Billy Talent, originally called Pezz, is a Canadian hardcore punk/alternative rock band. Originally from Mississauga, Ontario, they are now based in downtown Toronto. They performed and recorded together for about a decade before finding a wide mainstream following.

History

Origins as Pezz

The band originated in Streetsville, part of the Toronto suburb of Mississauga, Ontario. In 1993, Ben Kowalewicz, Ian D'Sa, Jon Gallant, Aaron Solowoniuk, all members of different bands at the time, met backstage at their high school talent show. They became instant friends and formed a new band, Pezz. Pezz began writing and performing songs and winning attention and credibility at first locally, and soon in Toronto's broader indie music scene. A collaboration with Juno-nominated music producer Brad Nelson led to their first full-length album, Watoosh!, in 1998. While popular within Toronto's indie scene, it did not reach large mainstream sales levels.

Billy Talent and mainstream success

In 1999, Pezz ran into some legal trouble over their name. A punk band from Memphis, Tennessee used the same name, and indeed had released their first album under that name in 1990. 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 Canadian band relented, and soon rechristened themselves Billy Talent. The name was inspired by the name of a guitarist in Hard Core Logo, the novel by Michael Turner and its film adaptation by Bruce McDonald.

As Billy Talent, their sound began to move in a more aggressive, punk rock direction. Their four song EP, Try Honesty, was released in September 2001, and the band became increasingly well-known, and their live shows, noted for their high energy, more frequent.

In 2002, producer Gavin Brown picked up a demo tape from the band and quickly circulated it to record companies, attracting considerable interest. In the end, the band signed 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 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. As of June 2006, 'Billy Talent' the album, has gone 3x Platinum in Canada.

Billy Talent II

In the fall of 2005, a demo of an unreleased song entitled, "Red Flag", was circulating across the Internet; it will appear on their next album. "Red Flag" also appears on the soundtracks to Burnout Revenge, Burnout Legends, SSX On Tour and EA Sports' NHL 2006, and on the Atlantic Records compilation Black by Popular Demand. Another song, "Devil In A Midnight Mass," was available for download on their website exclusively on Christmas Day, 2005. "Surrender" was offered for download exclusively on Valentine's Day, 2006. Both "Devil In A Midnight Mass" and "Surrender" will appear on their upcoming album, Billy Talent II, scheduled for release on June 27, 2006. On April 20th the final version of Devil In A Midnight Mass was made available online through the band's myspace, it is now also played on some Canadian radio stations owned by Corus Entertainment, such as FM96, 102.1 the Edge, 99.3 The Fox, 106.1 The Goat and Y108. The video for Devil In a Midnight Mass is now being played on MuchMusic. Clips of all the new songs can be found at the Warner Music website.

All of the tracks on Billy Talent II were leaked onto the internet on June 19th 2006. On June 23rd, all of the tracks were officially released onto the band's MySpace, and four of them are still available as of June 28, 2006.

Discography

Studio albums

• Watoosh! (as Pezz) (1998)
• Billy Talent (2003) 3x Platinum (Canada)
• Billy Talent II (2006)

EPs and singles

• Try Honesty EP (2001)
• Try Honesty single (2003) UK #68
• The Ex single (2004) UK #61
• River Below single (2004) UK #70
• Nothing To Lose single (2004)
• Devil In A Midnight Mass single (2006) UK #66

Awards

2003 Casby Awards

• Won: Favorite New Single (for "Try Honesty")

2004 Juno Awards

• Won: Best New Group Of The Year
• Other Nominations: Rock Album Of The Year, Single Of The Year (for "Try Honesty")

2004 MuchMusic Video Awards

• Won: Best Rock Video (for "Try Honesty")
• Other Nominations: People's Choice-Favourite Canadian Group, Best Video, Best Cinematography, Best Post-Production, Best Director (all for "Try Honesty")

2004 Casby Awards

• Won: Favorite New Single (for "River Below"), Favorite New Album

2005 Juno Awards

• Won: Group Of The Year, Best Album Of The Year (for "Billy Talent")
• Other Nominations: Single Of The Year (for "River Below")

2005 MuchMusic Video Awards

• Won: Best Video (for "River Below"), Best Rock Video (for "River Below")
• Other Nominations: People's Choice-Favourite Canadian Group, Best Video (for "Nothing To Lose"), Best Rock Video (for "Nothing To Lose"), Best Post-Production (for "River Below"), Best Cinematography (for "Nothing To Lose"), Best Director (for "River Below"), Best Director (for "Nothing To Lose")

2006 MuchMusic Video Awards

• Won: None
• Nominations: Best Video (for "Devil in a Midnight Mass"), Best Director - Sean Michael Turrell (for "Devil in a Midnight Mass"), Best Post-Production (for "Devil in a Midnight Mass"), Best Cinematography (for "Devil in a Midnight Mass"), Best Rock Video (for "Devil in a Midnight Mass")

Members

• Ben Kowalewicz - vocals
• Ian D'Sa - guitar
• Jon Gallant - bass
• Aaron Solowoniuk - drums

External links

• Official site
• Billy Talent at MySpace
• Billy Talent at Last.fm
• Ian & Aaron Discuss The New Album
• Billy Talent tablature on TabWiki
• Pezz - Watoosh (album)
• Warner Music artist discography
• Billy Talent Lyrics