BIO

Bio

Devoted to the band and each other, Clepto was formed in 2000 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The four members of the band found themselves in the Middle East as their families moved there for employment. Fred and Phil, two brothers originally from Cyprus, with Armenian and Lebanese ethnic backgrounds, adopted Canada as their home in 2002. Canada is where both Alex and Nick were born and lived before leaving home for Saudi Arabia. Alex, a Portuguese-Canadian, Montreal born Punk Rocker and Nick, a Greek-Canadian, Winnipeg born Metalhead both lead the way with their lyrics covering everything from culture, global issues, religion, to personal conflicts and psychological reflections of themselves within society. Together, with a sing and a bounce from Phil and Fred’s Mediterranean melodic bass and drums, they all complete Clepto.

Alex

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Alex: Lead Vox - Rhythm Guitar

In Clepto, like in all families, there is always the father figure; this is Alex. The serious solid no-nonsense rock of the band (literally and musically), he brings his Punk-rock lyrics and rhythm guitar to the table honest and proud. Finishing high-school in Saudi Arabia, Alex finished CGEP in Montreal where he has been living and working for the last 5 years in an IT company. Alex is always the person in the band that all members seek approval from as he carries a sense of rationale and simplicity that always makes things right. Serious and conservative when not on stage Alex is anything but that under the spotlight, leading the band in all the shows with his blunt sense of humor and effective crowd control.

Nick

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Niko: Lead Vox - Lead Guitar

Above all, Nick loves music, more specifically, all things heavy metal. Nick has devoted years of his life to the study and perfection of his skill with the guitar. Without any formal education in this instrument, Nick has learned everything he knows because he learned by ear. Hours a day are spent learning, evolving and understanding every nuance of the guitar. Nick is also an important source of creative output for Clepto. Always writing, always creating and always bringing new material to the table. In addition to his creative prowess, in the past five years Nick has accrued degrees in both sound engineering (Raven Studios, Ottawa) and video editing (Tara Academy, Toronto), to further Cleptos’ goals of self sufficiency by being able to record, edit and produce their own music, while moving forward in the media space through video editing and production, which will soon be used for both marketing and commercial purposes. All of this makes Nick an invaluable member of Clepto.

Fred

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Freddie: Backup Vox - Bass

Fred is easily the beating heart of Clepto. Freddie has an ambition to create music, to make sure that he finds live shows for his band, and always keeps an optimistic outlook on life. He actively uses this ambition and optimism to propel Clepto ever forward, always thinking of new ways to to market the band, to procure new shows, and just keeping everyone busy in general. As a musician, Freddie plays both the guitar and bass, always plucking away at one of the two whenever he has spare time. In February of 2007, Freddie had the pleasure of attending Victor Wooten Bass camp, having to shine through hundreds of other applicants. It was an experience of a lifetime and one he still speaks of to this day. In 2009, Freddie graduated from Carleton University with a Bachelors Degree of Arts in Music with a concentration in Sonic Design. Freddie has an amazing way with people, a skill he uses to great effect, establishing contacts within any given musical scene, whether it be local, or hundreds of miles away. A great musician, and a visionary, Freddie is the person who keeps Clepto moving.

Phil

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Phil: Drums

Philip is Cleptos’ balance. He is a man that despises being restrained, and strives above all things, to be free. An artist to the core, he loves music, art and culture. Along with being the band’s drummer, and designated cook, he also plays guitar, bass and the piano. In 2006, Phillip graduated from Carleton University in Ottawa with a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Bachelors in Economics. Phillip wishes to blend his never-ending thirst for music and travel into a career. He will not be satisfied until his passions for life become synonymous with his livelihood. His tranquility, and zest for life, is what keeps Clepto calm, grounded and focused.

NEWS

Its Gotta be Winter Somewhere!

Hey Everyone!

We’d like to thank everyone for coming out to our latest Olystis Nights #15! Vkrayst, Piss n’ Blood, Sorry State, and DMF put on some kickass performances and made the night incredible! Thank you to everyone who came out to see the bands, and to have a good time over here, your continuous support for Olystis means so much to all of us here, and helps more than you know! Make sure you make it out to our next totally badass show and Alex’s Bar in Long Beach on the 2nd of June! Its going to be a wild night and we’re exited as hell to finally set foot on their stage!

Construction Day!

