2011 Performers

After releasing 2 full lengths and Touring all over the world in his old band Crowned King, Shaun Frank relocated from Vancouver, BC to Toronto to start his new band, The Envy. The Envy has just finished recording their brand new record with producer, Gavin Brown, known for his work with Three Days Grace, Billy Talent, Metric, etc, which is set for a Fall release. The title track, 'Don't Let Go', was nominated for the prestigious songoftheyear.com's 'Song of the Year' contest, as judged by a panel of experts including Bon Jovi and Norah Jones. 'Don¹t Let Go' also got the attention of Grammy nominated music video director Frank Borin (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Eminem, Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, Cypress Hill and many others) and in December of 2007 he waived his director¹s fee and shot the video, alongside Juno-nominated Patrick Langlois, out of genuine appreciation for the band. The future is looking bright for this talented and driven young band. Check out more of the bands material at www.theenvymusic.com, www.myspace.com/theenvymusic, www.youtube.com/theenvymusic, and www.twitter.com/theenvy - Look forward to big things from these guys in the coming year!

Tokyo Police Club is appearing at Rogers Bayfest for the first time and is set to bring a dynamic performance. They rocked the stage at the JUNOs this year and have played at the world-renowned Coachella festival in California. Tokyo Police Club took its first baby steps toward finding that voice with its formation in 2005. The band was off and running the following year, releasing the debut EP A Lesson In Crime to instant and universal acclaim. One more EP (Smith), a digital-only single ("Your English Is Good") and a few world tours later, Tokyo Police Club's first full length album, Elephant Shell was released in April 2008. Elephant Shell's release was preceded by multiple sold out shows in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Toronto, and followed by appearances on The Late Show With David Letterman, The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson and, bizarrely enough, Desperate Housewives.

By the beginning of 2010, the Trews were feeling a little uncertain. The band had been on an upwardly mobile streak since "Not Ready to Go" first came pumping out of Canadian radio back in 2003. They wasted no time piling success on top of success, watching their stature grow with multiple hit singles and an incomparable live show, courting exhaustion while they fanned out across the world and carved an eccentric and stubborn path through an industry demanding that they always "compete."

The tensions were audible on 2008's No Time for Later. The band's third album was its most accomplished and satisfying. But as a formal exercise in broadening their songwriting chops while making a hermetically perfect studio recording - all while shoveling enough hits into the mouth of the beast - it emerged uptight and dark, maybe even a little claustrophobic. Not insignificantly, the second single was called "Paranoid Freak".

As the first leg of touring wrapped up on their sidelong 2009 Acoustic - Friends & Total Strangers retrospective, for the first time in years the Trews found themselves facing time off and a blank canvas. As Colin MacDonald bluntly puts it, "We didn't really know what to do." The rest of the tour was months away. The band had forward momentum but nowhere to go. Enter Gord Sinclair. The Tragically Hip bassist surfaced amidst this rare period of suspended animation and offered the Trews a little shelter at the Hip's fabled Bathouse Recording Studio. He said they could cool their jets, make some demos. "And I'll hang out for a couple days, drink some beer, and listen to what you guys have got going on," he suggested. It sounded like a holiday to John-Angus MacDonald.

"We were just looking to run away a little," the guitarist admits. "And we wanted to do something fun, organic, be a band again, all that stuff."

And so bassist Jack Syperek, drummer Sean Dalton, and the two MacDonald brothers faded into the bucolic splendor of Bath, Ontario, where they had so much fun and got so organic that a couple months later, the Trews had a new album - Hope and Ruin. Or maybe it should be called Order Out of Chaos.

In any event, the band insists that it all happened by accident, or "guerilla style," in Colin's words.

"It was like anything was up for grabs," continues John-Angus, "And we just needed to get a hold of where we were at, which is why we retreated to Bath. We went there to try and figure out what kind of record was in us."

