1.
Trevor McNevan
–
Trevor McNevan, also known as Teerawk, is a Canadian musician and lead singer/songwriter of Thousand Foot Krutch and pop punk side project FM Static along with Steve Augustine. His first band, Oddball, included former Thousand Foot Krutch members Dave Smith and Tim Baxter, Oddball released the 27-song record Shutterbug, in 1995, featuring half hip-hop and half rock songs. McNevan is the original member of Thousand Foot Krutch. He formed the band in Peterborough, Ontario in 1997, along with original guitarist Dave Smith, McNevan also co-produced the Thousand Foot Krutch album Welcome to the Masquerade and FM Statics album My Brain Says Stop, But My Heart Says Go. McNevan is a member of alternative metal band Thousand Foot Krutch and is the only remaining original member. The band has released eight albums and one live CD/DVD compilation. McNevan started the pop punk band FM Static with drummer Steve Augustine, Guitarist John Bunner, the band has released four studio albums. He also co-wrote the song Bring Em Out with the band for the movie Yours, Mine and Ours, McNevan also starred in Hawk Nelsons California music video as the driver of the jeep. McNevan has his own publishing company called Teerawk Music that houses his various songwriting, developing, the company is mentioned in KJ-52s song Run for Cover. McNevan is a friend of Nashville Predators NHL player Mike Fisher. McNevan also sang on Worth Dying Fors Through Your Eyes on the album Love Riot, as well as Three Days Graces song, from, Thousand Foot Krutch FM Static Teerawk Music Publishing Trevor McNevan talks about working at McDonalds with Three Days Grace
2.
Peterborough, Ontario
–
Peterborough /ˈpiːtərbɔːroʊ/ PEE-tər-bur-oh is a city on the Otonabee River in Central Ontario, Canada,125 kilometres northeast of Toronto and about 270 kilometers southwest of Ottawa. According to the 2016 Census, the population of the City of Peterborough was 81,032 and it presently has the 33rd largest CMA in Canada. The current mayor of Peterborough is Daryl Bennett, Peterborough is known as the gateway to the Kawarthas, cottage country, a large recreational region of the province. It is named in honour of Peter Robinson, an early Canadian politician who oversaw the first major immigration to the area, the city is the seat of Peterborough County. Peterboroughs nickname in the distant past was The Electric City as it was the first town in Canada to use electric streetlights. Electricity was one of the reasons Quaker Oats moved to the city, first Nations groups probably entered into the area across Bering Sea, through Alaska, millennia ago. Woodland Natives inhabited the area circa 1000 BCE –1000 CE, followed by Iroquois, two of the more prominent sites surviving from this time are the petroglyphs at Petroglyphs Provincial Park and Serpent Mounds. The petroglyphs are located northeast of Peterborough and are believed to have been carved by the Algonquin people between 900 and 1400 CE. The Serpent Mounds are located near Keene, approximately 30 km southeast of Peterborough in Otonabee-South Monaghan township, in 1818, Adam Scott settled on the west shore of the Otonabee River. The following year he began construction of a sawmill and gristmill, the mill was located at the foot of present-day King Street and was powered by water from Jackson Creek. The site has an Ojibway name Nogojiwanong which means the place at the end of the rapids, the year 1825 marked the arrival of Irish immigrants from the city of Cork to Scotts Plains. In 1822, the British Parliament had approved an experimental emigration plan to transport poor Irish Catholic families to Upper Canada. Peter Robinson, a member of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada, Scotts Plains was renamed Peterborough in his honour. Robinson interviewed families and individual males to make the long voyage and these families had to meet specific criteria in order to be eligible for the voyage. The specifics required for Robinsons settlers were that they had to be Catholic, poor, males had to be less than forty-five years of age and in good health and families were unrelated. The majority of the Irish emigrants were chosen from Fermoy, North Cork, Robinson was urged by landlords to remove the pauper and undesirables. Most of them could read and write, thomas Poole, a nineteenth century writer, wrote that all 2024 passengers boarded nine ships in June 1825, with everything they owned, from Cork across the Atlantic Ocean to Quebec City. The journey took 30 days to cross the Atlantic and on board the ship they were provided with bunks, hard tack or ship biscuits were one of the many foods that were made to provide energy for the passengers
3.
