Ride The Tiger

Don’t let the cheeky retro style flyer and naughty name fool you, Ride The Tiger is a group of immensely talented musicians, who know how to show their audience a good time. The funk/soul cover band, recently formed by charismatic front-man Julian Taylor (formerly of Staggered Crossing), Bassist, Ryan Gavel and Drummer, Jesse Labovitz, have clearly cut their teeth as live musicians and have a really good time doing it.





Nestled in the candlelit basement lounge of My Place Pub in Toronto, their soulful and funky sound send spikes of electricity through the air as JT belts out soul classics by everyone from Marvin Gaye to Stevie Nicks. The unnervingly beautiful lines of guest guitarist Tom Juhas, leave one’s mouth agape and one’s mind in limbo somewhere between awe and bliss, while Ryan’s smooth and punchy bass lines weave effortlessly in and out of Jesse’s tight and funky grooves.


To see them live is to stumble onto something exciting, yet familiar, as if reuniting with old friends at the best party ever.




The band also features a rotating roster of auxiliary players and special guests.

Almost 4 hours after the band kicked off the night the crowd was still on their feet moving and shaking and shouting out requests. RaeMag got a chance to catch up with the band before load-out to ask a few questions about life as gigging musicians, their solo projects and what’s next.


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