So what kind of record was in them? In contrast to the cinched, vaguely political alt-rock of No Time for Later, the Trews swing low and loose on Hope and Ruin, which Sinclair unexpectedly found himself co-producing with John-Angus. Their customary wall-of-guitar is there on tracks like the explosive and somewhat insane "People of the Deer" - albeit bigger and more visceral than ever - and "The World I Know" puts a perverse twist on the kind of Aerosmith redux the band accomplishes in its sleep. "I'll Find Someone Who Will" is their patented classic-rock, power-pop hybrid, and naturally more fun than a sugar rush after a blast of nitrous. But title track and single "Hope and Ruin" is something altogether different, superimposing chiming guitar and Colin's reflective-yet-triumphant lyrics onto a pumping disco beat, while the guitar atmospherics of "Stay with Me" are redolent of a certain world-devouring, '80s rock giant. Opener "Misery Loves Company" suggests an alternate universe punk version of Cheap Trick while "Dreaming Man" is even more outré; a lambent, silky shuffle that the band whipped up over breakfast one day. Equally, "Burned" goes from a funky, clavinet-goosed intro to an inspired jam that Colin wanted to sound "like Little Feat at 2 am at some big, summer festival." Ditto the way piano dances around John-Angus' super-reverbed slide on "Love Is the Real Thing".

And perhaps most striking of all is the album's centerpiece, "If You Wanna Start Again", where the Trews actually find a credible détente between the grandeur of mid-tempo Foreigner and their own reliably good taste. It should be mentioned that their drummer was the force behind this particular masterpiece, right down to its ecstatic "woo-hoo" chorus. "It's so killer," says Colin. "That was Dalton."

John-Angus puts it best: "It was like our first record again," he says, of the band's most collaborative, exploratory, and intuitive effort in years. "When you make your first record, you don't know who the songwriter is. Those roles aren't established yet. The band is just trying to be the best band they can be. And we were back there."

Notwithstanding that what you're reading here is a band bio and a therefore a big, obvious marketing tool, let it be said that only a deaf person, a fool, or a damn liar would argue that Hope and Ruin feels anything but right. If the Trews were tired when they walked into the Bathouse, they were rejuvenated by the time they walked out, having found hope in ruin. This is the record where the Trews sound like they're having a flat-out gas.

"It was glorious," reflects Colin. "I hope people like the record because if they do, I'll be, like, 'Yes! We can have fun while we're doing it.'"

Theory of a Deadman had a simple but daunting goal for its third album: to make the greatest record possible.

"I always try to remind the guys and myself that there are 20 bands lined up behind us just waiting for a chance to take our place," says frontman Tyler Connolly. "So that means we had to go in there and make a great record." With Scars & Souvenirs, the Vancouver trio has hit its mark.

The balanced 13-track effort is the polished and passionate testament to seven years of hard work, heavy touring and diligent attention to its craft. From the swirling grind of "By the Way" to the nasty snarl of "Crutch" to the soaring melodicism of "Not Meant to Be" and "Wait For Me," Scars & Souvenirs is a broad-reaching endeavor that puts Connolly, guitarist Dave Brenner and bassist Dean Back high in the rock pantheon, achieving creative growth without sacrificing the hard-hitting power that got them here in the first place.

"We really dug hard on this one," Connolly notes. "The longer you're in a band, the more you write songs, the better you get. We've had such a great opportunity to figure out what to do better, how to write a better song and keep building and building. That's exciting for us."

Scars & Souvenirs began taking shape in February of 2007, as Theory was winding down from touring to support its second album, 2005's Gasoline, a slump-defying sophomore outing that launched the hits "No Surprise," "Say Goodbye," "Santa Monica" and "Hello Lonely (Walk Away From This)." The group returned to Grammy-nominated producer Howard Benson, who in turn issued marching orders that set the tone for the project.

"Before we even went into the studio, Howard wanted to gear this record up to sound huge," Connolly recalls about Benson's "all killer, no filler" approach to the record. "He said, ‘You have to go into a record with great songs. You can't make them while you're there. You can't just go in with one or two great songs. You've got to have 10.' So we just kept sending him songs until we had the 10 to 12 great ones, and then he said, 'OK, let's go.'" Theory actually brought about 17 songs to Los Angeles' Bay 7 studios in August of 2007. Amidst low-key hijinks -- Brenner and Back grew mustaches, Connolly sported a fake one in the name of band unity -- the group and studio drummer Robin Diaz recorded 15 before choosing the 12 that ultimately comprise Scars & Souvenirs, which proved an apt title for the range of emotions Connolly sings about on the album.

"It's the Scars & Souvenirs of your life," he explains. "The songwriting on the record is really about someone's past or and present, their relationships and how they shape everything. It's more metaphorical than physical scars and trophies."

And while Connolly has certainly done his turn as a rock 'n' roll king of pain on Gasoline and 2002's attention-catching debut Theory of a Deadman, he went into Scars & Souvenirs determined to show he could be more than the "callous bastard" Rolling Stone magazine called him in an early profile.

