlist.
Inset photo: Tom Watson (yellow shirt), Brandon Hawthorne (purple shirt), Dustin Dopsa (in front). Photo by Matt Vardy