The award-winning pop-rock duo

Hailing from Toronto Canada, Manic Drive has been known for their energetic live show and infectious pop-rock anthems. Since their #1 hit “VIP” took over air-waves in 2014, their list of achievements continues with winning a Juno Award (Canada’s most prestigious music award), topping multiple Billboard Radio Charts, and an impressive touring career.

Their songs also have made their way into commercial success with appearances on NBC Universal, McDonalds, and some of YouTube top Channels including “Dude Perfect” and “MrBeast” which collectively boast almost 150 million subscribers.

Their latest album “Vol 1”, will feature 6 new tracks produced by Joël Bruyère (Thousand Foot Krutch), which includes songs like “High Life” featuring Mr. Talkbox, internationally known for his collaboration with Bruno Mars’ “24 Karat Magic”. The series of songs will take listeners on a journey from explosive high energy anthems like “Champion”, to somber eye-opening moments as portrayed in their single “Thank God I’m Alive”.

We are thankful to Manic Drive (brothers Michael and Shawn Cavallo) for their time for this interview for our readers.

Please introduce yourself to our readers.
Hello readers! We are brothers Michael and Shawn Cavallo hailing from Mississauga. When our powers unite, we form the Rock N Roll, Pop-Edge Duo Manic Drive.

Tell us about your education.
Oxford and Cambridge are schools we’ve read about online. They seem very impressive! However, we as brothers pursued music full time straight out of High School (Clarkson Secondary) We had studied music business throughout our teenage years. We had become so passionate about the industry, we took seminars and classes both in Nashville and Toronto, learning the ropes. It was a bold move, supported by our parents.

Tell us about your earliest musical memory? What was the first instrument you picked?
Our parents picked up a used $10 drum set at a garage sale and would borrow a beaten up bass guitar from our church at the time. We might have been 5 or 6 just jamming out these things til they wore out haha. A few years later, our parents were moved by the love we had for music and gifted us with better gear.

How and when did your band came to be? Did you play in any other bands or did you decide that it’s best for two brothers to start their own band?
As brothers, we both had become obsessed with music and performing. In fact, when we saw our first hard rock concert in a basement of a church, we were hooked. As if destiny called out to us haha. It was a natural process, especially since we had a bunk bed and could build a fort, get our flashlights and write songs…true story by the way… we sometimes still do that. Our chemistry was good and we were listening to the same bands so we were vibing musically.

To get into more specifics, how are you dividing up who’s playing versus who’s singing, and is the process uniform across all of your albums?
As far as our roles in the band, that too came naturally. One fell in love with the guitar and singing to the other. We’ve been uniformed like this since the beginning. We both did however picked up different instruments, drums, piano, bass which assisted greatly in our songwriting process growing up.

Speaking of your other albums, I was wondering if there’s any particular album or few songs that you are particularly proud of?
It ‘s fun to re-visit older albums and see where we were musically. Experimenting with different styles and finding ourselves over the years. We can honestly say we proud of everything we have released. As far as songs held close to our hearts, would probably have to go to our most recent release “Thank God I’m Alive” regarding our Mothers passing. That particular song is so sewn to our soul, as it would be anyone losing someone close. That was really just a gift for her and for those who is suffering loss.

What would you say are some of the highlights of your career to date?
Amongst our proudest moments would be performing at the ACC (Scotia Bank Arena), Winning a Juno in 2015, Winter Jam Tour and working with Grammy Award winning/nominated artists such as Switchfoot, Skillet, For King and Country, dc Talk and of course, touring with the legendary Stryper.

For anyone that hasn’t heard it yet, how would you describe your sound?
As if energy itself could not be contained. It’s an unleash of a wild musical fusion, exploding elements of Rock, Pop, Funk, Electronic, and even time. A wizarding sound that cannot be caged, but instead roams free, soaring to the limitless skies….with a guitar lick.

When creating new music is there a lot of jamming or how do you approach it?
We constantly throw arrangements at each other, sitting with the idea, re-writing, re-visiting, adding different elements. Shawn has a home studio and really loves to sit with an idea for along time and really fine tune a track. He’s actually become quite the producer, co-producing on our last several projects. We are very involved in the recording process.

What are some of the most important musicians that influenced your own style and what in particular did they employ in their playing that you liked?
Now that is a long list. In our earlier albums artists such as Linkin Park, Muse, Lenny Kravitz, dc Talk and Incubus were incredibly influential. More recently, we really enjoying Lights, Post Malone, Imagine Dragons, One Republic, Bruno Mars and The Weeknd. But we never leave out the classics. Which seem to always be rooted in our music. Our parents raised us with The Police, Stevie Wonder, Phil Collins, Doobie Brothers, among others. Strangely, all these artists are fused in our music.

How do you feel about your 2020 record, Vol 1, being nominated for Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album Of The Year at the 2022 Juno Awards.
We are incredibly moved and honoured. To be honest, as this is our third time being nominated, we never thought as kids watching the Junos, we’d ever be nominated. It’s truly walking into a dream. We will always be forever grateful for this blessing.

What do you think is next for you in terms of projects? Anything exciting you’d like to share?
Yes! We are currently in the midst of working on our next project “Vol 2” looking to hit the streets this Fall 2022. Our leading single “Love You To Death” will be released May 2022. Incredibly excited to continue our musical saga.

What are some of your other hobbies?
Soccer (you know in Europe they call it football? Crazy!), foos-ball, Blue Jays games, Nintendo, making pizza, movies, pool, gym, skidooing, boating, fencing (yes Michael plays with swords. Nerd!) chess, bowling, axe throwing, travel, writing, tattoos, riding bikes, playing catch, hanging out with our kids (these little creatures seem to take up most of our time).

Speaking of collaborating with other artists, can we expect any sort of collaborative releases with other local bands or artists in the near future?
We most recently collaborated with Mr Talkbox (Bruno Mars, Toby Mac) on our Hip Hop/Rock track “High Life”…who knows what new alliances will be made in the days to come. We love working with different artists all the time. Michael Buble, you down?

What inspires you outside of music? What do you turn to when the creative well runs a little low?
Shawn just recently became of father of two little boys. It is amazing how that will stir not just emotions, but artistic inspiration. “Vol 1” carries that theme in songs like “Pinky Swear”. It’s an experience watching the world through the eyes of a child.

What are your favorite hangout spots in Toronto?
Reservoir Lounge (great live music), Historic Distillery District, Cafe’s on College, Restaurant hoping on King St W.

Your message for our readers.
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter Manic Drive. Become a MANIAC today! Would love to connect with you.

Your message for us at TOPS (TorontoPages) magazine.
Thanks for taking the time to hear our story. Appreciate the love and support. Blessings, MD