Here, Connolly explores broad new lyrical terrain, indicative of his growth as a person and as songwriter. "For awhile there, every song was, 'Get the f*&k out! I don't need women! Screw them!' That's kinda how I felt at that point," Connolly says with a self-effacing laugh. "But I've grown as a songwriter, and as a person. I wanted to write some different, nicer songs for a change."

He didn't have to look hard for inspiration. He wrote "Wait For Me," with its acoustic guitar underpinning and rich chorus, for his wife, paying tribute to her fortitude in being home alone while he's on the road. The piano-laden "All or Nothing," meanwhile, chronicles their relationship, which began as a good friendship before blossoming into romance. "It was kind of sick of me writing all these woman-hater songs before," acknowledges Connolly, whose mother left his family when he was in high school, providing rich source material for his earlier work. "People thought I was writing about my wife." While Connolly's lyrics have taken on a kinder, gentler pallor on Scars & Souvenirs, the band continues to keep the knobs cranked to 11.

Connolly also went into Scars & Souvenirs trying to write some songs that were "just for fun," and succeeded with tracks such as "End of Summer," an anthem about the bittersweetness of endings, whether that of a season or a relationship.

But even though the album mines a deeper emotional trough, it charges with the same potent force of its predecessors. When fans eagerly crank up the likes of "So Happy," "Got it Made" and "Bad Girlfriend," they'll end up with a set of blown out speakers, thanks to the firepower that crackles in these rockers, while "Sacrifice" bristles with the kind of primal, super-charged defiance that has long defined the best hard rock.

"A lot of bands, they grow older and they get grayer and they just can't do the rock songs anymore," Connolly says. "I don't see that happening to us. Fans are gonna hear our record and hear some softer stuff, but we're a rock band. I think it sounds bigger than the other two (albums) we've done."

Which is, not surprisingly, why Connolly, Brenner and Back are chomping at the bit to take Scars & Souvenirs out on the road. "We really want to take the band farther this time," Connolly says. "We want to get out there to places we have not been before - where a lot of our fans are --Asia, Australia, as well as reaching our fans in North America and Europe. We're just a hard-working band, man. We want to be out there for a couple of years and play these songs to everybody we possibly can."

With an album like Scars & Souvenirs, the fans will be lining up to listen.

The Tea Party was a Canadian rock band with blues, progressive rock, Indian and Middle Eastern influences, dubbed "Moroccan roll" by the media. Active throughout the 1990s up until 2005 when the band broke up, The Tea Party released eight albums on EMI Music Canada, selling 1.6 million records worldwide, and achieving a #1 Canadian single "Heaven Coming Down" in 1999.

The Tea Party toured Canada on twenty-one occasions and Australia on twelve. In November 2002, The Tea Party toured Canada with symphony orchestras reinterpreting a decade's worth of shared songwriting.

The Tea Party was formed in 1990 by Jeff Martin, Stuart Chatwood and Jeff Burrows after a marathon jam session at the Cherry Beach Rehearsal Studios in Toronto. Each member had previously played together during their teenage years in a number of different bands in Windsor, Ontario, where they were originally from. They had decided to name their new group The Tea Party after the infamous hash sessions of famous Beat generation poets Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs.

The Tea Party released their eponymous debut album in 1991, distributing it through their own label Eternal Discs. The album drew influences from psychedelic rock and blues, and was produced by Martin; album production was something Martin would continue with for all of The Tea Party's albums, as a way of giving the band complete artistic control. In 1993 The Tea Party signed to EMI Music Canada and released their first major label recording, Splendor Solis. The band employed open tunings and goblet drums (Dumbek) to imitate Indian sounds, something they continued to employ throughout their career, while continuing in a blues influenced style. In 1994 the album released in Australia, with the single "Save Me" launching the band's career in the country. The band gained the support of national radio station Triple J, enabling the band's first tour, with "Save Me" becoming a staple of their setlists

JOEL PLASKETT TURNS THREE

It all started simply enough. Joel Plaskett noticed that he had three songs coming together where each title was one word repeated three times: the hillbilly stomper "Rolling, Rolling, Rolling"; the soulful electric-piano ballad "Rewind, Rewind, Rewind"; and the aching folk-pop of "Gone, Gone, Gone."

"I was like, well, I've got these songs that roll in threes," says Plaskett. "Maybe I should do a whole album of songs where every song title is the same word three times. Then I thought, well, I've got all these other songs that aren't like that, but I also want to put on a record... so I'll just make a triple record! The idea came pretty quickly."

