In an
In The Life interview, Silveira shared that the band's name derived from two ideas; using
The like iconic bands
The Beatles and
The Rolling Stones and
Cliks as a
portmanteau of the slang terms
clit and
dicks. A different Cliks lineup, consisting of Silveira, bassist Ezri Kaysen and drummer Heidi Chan, released an eponymous debut album in 2004. In Toronto's
NOW, reviewer Sarah Liss described the band's music as "what might happen if
Chrissie Hynde and the Murmurs'
Leisha Hailey fell in love, got
Bowie to help out with insemination and gave birth to an indie rock love child." However, the original lineup broke up in 2005. This precipitated a difficult period for lead singer and guitarist Lucas Silveira: The first album predated Silveira's gender transition. Silveira later worked with
Morgan Doctor and Jordan B. Wright to record
Snakehouse. Wright left the band shortly after the album was completed and was replaced by Jen Benton on bass. Martinez was added as the second guitarist. The breakthrough lineup of the band were all
out members of the
LGBT community. Silveira is a
trans man, Benton and Martinez and Doctor identify as
queer. The Cliks have been compared to the likes of
David Bowie and the
White Stripes with the release of their first album,
Snakehouse. Native to
Toronto, they are the first band with a transgender leader to be signed with a major record label. The "emotional and guitar-driven" album features the single "Oh Yeah" and a cover of
Justin Timberlake's "
Cry Me a River". On October 21, 2008, The Cliks announced on their MySpace blog that Nina Martinez was no longer in the group. No explanation as to why was given or that they planned on replacing her at the time being. All that was said was that they are concentrating mainly on the new album and that all is going "extremely well at the studio." Their third LP,
Dirty King, was released June 23, 2009 and the title track became a moderate hit on
Canadian rock radio. The album's moderate success led the band to an opening gig for the
New York Dolls on their Spring '09 North American Tour and slots on the Toronto and New Jersey Pride Festivals. On September 1, 2009, in a message posted on The Cliks' official
MySpace page, Silveria said that Morgan Doctor and Jen Benton had decided to leave the band to pursue their own ambitions. Silveira states: Although no specific information was given on why the rhythm section had decided to abandon the band, one bit of Silveria's post does hint at conflict between the band members. Fans and bloggers have speculated the breakup to be quite acrimonious as Silveria's personal Facebook page no longer includes Doctor, Benton or Martinez as "friends." On November 8, 2009, in a message posted on The Cliks' official
MySpace page, Silveria announced that
Brian Viglione and
Tobi Parks (formerly of St. Louis band The Star Death) had joined the band. That soon ended when Lucas Silveira decided to take a hiatus to begin testosterone hormone therapy which would affect his singing voice. After successfully transitioning, Silveira later released a solo EP of cover songs and two original tracks titled "Mockingbird" 2010 (Indie) with producer
Hill Kourkoutis. The Cliks now consist of Lucas Silveira and rotating members that in the past have included primarily Hill Kourkoutis on bass (Hill and The Sky Heroes), Patrick McKeegan (AKA Patrick Von Ghostwolf) (Die Mannequin). Other musicians who have joined The Cliks also include on bass Carmen Elle (Army Girl), Jungle Tshongo (Birds of Misfortune) and on drums Jesse Labovitz (Ride The Tiger). ==Cultural impact==