BILLY TALENT

'Billy Talent' is a Juno Award-winning Canadian rock band formed in 1993 in Mississauga, Ontario. The band consists of Benjamin Kowalewicz (vocals), Ian D'Sa (guitar/vocals), Jonathan Gallant (bass/vocals), and Aaron Solowoniuk (drums/percussion).
Although they are often described as having punk rock roots, the band claims that they have no bands that they have drawn inspiration from; they did not "emulate popular bands at the time." The sound is original and unique, something different that they recognized when they first started playing together.Artist Bio: Billy Talent. MuchMusic.com. Retrieved on July 12, 2007.
The band existed for almost a decade before hitting mainstream success. The members met and played in high school under the name Pezz, and remained underground in Toronto's indie music scene until 2001. The band renamed itself Billy Talent after running into legal trouble with the old name. It was then that Kowalewicz's connection with a worker in Warner Music Canada's A&R landed the band a record deal and launched them into mainstream success.Bliss, Karen. "Billy Talent". ''Access Magazine'' (February 2003 - March 2003 issue). Since then, Billy Talent has made two multi-platinum records in Canada,CRIA Gold and Platinum Certifications for January 2007. Canadian Recording Industry Association (January 2007). Retrieved on July 4, 2007. and continue to expand their success overseas. While currently on tour, the band is expecting to return home in September and start on a third album.Bliss, Karen. "75,000 sing Billy Talent", JAM! Music, June 15, 2007. Retrieved on July 9, 2007.

Contents

History

Origins as Pezz: 1993–1998

Billy Talent and mainstream success: 1999–2004

''Billy Talent II'': 2005–present

Members

Awards

Selected discography

References

External links

History

Origins as Pezz: 1993–1998

The band originated in Meadowvale and Streetsville, two neighbouring districts in Mississauga, Ontario. In 1993, Ben Kowalewicz and Jon Gallant were part of a band called "To Each His Own", where Gallant played bass, and Kowalewicz was on drums. Kowalewicz moved to vocals, and Aaron Solowoniuk was recruited in his place. Then backstage at the talent show of their high school, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary, they met Ian D'Sa, who played with a different band by the name of "Dragonflower"."Before They Were Famous". The Ongoing History of New Music. Aired November 11, 2005 on CFNY. The two bands started playing local pool halls and bars together. Eventually Kowalewicz asked D'Sa about starting a new band with him, Gallant, and Solowoniuk. He wanted to make a band that focused more on creativity, and D'Sa agreed. This merger would bring on the name "The Other One" for a short time, and eventually 'Pezz'.
Pezz began writing, performing songs, and gaining attention and credibility at first locally, and soon in Toronto's broader indie music scene. Their first recording was a cheap 4-track demo. It was recorded in Ian D'Sa's basement in July of 1994, and was named ''Demoluca'', after a friend of the band named Jason Deluca had stopped by the house, banging on a basement window while the band was recording. Soon after, in January 1995, they all put in money to record another demo of better quality with engineer/producer Dave Tedesco at the "Signal to Noise" studio which they called ''Dudebox''. Originally, two tracks from ''Demoluca'' and four newly recorded tracks were compiled onto it, but a year later the band recorded four more tunes live in the studio and re-released it. After these releases and their continued performances in the immediate area, Pezz was gaining a following in Mississauga and it continued to spread.Bowman, Trevor. "BIO", billytalent.com. Retrieved on September 4, 2007.
Eventually the boys left high school and had to move onto other head spaces. D'Sa studied classical animation at Sheridan College, and even worked on Angela Anaconda as an animator. Gallant almost finished a business degree. Kowalawicz was inbetween jobs, one which included working at 102.1 the edge. Solowoniuk worked at Chrysler Canada. But during all this, the each member found the time and finances to max-out their credit cards, and record their first full-length album in 1998. They laid down twelve tracks at a studio called "Great Big Music", collaborating with Juno-nominated music producer Brad Nelson. Kowalawicz started singing in melody with D'Sa. The music began to transform from a "raw rap-rock" songs into "catchy and angst-ridden pop punk anthems". With that, ''Watoosh!'' was born and independently released. While popular within Toronto's indie scene, it did not reach large mainstream sales levels.