Once Plaskett decided to go with the concept of Three, the references flew fast and furious throughout his songs: among them a "1-2-3" count and a "3-2-1" countdown in the same song (in fact, within two lines of each other); "Good things come in threes"; several allusions to "33-1/3" (his age at the time of recording); and that he worked on 33 songs for the project.

"In 'Deny, Deny, Deny,'" says Plaskett, "it's like, when it's only me and you, why does everything always gotta break in three? There's you and somebody else [in a relationship], but there's always some third thing: another person, your job, the road, or the two people becoming a third thing. I was trying to bring that idea into musical fruition."

If things do always break in three, so do these albums, which are split according to three phases of traveling: departure, separation and return. "Disc one is focused around the idea of being left behind or of leaving," Plaskett explains. "It alternates perspectives, from being the traveling man, footloose and fancy free, to the idea of being left alone. The first record has a real soul influence, and it's the most rock 'n' roll. Disc two is about being alone, wherever you are. Whether you've gone off or you've stayed behind, you're by yourself, and you're left to your own dark thoughts and your own loneliness. I thought this was a great opportunity, with disc two of Three, to make a really somber folk album, in the context of two others that aren't. And disc three is like, the slow return home, and the idea of getting back to where you're from. The levity of album number three helps to paint the complete picture."

Of course, the idea of such traveling is second nature to Plaskett, who proves it all night, every night, as a hard-touring live showman. "The culmination of this record comes off two years of harder touring than I've ever experienced," he says. "In 2006, 2007 and the beginning of 2008, I toured almost non-stop, went to Australia three times - one time for six weeks, which was epic." In fact, Plaskett has earned his reputation as a consistently exciting, dynamic live performer throughout his career, even from his teenage years fronting the Halifax indie upstart band Thrush Hermit in the '90s. He's also garnered steadily increasing critical respect and commercial success in his recording career with his stellar band, The Emergency (Dave Marsh on drums and Chris Pennell on bass), from the indie albums In Need of Medical Attention (1999) and Down at the Khyber (2001), through his MapleMusic recordings Truthfully Truthfully (2003) and La De Da (2005), his first solo effort.

Since 2006, Plaskett has toured extensively both solo and with The Emergency, to sold-out clubs and theatres throughout Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and Australia, on the heels of great Canadian success with his Make A Little Noise DVD & EP (2006) and Ashtray Rock concept album (2007). Make A Little Noise spawned an infectiously catchy hit single, "Nowhere With You," that landed Plaskett on the Top 10 at hot Adult Contemporary (AC) radio. He also garnered three 2007 East Coast Music Awards (ECMAs) "of the year" wins: Single for "Nowhere With You," DVD for Make A Little Noise, and Songwriter. Ashtray Rock was nominated for the prestigious Polaris Music Prize, and earned Plaskett and his band all six of the 2008 "of the year" ECMAs for which he, and they, were nominated: Recording, Group Recording, Single (for "Fashionable People," another hit song), Video (also for "Fashionable People"), Rock Recording, and Songwriter. He's also earned several Juno nominations (including Songwriter of the Year along side Neil Young), and was the First Place Winner in the 2008 Great American Song Contest and the Billboard World Song Contest, for "Fashionable People" (in the Pop Category). That's the kind of action that keeps a man on the road to support it.

And Plaskett travels as much musically as he does physically. Typically for him, Three is an eclectic blend of styles, ranging from the drum-machine rock 'n' roll of "Wishful Thinking" to the deep-country vibe of "Pine, Pine, Pine"; from the stripped-down acoustic folk of "New Scotland Blues" to the rollicking pop of "Deny, Deny, Deny." Plaskett also explores some brand new sounds this time out, like the penny whistles on "Sailor's Eyes," the dry pedal steel guitar on "Every Time You Leave Me Alone," and the soulful horns on the album's first single, "Through & Through & Through"

Another new texture heard throughout Three is the combination of two female backing voices singing in unison. That got started in February 2008 at the North American Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis, where Plaskett met up with singer-songwriters Rose Cousins (who he knew from Nova Scotia) and Ana Egge (from Brooklyn). He called a Memphis friend, Doug Easley - who had previously recorded an album for Thrush Hermit - and booked a day at Easley's new studio, inviting the singers along.

