RYAN STANLEY, LIKE PHIL HARTMAN AND WAYNE GRETZKY BEFORE HIM, WAS BORN IN BRANTFORD, ONTARIO IN 1981. ALWAYS HUMBLE, ETERNALLY HONEST, RYAN'S LYRICS APPEAR, AT TIMES, TO HAVE BEEN SCRAWLED BY AN ALIEN ONTO THE BACK OF A COPY OF PoE'S "EUREKA;" HIS VOICE A RAUCOUS AMALGAMATION OF MARK LANEGAN AND NElL YOUNG. HIS GUITAR TONE METAPHORICALLY HEAVY, HIS DEXTERITY RIVALLING THE GREATS, LED RYAN DIRECTLY INTO THE ARMS OF HIS FUTURE BAND-MATES, THE VERMICIOUS KNID. THEIR FAMILIARLY UNIQUE SOUND FUELLED BY CREATIVE CO-MINGLING GUITAR RIFFS AND LEAD SINGER TIM'S IMPOSING STAGE PRESENCE GARNERED THEM A DIE-HARD AUDIENCE IN SOUTHERN ONTARIO. MEANWHILE, RYAN FOUND THE TIME TO RELEASE SEVERAL SOLO ALBUMS BETWEEN 2003 - 2005. THE TOKEN HEAVY SONG ON HIS DEBUT, IRONICALLY TITLED "RELATIVELY CALM," DELIVERED IN HIS UNMISTAKABLE MANLY RASP, APTLY FORESHADOWED WHAT WAS YET TO COME.

JACK E STANLEY WAS BORN IN CALGARY, ALBERTA ON BOB DYLAN'S 41ST BIRTHDAY. BY 2003, SHE WAS AN AWKWARD, GANGLY SLACKER POET WITH A NOSE RING AND SHORT, SPIKEY BLACK HAIR. SHE SANG AND PLAYED GUITAR ONLY IN SECRET, AND HAD HAD A DOZEN ARTICLES AND STORIES PUBLISHED IN VARIOUS ZINES. SHE CHAIN-SMOKED BELMONT MILOS AND DRANK AT LEAST 5 NIGHTS A WEEK. WITHOUT AN AUDIENCE, THE POEMS CAME OUT SLOWLY AND HOPELESSLY. SHE CONTINUED TO PACE BACK AND FORTH, CHAIN-SMOKING AND TELLING ALL OF HER FRIENDS THAT SHE'D BE A DRUMMER SOMEDAY. SHE WANTED TO PLAY DRUMS LIKE KEITH MOON AND SING LIKE PATTI SMITH. AN AVID SHOW-GOER AND UNWITTING MUSE, THE EVENTS SHE ATTENDED WERE A MIXED BAG; PUNK, ROCK, METAL, ACOUSTIC ACTS, POETRY READINGS, POLITICAL PLAYS AND SPEECHES, SPEAKING TOURS, PROTESTS, AND UNION MEETINGS. SHE KNEW WHAT SHE WAS INTERESTED IN, BUT HAD NO IDEA WHERE SHE WAS HEADED.

IN THE SPRING OF 2003 JACK E HEARD RYAN'S FIRST SOLO RECORD. ALREADY A FAN OF HIS BAND, SHE WAS FLOORED BY THE SINCERITY OF THIS GUY SHE'D SEEN DANCING AND SCREAMING MANIACALLY WITH HIS TELECASTER ONSTAGE ALONGSIDE HIS THREE ENERGETIC BANDMATES. "THIS MAN IS FOR REAL," SHE THOUGHT. "I LIKE HIM. I LOVE HIM." RYAN AND JACK E MET IN JUNE 2003 AT A PUNK SHOW. ON THE STEPS OF A HEAVING MASONIC TEMPLE DURING A GREAT LAKES HEAT WAVE, THEY SPOKE FOR THE FIRST TIME. IT WAS LOVE, IMMEDIATELY, SIMPLY. THEY BOTH GLISTENED IN THE HEAT AS SHE WATCHED HIM PLAY HIS SET THAT NIGHT. THREE MONTHS LATER, THEY MOVED IN TOGETHER. THEY NEVER LOOKED BACK.

2 EPS, AND 3 FULL-LENGTH ALBUMS LATER COMES CURSED ARROWS' LATEST SELF-PRODUCED LP, SONIC UNION. CURSED ARROWS HAS ALWAYS BEEN RYAN AND JACK E STANLEY - A MAN, A WOMAN AND A CAR, AS SIMPLE AS CAN BE. THE DUO SPENDS ENDLESS HOURS RECORDING THEIR OWN MUSIC, SHOOTING AND EDITING FILMS, WRITING, DRAWING, AND PAINTING. THEY'VE BEEN BY TURNS SUICIDAL AND ECSTATIC. THEY ARE BOTH FIRM BELIEVERS THAT THE DIGITAL AGE AND ITS OVERABUNDANCE OF WOULD-BE ENTERTAINERS SHROUDS THE IMPORTANCE OF UNADULTERATED TRUTH IN ART. EVERYONE WITH A CAMERA THINKS HE'S AN ARTIST, EVERY GIRL WITH A GUITAR THINKS SHE'S A STAR. LIES ARE EASY, AND THEY ARE EVERYWHERE. TRUTH IS BEAUTIFUL, AS IT IS THREATENING.

THE ART THEY CREATE IS NOT THEIR OWN. IT IS THE COLLECTIVE VOICE OF HUMANITY FUNNELLED THROUGH THE MINDS OF TWO BEINGS. LOVE IS A BIG PART OF WHAT THEY DO - IF NOT ALL OF IT. THEY ARE HERE TO PROVIDE A VOICE FOR THOSE WHOSE POVERTY, ILLNESS, OR FEAR PREVENTS THEM FROM SPEAKING FOR THEMSELVES. THEY CREATE AND TRAVEL AND LIVE AND LEARN IN PURSUIT OF THAT GREATEST OF ALL TRUTHS. CURSED ARROWS' INTENSE STAGE PRESENCE AND CONSISTENTLY WELL-RECEIVED RECORDS HAVE BEEN HOLDING AUDIENCES CAPTIVE ACROSS CANADA (AS EVIDENCED IN THE EXPERTLY FILMED SOUTHERN SOULS VIDEOS) AND GAINING THEM RADIOPLAY VIA THE LIKES OF GRANT LAWRENCE AND ALAN CROSS. THEY HAVE WATCHED COUNTLESS PEOPLE, BANDS, VENUES, AND PIECES OF LAND COME AND GO, BUT THEY WILL NEVER GO AWAY. WE ALL FEEL TEMPTED TO DISAPPEAR AT TIMES, BUT FOR CURSED ARROWS, THAT IS SIMPLY IMPOSSIBLE. IF THEY KNEW THEY WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE MAKING MUSIC FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES, THEY WOULD HAVE QUIT LONG AGO.