Billy Talent and mainstream success: 1999–2004

In 1999, Pezz ran into some legal trouble over their name. A punk band from Memphis, Tennessee used the same name, and had released their first record under that name in 1990 (however, their first full-length was not released until 1995). At first, the Canadian Pezz's management threatened a lawsuit and demanded $5,000 from BYO Records, the Los Angeles-based record company, at the time, for the American Pezz. In time, the band relented, and soon renamed themselves Billy Talent in 2001. The name was inspired by "Billy Tallent", the name of a guitarist in ''Hard Core Logo'', a novel by Michael Turner with a film adaptation by Bruce McDonald. However, this still led to fans mistaking Kowalewicz of being named Billy Talent.Wood, Sherry. "Billy Talent proud of new album", Toronto Sun, June 23, 2006. Retrieved on July 8, 2007.
Now known as Billy Talent, their sound began to move in a more aggressive, punk rock direction. During this time, Kowalewicz ran into a co-worker, Jen Hirst, at 102.1 the edge, the Toronto radio station he worked at. She had previously seen the band perform as Pezz, and he asked her to check out the band's performance at a club. This would prove to pay off, as Hirst was later hired by Warner Music Canada to work in A&R. This connection would get the band their producer Gavin Brown, and a demo deal with the label. Before the demos were recorded, a local manager called Atlantic Records A&R executives, who were already in Toronto, to see the band perform in its tiny rehearsal space. The demos were recorded and released as a four song EP, ''Try Honesty'', in September 2001.
In 2002, the band met with record executives, and ended up signing a co-venture agreement with Atlantic Records and Warner Music Canada. In the fall of 2003, the band released their full-length self-titled album, ''Billy Talent''. The album found considerable mainstream airplay and sales success. "Try Honesty" was a successful first single, and was followed by other singles "The Ex", "River Below", and "Nothing To Lose" into late 2003 and 2004. The band played sold-out shows in Canada and the United States and had success in Europe as well. The band received Juno and MuchMusic Video Award nominations and awards, and spent late 2004 and most of 2005 touring. ''Billy Talent'' went on to be certified 3x Platinum in Canada. The album achieved minimal success in the United States, despite the band's participation in the Warped Tour 2006 festival.
A track from the album was titled "This Is How It Goes", and it was about one of Kowalewicz's friends who had multiple sclerosis. On March 17, 2006, Aaron Solowoniuk revealed in a personal letter to fans that the friend in that song was him. Solowoniuk was confirmed to have the disease, which causes anything from numbness in the limbs to paralysis or loss of vision, in January 1999. His neurologist prescribed him medication that he would have to self inject himself with three times a week, possibly for the rest of his life. Although it was a struggle for Solowoniuk to come to terms with the reality of the disease, going to numerous doctor appointments, and touring with the band with a mini-fridge in their van has become normal routine. The medication has let him continue drumming with the band, as it eliminated his symptoms, and he has stated that "this changes nothing about my band or me."^[1]

''Billy Talent II'': 2005–present

Billy Talent's second album was mostly recorded at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, again working closely with good friends Gavin Brown and Chris Lord-Alge. This time however Ian D'Sa got a chance to try his hand at producing. The band also recorded cover songs of John Lennon's "Cold Turkey" and the Buzzcocks "Ever Fallen in Love?" during these sessions.
Beginning in the fall of 2005, songs from the new album were purposely leaked by the band to gain publicity. A demo of "Red Flag" circulated across the internet, even though it had already appeared on the soundtracks to ''Burnout Revenge'', ''Burnout Legends'', ''SSX On Tour'' and EA Sports' ''NHL 06'', and on the Atlantic Records compilation ''Black by Popular Demand''. "Devil In A Midnight Mass" and "Surrender" were available for download on the official website exclusively on Christmas Day, 2005 and Valentine's Day, 2006, respectively.
''Billy Talent II'' hit the shelves on June 27, 2006. It fared very well in Canada in its debut week, landing in at number 1 on the Canadian charts.Armstrong, Denis. "Billy Talent mellows out", Ottawa Sun, January 31, 2007. Retrieved on July 8, 2007. It also enjoyed significant success in Germany, where it also debuted at number 1 in the album charts in its debut week, and was one of the top 10 selling albums in the country, achieving platinum status with 200,000 shipped units.^[2] However the success did not duplicate itself in the U.S., where the disk came in at #134, selling only 7,231 units in week 1. However, the album has sold almost 700,000 units worldwide, 215,000 of them in Canada, which has made it certified 2x Platinum.