"We recorded that seven-minute version of 'Wishful Thinking,' and I just made up parts for them," says Plaskett. "The thing was supposed to be a three-and-a-half-minute song, but I just kept writing verses on the spot. I made up a bunch of stuff, all these parts where they're going 'Hee!' and 'Hoo!' I was like, okay, this is how I want to record. This is cool. Writing on the fly, creating really quickly and spontaneously, making up parts in the studio." That was the first song recorded for Three, but Plaskett liked the sound so much that when he dug in for recording at his own Scotland Yard studio in Dartmouth, he called the two women back to sing on most of the songs on the record.

Three also marks the first time that Plaskett has recorded with his father, Bill, a, longtime musician himself. Plaskett senior, whose musical tastes run to British folk of the '60s, like Bert Jansch and Fairport Convention, used to play guitar and sing semi-professionally in a working band called Starboard Side, who made a recording for the CBC at one point. "I grew up around him playing a lot," says Plaskett the younger. "He invited me to play with him on a number of occasions when I was 14, 15 years old. He'd be playing a folk night somewhere, and I'd get up and play a song with him... Over the past couple of years, there've been opportunities where I've invited him up to play with the band, or do shows together. I just thought, in the back of my mind, that it would be great to document that in some capacity. So he's playing guitar or [four-string] tenor guitar on a lot of the second record of Three."

On the first leg of touring to support Three, Plaskett will be presenting a more stripped down acoustic show accompanied by his father Bill, Rose Cousins and Ana Egge. The Emergency will join the fray for the last few shows of the tour (including Massey Hall in Toronto). So after 6 months and dozens of songs recorded it's back to the road and Plaskett's last word. "Three is very much a traveling album," he says. "It's tough, 'cause you want to make music that is universally appealing outside of your world. The [touring] life of a musician, it's not easy, but at the same time, it's not like you're going off to war. There are so many amazing things about it. I think my strongest suit as an artist is writing from personal experience, or at least observation and trying to give my audience a sense of what I care about. This time around I figured I'd roll that all into a giant, somewhat-autobiographical, occasionally-fictional mess of songs."

Max Kerman
lead vocals, guitar
Mike DeAngelis
vocals, guitar
Dan Griffin
vocals, keyboard, guitar
Nick Dika
Bass
Tim Oxford
drums

Hometown: Hamilton, ON

Releases:
"Deadlines" EP - 2007 (Dine Alone)
"Jackson Square" - 2008 (Dine Alone Records)

The Facts:

• Juno Award Winner "New Group of The Year" - Spring 2010
• Winner "Favourite Live Artist/Group" at Canadian Music Week Indie Awards - Winter 2010
• Winner "FACTOR Breakthrough Artist" at Canadian Radio Music Awards - Winter 2010
• Special invitation to perform 4 shows during the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, BC - Winter 2010
• Recent headline tour heralded as one of most successful Canadian Club tours of 2009, selling out shows across the country including 2 sold out shows at Lee's Palace in Toronto - Fall 2009
• First full band to perform on CBC's The Hour hosted by Canadian icon George Stroumboulopoulos - October 2009
• Popular NBC show "Trauma" features single "Oh, The Boss is Coming" in an episode - 2009
• Special performances at 2009 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) including the Canadian Film Centre Party hosted by Kiefer Sutherland - Fall 2009
• Selected to showcase for international music supervisors during TIFF's Canadian Music Café - Fall 2009
• Perform at prestigious NHL Awards, Las Vegas - 2009
• Perform at almost all major Canadian festivals including V-Fest, Ottawa Bluesfest, Osheaga, Edgefest and Hillside Festival; shared mainstage with Pearl Jam, Metric, Dinosaur Jr., The Tragically Hip, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and The National - Summer 2009
• Successful UK tour with performances at the Great Escape in Brighton and various venues in London - May 2009
• Lauded as "the band to look out for" at SXSW's Canadian BBQ Bash, performing alongside The Black Lips, Primal Scream, Bedouin Soundclash and the Sam Roberts Band - March 2009
• Winner of the 2009 Galaxie Rising Star Award of the CBC - March 2009
• "Oh, The Boss is Coming" remained in the top 10 Rock Spins on Canadian Radio for 11 weeks, spending 13 weeks in top 10 Rock Audience - 2009
• Release full-length album "Jackson Square" through Dine Alone Records - October 2008
• Perform at V-Fest Toronto on same day as legendary Oasis performance - 2008
• Open for classic rock heavyweights Black Crowes - Summer 2008
• Sign with Dine Alone Records and Bedlam Music Management - January 2008

For more on Arkells, visit http://www.arkells.ca/

You can go ahead and just dance to the music of George Canyon, if that's what you want. He's a country neo-traditionalist par excellence, producing music situated somewhere between the bright and studio-tooled Nashville ideal and something a little older, with a voice that can soar with emotion or linger in a heavy bottom-end that feels like a kick in the chest from a faith healer. It's instant.

