Billy Talent
Billy Talent is a Canadian rock band from Mississauga, Ontario. They formed in 1993 with lead vocalist Benjamin Kowalewicz, guitarist Ian D'Sa, bassist Jonathan Gallant, and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk. There have been no lineup changes, although Solowoniuk has been on hiatus from the band since 2016 due to a relapse of multiple sclerosis. In the three decades since their inception, Billy Talent has sold well over a million physical albums in Canada alone and nearly 3 million albums internationally. During their most successful period, they were ranked as one of the top 10 best-selling native bands in Canada.
The band existed for almost a decade before mainstream success. The members met and played in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary 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 an employee of Warner Music Canada's A&R department landed the band a record deal and launched them into mainstream success. Since then, Billy Talent has made three multi-platinum records in Canada and continues to expand their success overseas; this included touring for 20 months supporting their second album. They released their third album, Billy Talent III, in 2009, and their fourth album, Dead Silence, in 2012. Dead Silence was followed up by a full UK tour throughout October and November 2012. To commemorate the longevity since the release of their first studio album, the band has released a greatest hits album entitled Hits in 2014.
In 2015, they began to prepare material for their fifth studio album. Just before entering the studio, drummer Aaron Solowoniuk decided to sit out the recording sessions while he continued his longstanding battle with multiple sclerosis. Fellow Canadian Jordan Hastings was quickly recruited to play as Solowoniuk's studio stand-in, and, in early 2016, the group completed work on Afraid of Heights, which was released in July of that year. The band's most recent album Crisis of Faith, was released on January 17, 2022.
History
Origins as Pezz (1993–1999)
The band got together during a high school talent contest after forming in 1993. 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 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.D'Sa studied classical animation at Sheridan College, and even worked on Angela Anaconda as an animator. Gallant almost finished a business degree. Kowalewicz was in between jobs, one which included working at 102.1 the edge. Solowoniuk worked at Chrysler Canada. But during this, each member found the time and finances to max-out their credit cards, and record their first full-length album in 1999. They laid down twelve tracks at a studio called "Great Big Music", collaborating with Juno-nominated music producer Brad Nelson. Kowalewicz started singing in melody with D'Sa. The music began to transform from "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 success (1999–2004)
In 1999, the Canadian Pezz received documentation from an American band named Pezz proving that the latter had held the name internationally since 1989. The Canadian band had no legal claim to their old name and thus changed it to Billy Talent, inspired by the guitarist "Billy Tallent" from Michael Turner's novel Hard Core Logo. The film adaptation by Bruce McDonald would be the inspirational medium for the band. This, however, still led to fans mistaking Kowalewicz as being named Billy Talent.Now known as Billy Talent, their sound began to move in a more aggressive, punk rock direction. During this time, Kowalewicz ran into Jen Hirst, at 102.1 the edge, the Toronto radio station he worked at. She had 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.
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 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. The band received a Juno, and MuchMusic Video Award nominations and awards, and spent late 2004 and most of 2005 touring. Billy Talent went on to be certified 3× platinum in Canada.
A track from the album titled "This Is How It Goes" was about Aaron Solowoniuk's fight with multiple sclerosis. On March 17, 2006, Aaron Solowoniuk revealed in a personal letter to fans that he was the friend in that song. 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 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 a mini-fridge in their van has become a normal routine.
''Billy Talent II'' (2005–2007)
Billy Talent's second album was mostly recorded at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, which was produced by Gavin Brown again with Ian D'Sa co-producing for the first time, and mixed by Chris Lord-Alge.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. 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. As of June 15, 2007, the album has sold almost 700,000 units worldwide, 215,000 of them in Canada making it certified 2× Platinum, and 200,000 shipped units in Germany achieved it platinum status there. Since then, the record has gone on to be certified 4× platinum in Canada and 2× platinum in Germany, putting the album over 1 million units sold worldwide. However, the success did not duplicate itself in the U.S. The band has expressed that they know they are a new band there, and they are choosing to concentrate their attention on Canada, Europe, and other places overseas instead.
The album contains less anger and profanity than their previous self-titled album. 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 gigs at London and Manchester, on September 8 and 16, respectively, were recorded live. Limited edition CDs were released as the band's only live album to date, Live from the UK Sept./2006. Also during the tour, the band had to miss their Southampton show "due to a death in the family". The whole band returned the following month to play the show.
The band started their first Canadian arena tour with the bands Rise Against, Anti-Flag, and Moneen, performing in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, and ending in Ontario. Following the Canadian tour, the band ventured onto their first U.S. club tour.
The band went on a large overseas tour, beginning on June 1, 2007. They temporarily came back in mid June to play shows at the MuchMusic Video Awards, the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto with good friends Alexisonfire, Cancer Bats, and Attack in Black. Plus the Quebec City Summer Festival with Alexisonfire in Quebec City. They returned overseas, selling out multiple venues in Australia and performing at the MTV Australia Video Music Awards. They had planned to end their tour on September 3, but the band played shows in St. John's, Newfoundland, Saint John, New Brunswick, and Halifax, Nova Scotia on September 5, 7 and 8, respectively. As of September 11, 2007, the band has indicated that their 18-month tour has officially ended, and they are "home for a while to catch breath a little before start writing the next record." In the meantime, a live DVD album called 666 was released on November 27, 2007, featuring footage and audio from the band's performances at London's Brixton Academy, Düsseldorf's Philipshalle, and Germany's Rock am Ring festival.
In 2008, they opened for American group My Chemical Romance in the U.S. with a smaller group Drive By and attended several festivals and held concerts in Canada and Europe later on. Vocalist Benjamin Kowalewicz stated on July 1, on Billy Talent's official forum, that they are staying put in Canada until the album is finished, and that their promotional tour for II has come to an end. Their song "Red Flag" was featured in Burnout Revenge, Burnout Legends, SSX on Tour, and NHL 06.