Get To Know The Blue Stones

Canadian rock duo The Blue Stones might not be on everyones radar as say Royal Blood or The Black Keys, but it’s only a matter of time.

The band consists of singer and guitarist Tarek Jafar and drummer Justin Tessier. In 2020, they were nominated for Breakthrough Group of the Year at Canada’s Juno awards which are similar to the Brits or Grammy’s. You may have even heard a few of their songs featured on the hit series Suits.

Currently they’re embarking on a huge headline tour across Europe where I was able to sit down and have a chat with the guys right before their London show.

Tarek was born in the small town of Sarnia Ontario and later moved to Windsor at the age of seven. At the time, his mum was a piano teacher and would encourage Tarek to learn, which he did albeit reluctantly as kids often do, but now it’s something he often quotes in interviews as an instrument he wished he continued.

However, it wouldn’t be long before the allure of rock n roll would settle in and steer Tarek towards picking up the electric guitar. After a few lessons, he realised that theory wouldn’t take and preferred to experiment and play by ear. This approach would continue throughout high school where he met friend and bandmate Justin.

Born and raised in Windsor, Justin was influenced by a lot of the music scene growing up. As we chatted, he quotes Windsor as Canada’s ‘motor city’ with a lot of its people working in factories and other blue-collar jobs. He further describes the music at the time as being a reflection of those hardworking people and filled with gritty rock and roll, folk and even some of its hip-hop as having a grungy style.

With Detroit a stone’s throw away, the sheen of ‘LA dream pop’ as he describes it, wasn’t part of what they were exposed to and instead had the likes of MC5, The Stooges and other US rock music and pop culture that bled into their city and became a huge part of their music taste growing up.

Picking up the drums at a young age, Justin would then join a number of bands but it wasn’t until university that both him and Tarek started writing and performing together. They would then perform a few local shows and organise ‘DIY tours’ which they would promote themselves at the age of 22. This would go on for the next six years before gaining any kind of attention from the music industry and working with a team.

They even released their first album Black Holes independently, it was then picked up by a record label only to be dropped shortly after. The turning point however, wasn’t until when the guys actually decided to have a break. Tarek moved to Leeds in the UK to study physio and looks back at it fondly, quoting it as a great experience and enjoying being exposed to music genres like Grime and Drill that would contribute in expanding his own music tastes.

Back in Canada, Justin had moved to Kingston and was working on his own professional career and the guys mutually decided that this was the time to slow things down with the band. They would play a handful of shows when Tarek was back over the summer but otherwise they would pursue other careers.

After asking if the band ever considered calling it a day at that point, they adamantly told me the thought had never crossed their mind and that they enjoyed writing and performing music even as a hobby.

As luck would have it though, the band were approached by a management company in Cleveland who had the heard the band’s music on Spotify and requested to represent the band. Hesitant at first, due to the high volume of dubious requests they had received in the past, they agreed to arrange a call.

Fortunately, it was the right move and the days of ‘DIY’ tours were over as they signed with both the management company and record label who re-mastered and re-released their debut album as well as book the guys shows across the US.

After an extensive period of supporting bands on tour, the band take some time out and get to work on their sophomore album Hidden Gems. After asking what it was like working with Paul Meaney, Tarek said both he and Justin consider Paul a music icon and would watch him perform back in 2009. When their managers asked who their top five super producers are, Paul was on the list. Unsuprising as he is not only the lead singer for the band Mutemath but has produced for likes of LANY and Twenty One Pilots.

Justin recalls their first interaction with Paul was when both he and Tarek were still doing tours themselves. Driving between shows, they receive an email and to their disbelief, Paul had listened to their music and was interested in producing their next record. It was a significant moment for the band and quote him as a great producer and a great coach who had done his homework and understood exactly how the band sounded, both live and when it came to recording.

I asked Tarek about writing after hearing an interview where he spoke about lyrics and how it wasn’t something he devoted too much into, considering his lines as casual throw aways. It wasn’t until working with Paul who advised him to really focus on figuring out what the song is about that he then understood their importance.

Tarek now considers lyrics as something that people really connect with and can be the difference between a good or a great song. For Justin, it was Pauls advice of going that extra mile that really resonated with him. The band would then really hone in on the overall message of each track on Hidden Gems and have since felt the overwhelming reception from fans.

In my review of Hidden Gems, I describe one of the tracks ‘Grim’ as one that flexes some of Tarek’s most confident lyrics: ‘Yeah, I heard you want me back, you think about me often, don't like it? Well, that's a you problem.’ It’s a track that’s absolutely filled to the brim with bravado and is swagger soaked blues rock at its best.

As I refer to this particular song lyric, I see they’re visibly pleased that’s what I took from it as Justin describes that track as one that intends to make people feel like a better version of themselves and be able to take on the world.

I asked about their approach to writing songs together and whether their process changes each time. For Black Holes, they would write seperately due to their jobs and different shift patterns, even when living in the same house. They would then drive to Toronto on the weekends to work on what they had written and head back to work again on Monday.

With Hidden Gems and now with their upcoming album which they’ve just finished recording, they were able to spend as much time as they needed in the studio to really focus on the record and make sure it’s the best it possibly could be.

It’s an exciting time for the band with them being in the midst of a huge headline tour, selling out shows across Europe and now with a third album on it’s way.

I spoke about Hidden Gems as an album that’s filled with high-octane, rock and roll energy and this specific sound did not dissapoint on stage. Both Tarek and Justin are a kinetic force sounding far bigger than just a two-piece.

It was a confident full throttle performance filled with gritty blues-rock bangers to back it up. See the band now before arenas catch wind of their stadium-sized magnitude destined for the masses.