When you see the man, with piercing eyes that hang above his square jaw, the star appeal becomes even more obvious, and you remember all those achievements - the string of hits, a shelf-full of Junos and Canadian Country Music Awards, not to mention his rocket-ride to American fame on Nashville Star 2 in 2004, and the subsequent blockbuster albums One Good Friend, and Somebody Wrote Love.

But there's more to Canyon; a gravity evident in songs like 2007's "I Want You To Live", and which leaps from the title song of Canyon's newest album, What I Do.

"If you were to pick a theme for any of my albums," he says, "it's always gonna be somewhat to do with my family, somewhat to do with moral issues, maybe miracles, and faith for sure. My faith plays a very important part in my life. If it wasn't for that I'd probably be long gone. Who knows where?"

"What I Do" will resonate with anybody who's ever raised a kid, since it describes with diamond precision the gentle act of chaperoning a child through life. Says Canyon, "My son said to me, about six months ago, 'Dad, why don't you have any songs about me on your albums?' And he'd just turned 10. And I said, 'You know what buddy, you're right." So I wrote two songs about him on this album."

"Just Like You" is the first single from What I Do and the other half of Canyon's Daddy Duology. In contrast to "What I Do", the Calgary-resident attacks the subject from a lighter if no less true perspective on "Just Like You", examining his longing for childhood-lost with hopped-up fiddles and banjos, set against a thumping backbeat.

"Kale knows it's a true song," says Canyon, with a soft chuckle. "When we heard it on the radio for the first time, he sat there with a big grin on his face, because he knew it was his. And I'll tell you, as a Dad, that's a pretty darn cool feeling." Adds the singer, "As far as songs go, it's one of my favourites, because it says exactly the truth. It says what most dads think, for sure."

Canyon co-wrote "Just Like You" with two other fathers, Gary Harrison and What I Do co-producer Richard Marx. The album marks Canyon's first collaboration with the Chicago-born hitmaker. He hopes it isn't the last.

"I just bow down," he sighs. "He's just an unbelievable man, all the way around... I can't put it into words." Canyon is no studio neophyte, either. He took on the producing, engineering, and mixing of his 2007 collection of covers, Classics. "Elbows deep," is how he describes the process, but Canyon doesn't hesitate to credit Marx with teaching him a thing or three. "It was the first time in my career I actually just stood back and let somebody else take the reigns completely," he says. "And I sat in the wagon.

" Canyon's praise is breathless for all of his collaborators on What I Do - and there are some surprising names that turn up in the mix. Nickelback, anyone?

"Chad Kroeger is a crazy talented guy that people pigeonhole strictly into rock 'n' roll music," dishes Canyon, about his production and writing partner - along with Joey Moi - for two tracks on What I Do. "But he's a huge country music fan and a great writer... It would be a dream come true to continue working with Richard, Chad, and Joey.

" Then there's Chuck Cannon, the man who wrote Toby Keith's "How Do You Like Me Now", and who gave Canyon the frivolous-on-the-surface "If I Was Jesus".

"He was supposed to be a pastor," Canyon reveals. "He's the son of a son of a son of a Pastor. Three generations, but he decided to be a songwriter." Canyon notes that the two professions aren't entirely unrelated.

"The first time I heard the song," he laughs, "I was like, 'Wow, that's one way of putting it!' I know lots of people these days are turned off religion because it was shoved down their throat when they were a kid, and what that song does for me, it says, 'This isn't about belonging to a church, this isn't about any of that, this is about a one-on-one relationship with Jesus, with the Lord.

Softly, he adds, "Maybe this will bring them back. Maybe this'll open a door that might have been shut".

Canyon's faith and moral strength can be seen in his extra-curricular activities. He works tirelessly on behalf of Juvenile Diabetes (he was stricken at 14). When diagnosed with this disease he was told he would never realize his dream of piloting an airplane for the military. In June this year Canyon launched a campaign named, The Sky's Not The Limit where he would fly his own light aircraft from BC to Nova Scotia making many stops in between to perform mini-concerts for free in airport hangers for children with Type 1 diabetes. His purpose was to inspire them not to give up on their dreams.

