By Ally Dunham

The sound of Spee Chalkiotis, lead singer for Neverest is enough to make any young girl swoon, never mind the look of the band.

And swooning there was, along with screaming, laughing, gasping, and a chorus of “I love yous” throughout the crowd aimed at band members.

Neverest opened their show with a bang, and left the audience crying for more.

Chalkiotis, along with bandmate Mike Klose were the original members of the band, bringing in Brendan Colameco and Paul Loduca only recently, with Colameco finding the group on a Craig’s List ad.

Chalkiotis said, “We switched some instruments, we switched some styles, got on the same page with what we wanted to do with our lives, and headed towards the direction that we’re still heading toward now.”

Klose has been playing music his entire life, taking piano lessons, and university majoring in classical music.

Band names are always a challenge to any new group.  This was no different for Neverest.

“We were going through some band names with our mothers, and there was one that stuck out, the Black Sheep. We told her no, and Everest was there.  When I read it, I liked that, but what could it mean.  The first thing I thought of was Mount Everest and what could that mean,” said Chalkiotis.  “Everyone has their own Everest, goals they want to achieve, and that’s where we got the hook for it.”

The name Everest was already taken, so the band put a play on the word and found their future.

“My brother suggested we throw an N in front of it, creating our own word and also adding more significance to the name.  We’re never going to rest until we achieve our Neverest.  It stuck ever since,” said Chalkiotis.

The first time hearing their song together on the radio, the group was on a tour bus, their entire crew leaving Red Deer, Alberta.

“We were on a bus, going to the next city.  We had done a radio interview, so we were listening online as they said the song would be on around seven,” said Loduca.  “It came on, and we were all together, and we were all singing it, hugging each other, screaming and we were so excited.”

The band has just finished touring with New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys, which has been a highlight of the band’s career.

“We recently did the NKOTBSB?tour and we were opening up for two legendary bands,” said Klose.??“Howie (Howie Dorough of the Backstreet Boys) is our manager and it’s crazy to see him on stage every night.  But for us to play that same stage and to all those same 18,000 people every night, and to hear those people singing your song with you, it’s unreal to have that feeling.”

The band has not been without challenge in gaining some popularity.

“I had a couple profs at York University and they told me I should watch where I?put my money because the likelihood of me making it was slim to none,” said Chalkiotis.  “If I wasn’t as grounded, if I didn’t have the foundation of principles and beliefs that I?have, that would have been enough to stop anyone in their tracks.”

The group says they have fought against the industry as with any career, and are just going to work with the curveballs and keep forging ahead.

“We all come from a rock background, but we come from different musical backgrounds as well.  Punk, reggae, jazz, classical, but, I would like to see the musical genre of pop grow to showcase those influences a little more and bring back a little bit more of the musicality and less of the business.  I think the pendulum is a little too far on one end,” said Chalkiotis.  “It’s more about business and less about music.  I think it’s going to start swinging back and when that day comes, I think that’s when Neverest will really be able to shine through, we’ll really be able to showcase our musical abilities.  As of right now, we’re going with the flow.”