April 9th, 2013

Hey everyone!
We’d like to give a big thanks to Shakedown Bar, the Yard, the San Diego Pyrate Punx, Jason and Geena for two amazing shows and a spot to stay! We had an awesome time with friends Tartar Control, The Shames, DMF, Systemic Abuse, Bloodstained Reality, and Basura! Thanks to everyone for all the love! BIG thanks to Rats and Scott for helping us out in borrowing some equipment, it helps more than you guys know. As for what’s coming up we’re got three lined up already! May 18th we’re back in Orange County at Tropics Lounge in Fullerton and June 2nd Clepto is playing friggin’ Alex’s Bar in Long Beach with our heaven bound buddies Tartar Control! We’ll see you on the road!

Rollin’ 4.5 Deep in a Uhaul

March 28th, 2013

Hello Everyone!
Well, we finally made it back to California and in a pretty epic fashion! Two days from our first California tour date, we had a tire blowout and barreled our van. Thankfully the entire Clepto crew (that’s right, Elvis too!) walked away from the wreck with a few cuts and bruises! Unfortunately our gear wasn’t all so lucky. But the next day after the crash we were in a rental, gathering up everything that had survived from the crash and hit the road for a drive from New Mexico to California to make the last two shows on our tour. We went on to play two really amazing shows in Long Beach at Dipiazzas, and The Yard in San Diego! Thanks so much to everyone who let us borrow gear and allowed us to finish off the tour right, and thanks so much to everyone who came out to the show and welcomed us back! Right now we’re getting organized, back into the studio and back into the swing of things, getting cleaned up, and taking stock of our losses. If you’re wondering what you can do to help, we have a donation button in our contacts section where you can help us out via paypal, if you have any extra gear that you might not be using and wish to lend us until we get back on our feet that would also be a big help! If there’s anything else you might be thinking of, please get ahold of us a .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). For a full list of all our dusty, broken crap, click here and head over to our facebook page where we’ve posted all the details. To all of our friends in San Diego we’ll be back in town for our show at Queen Bee’s Arts and Cultural center this Saturday for our first show in a long time with our friends the Barb Wire Dolls. Come on down and support!

We have Returned!

February 27th, 2013

Hello Everyone!!! Since we last updated you on our travels we had just played our last Canadian date in Ottawa, and were preparing for the drive across the border into the United States for the start of our U.S tour! The tour kicked off with a great show amongst some great people at the Halsted Harp in Chicago! We had a ton of fun, made people smile and cringe all at the same time, and even had ourselves a guest sax player for the night! A good time enjoyed by all, and we even managed to do some good by raising a little bit of money for the Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Illinois. We’d like to thank them for their support, their enthusiasm and for working with us once again! We followed Chicago up with another amazing show in Columbus Ohio at the Shrunken Head warming up the crowd for the best damn Karaoke in town! Thanks for all the love everyone, make no mistake we’ll be back! From there we hit up Indianapolis Indiana where we caught up with the wonderful folks of Mr. Clit and the Pink Cigarettes. The road then led us over to the beautiful town of Louisville Kentucky where we played a very memorable show at Mag Bar! We’d like to extend a huge thanks to Beenee for giving us the day to chill out and get a bit of rest, you helped us out more than you know! Our next destination brought us back to one of our favorite stops on the last tour through the U.S - Columbus, Georgia, with the Plug Uglies! We played a show at the new and improved Plughouse, drank some beers, and played a kickass show! We followed those up with two more shows in Dothan, Alabama and Pensacola Florida also with the local Plug Uglies in those cities! We want to extend our thanks to Chad, Kelly, Micheal, Sarah, Beeve, and all the Plug Uglies out there for all the help, support and love we’ve gotten on our way through to South! We wouldn’t have been able to make this tour happen without your help and we appreciate all the hard work that’s been put in to help us make this tour successful! Next stop on our way is Friday March 1st in Fort Walton Beach Florida at Zeeps Bar n Grill and then we’re back in Ocean Springs Mississippi for the second time at the Squeaky Lizard on March 2nd. We’re exited for the next few shows coming up and hope everyone comes out! As always thanks for all the love and support, we’ll see everyone soon!

We’ll miss you Poutine!

February 9th, 2013

We finished up our last show in Canada with a great show at Mavericks in Ottawa, thanks so much to all of our friends for coming out and sharing the night with us, and thanks so much to everyone else who came out to our shows throughout the rest of Canada! We love you guys, and will see everyone again very soon!

Snap Into it!

Back from a little break and Fresh off of our awesome European Tour, Clepto is going back on the Road starting tomorrow February 2nd in Toronto Canada at Lee’s Palace! Check out our 2013 North American Kebab tour event on Facebook for all the dates and all the details! Make sure to attend the event!

New Tour Dates TBA SOON!

January 1st, 2013
Happy New Year friends! We hope that the start of the year has been rolling along great for you!
As you may know, our European Money Shot Tour 2012 has come to an end. Just like all tours we have met alot amazing people and had some great experiences!
So what’s in store for Clepto now?? Well stay tuned for some important announcements coming soon!!
We wish you a great year and see you in your home town very soon!!!