He is also well known for his support of Canada's Armed Forces. After a handful of visits to Kandahar, Canyon was made an Honorary Colonel, by Canadian Defense minister Peter MacKay and CDS, Gen.Hillier, (it was for his involvement in these areas that he received a Humanitarian Award from the Canadian Country Music Association.) One of the most striking tracks on What I Do, a piano-led weeper of a duet with Crystal Shawanda called "Back In Your Arms", forms a companion piece to "I Want You to Live", in that it addresses once again the human stories behind the conflict.

Canyon sings about things that are bigger than him, and the humility is flattering. As he says, "In country music, sincerity is everything," which might be why the likeable 40 year-old from Nova Scotia is a rapidly ascending star on both sides of the border.

He tells a good story, about being at the Grand Ole Opry, and hanging with Porter Wagoner and Little Jimmy Dickens, who called him 'Canada', and then told dirty jokes. "You look at a lot of things in life, and you wonder, 'Gosh, I wonder what it's like on the other side of that fence,' and you imagine things and you dream things up. But the other side of the fence is like the side you're on. They're normal people, they get dressed in the morning, they have the same issues - it was a bit of an eye-opener."

The funny thing is, Canada's rising Country superstar speaks from the other side of the fence himself these days, whether he knows it or not.

WHERE AC/DC MEETS ALABAMA...

Refusing to be restricted by what typical country music showcases, Canada's top independent country rock act, Dry County's popularity has exploded. Their music heard by millions, when their cult single "Waitin On Hank" became the official entrance song for UFC super heavy weight fighter "Texas Crazy Horse" Heath Herring in 2008.

They have soiled the pages of country music publications, newspapers, and Internet blogs and sell out venues across the province of Ontario. Originally formed in 1998 after shared decades on the bar and festival circuit, Dry County established itself as a high energy act infusing new country with southern rock. Their 2002 self-titled debut CD landed 5 songs on over 50 radio stations nationwide and have been included in live to air interviews as feature artists.

Their controversial 2005 release, "Waitin' On Hank", received huge attention from all over the world and landed 4 singles on major market radio giving Dry County massive exposure and a fan base unmatched for a band that is proud to be 100% self contained.

Backed by their legions of fans ( known now as the redneck mafia), and landing mulitple sponsorships ( including Taye Drums, Yamaha Keyboards and Budwieser to name a few), Dry County released the long awaited "Cowboy Up" album in April 2010 selling thousands of copies in just the first 2 weeks and thousands more via itunes downloads landing them a "Peoples Choice Award" for Group of the Year at the Hamilton Music Awards in November 2010.

Whether they are refered to as "Outlaws", "Outcasts" or absolutley "Out of Control", Dry County has country and rock fans through out the world, cheering for the "bad guys" again.

Cowboy UP!!!!

• Instrumentation
• Jeff Gallagher - Lead Vocals,
• Randy Solski - Guitar, Backup Vocals
• Don Laframboise - Keyboards, Backup Vocals
• Keith Silver - Bass Guitar, Backup Vocals
• Uncle Dik - Drums

Discography

• Cowboy Up! (released spring 2010)
• Waitin On Hank (released fall 2005)
• Dry County (released 2002)

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There's a very good reason that no less than four songs from Rodney Atkins' platinum-selling 2006 album If You're Going Through Hell became No. 1 hits-a feat that no one had accomplished since 2002. It's the same reason that two of those songs became the most-played of 2006 ("If You're Going Through Hell [Before the Devil Even Knows]") and 2007 ("Watching You"), and why concert audiences all over the country are cheering him on and singing along.

It's because Atkins has a rare gift for reflecting the lives of his listeners in his music-their hopes, their concerns, their spirit, their adversities, even their sense of humor. Simply put, as he sang in another chart-topping smash, "These Are My People." A native of small-town East Tennessee, the adopted son of a loving family and the proud father to a family of his own, Atkins understands regular lives because he leads one. "People always talk about image-'You're the guy in the ball cap, the All-American country boy,'" says Atkins, who does indeed still favor caps to cowboy hats. "But if the songs don't connect with the folks listening, then none of that stuff matters."

Atkins makes that connection again and again on his current album, It's America. The whole album is pretty much "about being human," says Atkins. Currently, riding the wave of the smash hit "Farmer's Daughter," Atkins is busy on tour and preparing for his upcoming Curb release. In September, Cracker Barrel released Rodney Atkins to their fans and his in the stores resulting in successful sales for the project in the first week. The collection features the current Atkins single and a few bonus tracks, as well as his string of no. 1 hits over the past few years.

