Abbotsford’s You Say Party (YSP) took home a MuchMusic Video Award on Sunday in Toronto.
Sean Wainsteim won Director of the Year for the Lonely’s Lunch music video, which was also nominated for the MuchFACT Indie Video of the Year.
Stephen O’Shea, one of the founding members of YSP and its bass player, said they are all really proud of the win – not only for themselves but also for the director.
O’Shea said they begged Wainsteim to come out of retirement after he shot their Monster video in Prague. Lonely’s Lunch was filmed in India.
“To have this honour, it’s bizarre,” said O’Shea. “We started this band out of the boredom we had in Abbotsford and in seven to eight years we’ve come to be cultural ambassadors of this town.”
Currently, the new-wave, dance-punk group is on hiatus.
The members made the announcement on their website in April, which came almost a year after the death of their drummer Devon Clifford, who passed away after suffering a massive brain hemorrhage while on stage during a performance in Vancouver.
While the recent award has excited the band, they’re not ready to return to the stage just yet.
“We’re officially on hiatus, taking some time to ourselves and trying to heal a lot of the pain and the stress that came with the band, and we’re living our personal lives,” said O’Shea.
“I don’t think we’re done with music. We’ll continue to play, whether it’s together or separate, under the YSP banner or not. But I’m optimistic for another opportunity to get together with my friends and play. Our friendship is more important than any attention we’re getting.”
The original group included graduates from MEI, W.J. Mouat and Langley Fine Arts School.
Becky Ninkovic was on vocals, Krista Loewen was on keyboards before she departed last year following Clifford’s death, and Derek Adam played guitar.
Last year, Robert Andow was added on synthesizer and Al Boyle on drums.
Since its inception, YSP has released three albums.
