By Nathan Cox for the Tillsonburg News, originally published February 18, 2011. 

Lead singer Taylor Perkins was 14 when he, his brother, and two friends formed the band Bleeker Ridge, however, he was the oldest member of the group.      Bleeker Ridge was formed in Orillia, in 2003 and consists of two pairs of brothers. Joining the lead singer are his brother Cole, who plays guitar, guitarist Dan Steinke and his brother Dustin, the drummer.      The two youngest members were 12 years old at the time.      "Me and Cole, we grew up on a street called Bleeker St.," Taylor Perkins said. "The other guys lived on Ridge Ave. So, we were young and we had no idea what to name the band, so we just put the street names together."      The band started by playing Jimi Hendrix and Joe Walsh cover songs, and even the occasional Muddy Waters tune. Today, the band has more of a hard rock edge.      "Our sound just kind of evolved into that," Taylor Perkins said. "We started song writing and it just started going that we way. We were a little bit of bluesy when we started, and then it's just what naturally happened. We don't try to write a hard rock song, one style. We just write what we want to play and want to hear."      Since then, Bleeker Ridge played a number of shows and released two albums before signing a deal with Roadrunner Records last year. Their first album for the label was "Small Town Dead."      "Making the album was one of the best times of all our lives," he said. "It was a great experience learning how to do it. Our producer Bob Marlette helped us out a lot."      Bleeker Ridge has since toured all over Canada, and have worked hard to perfect their stage performance.      "When we play, it's amazing when the audience gets into it and perform with us," he said.      "When they start yelling or moving, even if it's just one person really enjoying it, it just makes our job that much easier and we have so much more fun." Download audio interview with lead singer Taylor Perkins