Cheers!

December 12th, 2012

We’ve said goodbye to the beautiful Brugges, Belgium, and have said farewell to an amazing group of the artists, Pro Hibited and The Donkey Kollectief. Along with artists from Spain these guys got together and launched two amazing weekend art exhibitions in two incredible locations. We in Clepto were proud to play at these events, and happy to work with and meet all the artists! Thanks for an incredible time! Unfortunately, The European tour is coming to a close, but before we go we have some great shows lined up! Tomorrow we will be playing our first show in Amsterdam at the Jet Lounge! It took a long time for this show to happen (our fault), but we’re finally coming and we’re stoked!! On Saturday we’re happy to play at the Piratebar in Den Haag, where we will bid farewell to Holland and say “Hullo!” To England playing the last few shows in the UK where we all take a little break and prepare for the next step in our never ending tour! There’s a lot to announce but for now, you’ll have to stay tuned the get all the news!

Goodbye Beaches!

October 26th, 2012

Well, here we go again folks! Since the last update, we’ve said farewell to Cyprus, played our last show in Patra, Greece at 502, and have hit the road once again continuing the next step of our European Moneyshot Tour! Since leaving the beautiful beaches of Greece, we’ve since hit Budapest Hungary for a show at the Rocktogon, and are now posted in Berlin Germany, where we will be playing a show next Friday November 2nd in Dresden Germany at Wums where we’re pulling out the acoustic guitars and getting down, and then, on Saturday November 3rd in Berlin we’re rocking our at Supa Molly! As for the rest of the tour, check out our tour dates for all the latest and when we’ll be coming to your town for a show! We hope to see you there!

One Last Time!

October 6th, 2012

Well this is it! After an incredible show last night at Scarabeo where we met some awesome people and celebrated Phil’s birthday in style, the time has finally come to play the last show of our Cyprus tour tonight at Kingston in Limassol. Its gonna be an amazing show and we will be making this last show one to remember. Come ready to headbang ladies and gentleman cause this one is going to be fast hard and dirty!

The Saga Continues!

October 5th, 2012

Hello Everyone! Today we’re celebrating Philip’s birthday while we continue on with the second show on our Cyprus tour. This time we’re letting loose on the stage at Scarabeo’s in Nicosia.For all of those of you that are interested, we’ll be taking part in a workshop revolving around how the hell we independent musicians stay alive without the help of major label support.Come on out and bang your fucking heads!

Cyprus Tour 2012 Continues!

We in Clepto would like to extend our deepest thanks to Sfentona Rock Bar, Leo’s Music Shop, and Seb and Albert’s Photography studio, and all of our friends and family who came out to support us for our first show in Cyprus! And It’s not over yet! Tomorrow night, October 5th, we are playing at Scarabeo in Nicosia, and if you show up early, we’ll be taking part in a workshop sharing our stories of the road and how we make being an independent touring back with no big label support work! Come on out, have a beer and join us for another night of awesome music!

Cyprus Tour 2012 Kicks Off Tonight!

October 3rd, 2012

Come one come all for the kick off of our Cyprus tour tonight at Sfentona Rock Bar in Limassol where we will be performing our Acousticide set for one night only! The show is free, and starts at 10pm! Get your asses down here and help us make this show one to remember.

Clepto announcing an addition to the European Money Shot Tour: Cyprus Here we come!

Saturday September 15, 2012

Hi friends! After an exciting rest of European Money Show Tour hitting up Berlin, Budapest, Prague, Belgrade and Athens and making some great friends along the way, we are excited to announce that we will also be playing a few shows in Cyprus! Being in Greece (the closest we’ve ever been to Cyprus as a band) we figure why not visit Phil and Fred’s home town and play a few shows for the folks there!? Check out our event with more details regarding the 3 shows booked! http://www.facebook.com/events/404569019591825/

Along with this great news we also wanted to remind you that we have been working hard on finishing up the Cold Unending March of Progress, our next album! There are rumors of an Extended Play (EP) Vinyl also to be released when we leave Greece so make sure you keep checking our site and FB pages so you don’t miss out!!

That in addition to a round 2 of European shows things have never been busier! All we need you to do is come to a show and enjoy our music!
Remember! All our tracks are available at http://clepto.bandcamp.com/ !!

The Moneyshot Reaches Belgium!