Atkins' gives an honest view to his upbringing. He was adopted as a frail, sickly infant from the Holston Methodist Home for Children in Greenville, Tenn. (for which he has passionately raised awareness and financial assistance since finding stardom), but two families returned him to the home because the burden of caring for him was too great. Then Allan and Margaret Atkins took him in.

"From what I understand, I became more sick than I had ever been during that time," he says. "But it just never crossed their mind to take me back." With their love and care that weak, ill child grew into a strong, healthy young man. He began singing in church as a boy, and learned to play guitar and write songs while in high school. Soon after he headed off to college, Atkins began making regular trips to Nashville in order to write, perform and learn the business. Word got around quickly about this talented and charismatic up-and comer, and soon he was signed to Curb Records. Atkins' 2003 debut album, Honesty, earned him a Top 5 hit with "Honesty (Write Me a List)." Never one to stray far from his roots, Atkins, along with his wife of 13 years, Tammy Jo, continue to raise their family (9-year-old son Elijah and college age stepdaughters who affectionately call him "Big R") and enjoy a simple life right here in Middle Tennessee. "My family is my priority," he says. "I cherish them so much." Atkins and longtime co-producer Ted Hewitt even recorded the vocals for If You're Going Through Hell and It's America at the singer's modest "home studio",little more than a closet really, amidst the hubbub of his happily full house. This unique recording technique proved a winning one, and the chart-topping, platinum-selling If You're Going Through Hell gave Atkins his true breakthrough. In addition to the overwhelming radio and video airplay, he earned the Academy of Country Music's Top New Male Vocalist award, plus five other ACM nominations and two Country Music Association nominations. He has also had the opportunity to amass some amazing memories-from public moments like performing for a half-million people at the National Memorial Day concert in Washington, D.C., to private ones like getting to thank hero Garth Brooks for his inspiration. He's performed for former President George W. Bush, twice. He's toured with the superstar likes of Brad Paisley, Brooks & Dunn, Martina McBride and ZZ Top. Similarly, he's had the pleasure of helping the causes that mean a lot to him, such as the National Council for Adoption and performed a national ad campaign for Kraft's Velvetta Shells and Cheese "Best Side of Dinner" campaign. His current tour is also being sponsored by the brand. He also in into his third year as a spokesman for Chevy's Silverado brand.

"A lot of my dreams have become reality - I'm living the American dream," he acknowledges. "It's amazing to me."

Even so, Atkins hasn't changed a bit. He's still the caring husband and father who wants to see his family thrive, still the hopeful dreamer who paid his dues in honky-tonks across America, still the small-town boy who inherited his parents' warmth and work ethic. He still feels an unbreakable connection to the fans who buy his albums, request his songs and fill up his shows. These are his people, and he has no intention of letting them down.

Canadian born and bred Aaron Pritchett, has proven himself to be one of the hardest working and sought after artists in the business. With numerous top hits, music videos, tours with Alan Jackson, Toby Keith and Brooks & Dunn, Aaron has gained a significant following across Canada. Over his career he has earned many accolades and awards, including a CCMA for Independent Male Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year in 2007 for the anthem, "Hold My Beer". His passion and intensity on stage coupled with his unwavering dedication to fans sets him apart from other acts and has helped solidify his success.

His 5th album, which will be in stores this fall touches on more serious themes with songs like "Coming Clean" and " She's Goin' Somewhere " but also brings back the high energy, rock and roll sound everyone loves in songs like "Pinch" and "Light It Up". For the first time, Aaron is overseeing all aspects; writing or co-writing almost every song, ensuring a true depiction of the kind of music that he's always wanted to make. The album will be appropriately named "In The Driver's Seat," because for the first time in Aaron's career, he is calling the shots and making sure the fans get what they want.

Growing up in small-town Northern BC, Aaron drew his earliest musical influences from 80's Rock, but the transition to country music came naturally, "It was based on being able to relate to the stories that country songs told. Those stories were a lot like mine. I was going fishing, camping, and riding buses to hockey tournaments in even smaller towns than my own, life was a lot more country than rock and roll. That down-home feel that resonated with me is what I strive to convey in my music today."

Still there is no doubt that his 80's rock roots have had a major influence on Aarons performances. All that head banging he did as a kid shines through when he whips a stadium full of chanting fans into a frenzy while hammering out "Hold My Beer" or "Lets Get Rowdy."

All of this paired with Aaron's passion and drive to keep playing has created one of the most exciting shows in the country music industry.