Kowalewicz at the Cardiff University Students' Union on August 8, 2006. This is the band's second international tour, but this time they will play in countries like Finland, Norway, Luxembourg, and Belgium for the first time.

The album has less anger and language than their previous self-titled album, as they had mellowed out and matured as men and as a band. More of the songs dealt with real-life issues, to the praise of fans and critics.
The band ventured off on another UK tour in support of ''Billy Talent II'', but this one would include more shows in countries they had not performed in before. During this tour leg, the band had to miss their Southampton show "due to a death in the family".Southampton, UK show postponed (September 6, 2006). Retrieved on August 7, 2007. The whole band returned the following month to play the show.SOUTHAMPTON GIG RESCHEDULED (September 7, 2006). Retrieved on August 7, 2007.
The band started their first Canadian arena tour with the bands Rise Against, Anti-Flag, and Moneen, performing in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec and ending off in Ontario. Following the Canadian tour, the band ventured off onto their first US club tour.Wood, Sherry. "Billy Talent nervous about tour", Toronto Sun, February 1, 2007. Retrieved on July 9, 2007.
The band went on a large overseas tour, beginning on June 1. They temporarily came back in mid June to play shows at the MuchMusic Video Awards, the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto, and the Festival d'été de Québec in Quebec City. They returned overseas, selling out multiple venues in Australia and performing at the MTV Australia Video Music Awards. They planned to return to Canada after their tour ends on September 3, to begin work on a third album, but their official site indicates tour dates on September 5, 7, and 8 on Canada's east coast.BILLY TALENT. Retrieved on August 7, 2007.

Members

★ Benjamin Kowalewicz - vocals

★ Ian D'Sa - guitar, backing vocals

★ Jonathan Gallant - bass, backing vocals

★ Aaron Solowoniuk - drums

Awards

'Year'	'Event'	'Won'	'Nominated'
2004	'Juno Awards'	Best New Group of the Year	Rock Album of the Year (''Billy Talent''), Single Of The Year ("Try Honesty")
	'MuchMusic Video Awards'	Best Rock Video ("Try Honesty")
	'Casby Awards'	Favorite New Single ("River Below"), Favorite New Album (''Billy Talent'')
2005	'Juno Awards'''	Group of the Year, Best Album of the Year (''Billy Talent'')	Single of the Year ("River Below")
	'MuchMusic Video Awards'	Best Video ("River Below"), Best Rock Video ("River Below")
2006	'MuchMusic Video Awards'		Best Video, Best Director (Sean Michael Turrell), Best Post-Production, Best Cinematography, Best Rock Video (all for "Devil in a Midnight Mass")
2007	'Juno Awards'	Group of the Year, Rock Album of the Year (''Billy Talent II'')	Video of the Year ("Devil in a Midnight Mass"), Single of the Year ("Devil in a Midnight Mass") and Album of the Year (''Billy Talent II'')
	'ECHO Awards'	Best Newcomer International, Best Rock/Alternative International
	'MuchMusic Video Awards'	Best Video ("Fallen Leaves") , MuchLoud Best Rock Video ("Fallen Leaves"), People's Choice: Favorite Canadian Group ("Devil In A Midnight Mass")	Best Director ("Red Flag"), Best Cinematography ("Red Flag")

Selected discography

Main articles: Billy Talent discography

:

Date of release	Title	Record label	Notes
1998	'''Watoosh!'''	(''independent release'')	Released under the name 'Pezz'.
September 16, 2003	'''Billy Talent'''	Warner Music Canada/Atlantic Records	3x Platinum (Canada)
June 27, 2006	'''Billy Talent II'''	Warner Music Canada/Atlantic Records	2x Platinum (Canada), Platinum (Germany)

References

1. Personal letter from Aaron (March 17, 2006). Retrieved on September 2, 2007.
2. Database for German Record Awards

External links

★ Official site

★ Billy Talent at MySpace