Monday August 06, 2012

Hello everyone! its been a little while since we posted so we wanted to let you know what’s been going on! We have since left the UK behind and have continued our European tour with two shows in Holland, and then played 6 shows in 5 days. We ended the this awesome stretch of shows yesterday in Zele Belgium at the BMX and Skate Jam festival! We’d like to say thank you very much to De Plu Squat, the Blues Rock Garaasj, The Panique D’Or, The Donkey Kollective and all the awesome people we’ve met in our short time here! Special thanks to our good friend Geert-Jean from Canirepeed for hooking us up with all the contacts so that we can keep this ship afloat!

We would like to take a moment to announce that we have banded together with Chris Rogers of Habitformed Records, and Jazmeet Singh of Forward Motion Studios who will be taking care of our distribution in Europe, and our publishing and synching. Jazmeet is one hell of a guy who put us up in his recording studio in London where we worked on our upcoming record and some other fun collaborations! We have a few exciting things in the works that we’ll be announcing very soon so stay tuned!

We Came for the Fish, We Stayed for the Chips

Friday June 29th, 2012

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Welcome to yet another news update, straight outta the U.K! That’s right, we’ve arrived, and have been having a hell of a time on our first foray into the European Union as we’ve kicked off our first leg of the tour in the UK! So far, we’ve had some really awesome shows, starting off in Bristol on June 22nd at the Croft, and then heading straight over to Wales on the 23rd for an absolutely incredible show at The Markets Tavern Hotel in Brecon. Many thanks to Chris of Habitformed Records for gathering a massive crowd to come out and see us, many thanks to Tim for the excellent food, rooms (for those of us that didn’t just pass out on the barroom floor), booze (and the espresso shots to go along with em), breakfast, and our Star Wars horoscopes! We will most definatley be back to play and party cause The Markets Tavern Hotel in Wales is the shit! We then headed over to Astbury Castle in Peckham to play a show in a kitchen which was a lot of fun, except for the guy who jumped the fence and cut us off at our last songs telling us to shut the fuck up. We’re pretty sure if England didn’t lose that game he probably would’ve jumped the fence to party with us instead. Thanks to everyone in the house for letting us crash and just being great people! Lastly, thanks very much to Nambucca for the show on June 26th in London, your door guy Mick, is the man!

Finally, we would like to extend a HUGE thanks to all the people who donated to our Indiegogo fundraiser! Without you and your contributions, we would have never made it out here! You’ll be getting a message from us soon so that we can get all the details about how to get your perks to you so stay tuned!

Indiegogo Fundraiser

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Loading up the Ship

Friday June 8th, 2012

We here at Clepto would like to take the time to thank everyone so far who has seen fit to like share and donate to our European Moneyshot Tour fundraiser on Indiegogo! We have 12 days left and are at $3532! We know that with everyone’s help we can without a doubt reach our goal of $14000! Just keep spreading the word and let everyone know that whatever they donate, no matter how small will help us out immensely and every cent raised will bring us one step closer to getting us to Europe safe sound, and fully funded! Like, Share and Donate right here!

Lets take a look at what shows we’ve got coming up for Canada, and what we’ve got booked so far for the Europe:

Sat Jun 9 2012
Rancho Relaxo
Toronto, CA

Sat Jun 16 2012
Dominion Tavern
Ottawa, ON, CA

Thu Jun 21 2012
Scruffy Murphys
Birmingham, UK

Fri Jun 22 2012
The Croft
Bristol, UK

Sat Jun 23 2012
The Markets Tavern
Brecon, POW, UK

Sun Jun 24 2012
Astbury Castle
Peckham, UK

Tue Jun 26 2012
Private Show: Nambucca
London, UK

Finally, we’re happy to say that our newest album: Kebab: Live Off the Grill is finally available for ull digital download EXCLUSIVELY on our shiny new bandcamp profile! If you didn’t manage to get a physical copy while we were in the US and must have one, please head over to our bandcamp site and put from fat juicy kebab right in your ears!

Stay Tuned for even more coming soon!

FUNDRAISING!

Tuesday 22 May 2012

Hi Friends! http://www.indiegogo.com/cleptotoureurope
All is well since our last news update, we made it back to Canada and are excited to play two shows in Toronto and one in Ottawa!
Check out our tour dates below for the details!
Europe is slowly working itself out with 4 official shows booked in the UK and many more to come! This brings us to the main news event!!
CLEPTO’s EUROPEAN MONEY SHOT TOUR 2012 FUNDRAISER! It’s up and running with 28 days to reach our 14,000$ goal to buy our European van and backline!
Yes that’s right! We need YOU to help us spread the word so that we can get enough donations to make it to our goal!
It’s a big task and we can use all the help we can get!
Check out the fundraiser campaign on Indie Gogo: http://www.indiegogo.com/cleptotoureurope
We’ve set up some sweet perks for your donations! Thank you in advance for all the help!