Hard Soda

TESTIMONIALS:

"We hired HARD SODA to play at our annual summer party and they were just fantastic. Played lots of our favorite Blues/Classic Rock songs and they had all of our friends up singing and dancing. We plan on having them back for next year's party“ .... Marci and Eric Bourdeau – Brampton ON”

"I just wanted to let you all know we loved having you everyone can't stop raving about you guys. Thank you so much for a great night" Danielle F - Hampton Community Centre

HARD SODA provides a quality danceable mix of Rock, Blues, and Classic Rock for audiences of all ages. Band members are all seasoned professionals with an unwavering commitment to their craft and their clients. Formed in 2021, the band focuses on live performances at venues in and around the greater Toronto area.

Michel Joseph – Lead Vocals/Backing Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Harmonica, Percussion
Michel was classically trained in opera at an early age before he was old enough to play in bars, singing in choirs and duets at recitals. At 19, Michel toured the Canadian Northern circuit full-time in a professional capacity for about 10 years, playing in metal, rock, blues, and top 40 bands. Michel then moved to New Zealand and did studio recordings and original music collaborations while gigging. After jumping the ditch to Australia, Michel played in a metal band, releasing EP CDs before coming back to Canada to take up the drums for a gigging R&B band. Besides being Hard Soda's lead vocalist, Michel also plays guitar, bass, drums, harmonica, and violin.

Rob Anthony – Lead Guitar, Harmonica, and Backing Vocals
Rob shared the stage with Jeff Healey, John Lee Hooker, Hock Walsh, Dutch Mason, and many more. He has recorded various CDs, but most notably leading his own Rock/Blues band "Coldsweat" and recording 2 CDs. He is strongly influenced by guitar greats, including the 3 Kings, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, SRV, Gary Moore, and Santana. Rob Anthony can easily be identified with any one of these influential musicians when he plays.

Steve "the Chief" Dodd - Bass Guitar and Backing Vocals
First studying piano at the age of 10, Steve gradually moved on to become a Drummer and Bass player with bands, The Impalas, The Vagabonds, and Rasputin. He cycled through Toronto’s music scene in the ’70s, playing at numerous venues throughout the Toronto area, the Ontario High School circuit, as well as up north in locales such as Sauble Beach, Grand Bend, and the cottage country’s venerable house of rock, The Key to Bala.
Steve took some family time off and came back to doing gigs and recordings with bands Room 26, Hands-On Jake, Blue Nash, and Lucky 13, and now provides the bottom end and backup vocals for Hard Soda.

Taras Kapanaiko – Drums/Percussion
Taras, known by many nicknames, is a long-time resident of Oshawa who started honing his craft early, playing in high school buddy garage bands struggling to respectfully reproduce Zeppelin and Rush while concurrently playing in the school's award-winning concert and Jazz combos.
Bar band life began when forming The Verge, an R&B/ classic rock cover band that toured the GTA hot spots like EL Mocambo, The Opera House, Sneaky Dees, and too many private parties to mention. An appearance on Rogers Cable brought the band some success, but soon after, the band broke up to pursue life commitments. For the last 10 years, Taras has also been a member of Man Gravy, a GTA band steeped in variations of The Beatles and vintage Blues with a twist.

Electrical outlets for power. All our equipment works with "100 amp" and above.
Easy access to unload equipment.
We provide Lights and PA System if not available at venue.