Christian rock
–
Christian rock is a form of rock music that promotes Jesus and is typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals and bands whose members focus the lyrics on matters of Christian faith. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands, many bands who perform Christian rock have ties to the contemporary Christian music labels, media outlets, and festivals, while other bands are independent. In 1952 Archibald Davison, a Harvard professor, summed up the sound of traditional Christian music, based upon Archibald Davisons statement it is easy to see how different these two genres of music are. Religious people in regions of the United States did not want their children exposed to music with unruly, impassioned vocals, loud guitar riffs and jarring. Rock and roll differed from the norm, and thus it was seen as a threat, often the music was overtly sexual in nature, as in the case of Elvis Presley, who became controversial and massively popular partly for his suggestive stage antics and dancing. However, Elvis was a person who even released a gospel album. Individual Christians may have listened to or even performed rock music in many cases and he Touched Me was a 1972 gospel music album by Elvis Presley which sold over 1 million copies in the US alone and earned Presley his second of three Grammy Awards. Not counting compilations, it was his third and final album devoted exclusively to gospel music, the song He Touched Me was written in 1963 by Bill Gaither, an American singer and songwriter of southern gospel and Contemporary Christian music. In the 1960s, rock music developed artistically, attained popularity and became associated with the radical counterculture. This further increased the Christian opposition to rock music, moreover, many saw the music as promoting a lifestyle of promiscuous sex, drugs and rock and roll, also reflected in the behavior of many rock stars. However, there was growing recognition of the musical and ideological potential of rock. One of his songs, Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music, summarized his attitude and his quest to pioneer Christian rock music. Another Christian rock pioneer, Randy Stonehill, released his first album in 1971, in the most common pressing of the album, side one is entirely a live performance. Another early Christian rock album was Mylon by Mylon LeFevre, son of members of the gospel group The LeFevres. He recorded the album with members of Classics IV and released it through Cotillion Records in 1970, petra and Resurrection Band, two of the bands who brought harder rock into the early CCM community, had their origins in the early to mid-1970s. They reached their height in popularity in the late eighties alongside other Christian-identifying hard rock such as Stryper. The latter had played on MTV, one being To Hell with the Devil. Christian rock has proved successful in the UK and Europe, although such artists as Bryn Haworth have found commercial success by combining blues
4.
Hard rock
–
Hard rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music that began in the mid-1960s, with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. It is typified by a use of aggressive vocals, distorted electric guitars, bass guitar, drums. Hard rock developed into a form of popular music in the 1970s, with bands such as The Who, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Aerosmith, AC/DC. During the 1980s, some rock bands moved away from their hard rock roots and more towards pop rock. Hard rock began losing popularity with the success of R&B, hip-hop, urban pop, grunge. Out of this movement came garage rock bands like The White Stripes, The Strokes, Interpol and, later on, in the 2000s, only a few hard rock bands from the 1970s and 1980s managed to sustain highly successful recording careers. Hard rock is a form of loud, aggressive rock music, the electric guitar is often emphasised, used with distortion and other effects, both as a rhythm instrument using repetitive riffs with a varying degree of complexity, and as a solo lead instrument. Drumming characteristically focuses on driving rhythms, strong drum and a backbeat on snare. The bass guitar works in conjunction with the drums, occasionally playing riffs, vocals are often growling, raspy, or involve screaming or wailing, sometimes in a high range, or even falsetto voice. In the late 1960s, the heavy metal was used interchangeably with hard rock. Heavy metal took on darker characteristics after Black Sabbaths breakthrough at the beginning of the 1970s, in the 1980s it developed a number of subgenres, often termed extreme metal, some of which were influenced by hardcore punk, and which further differentiated the two styles. Despite this differentiation, hard rock and heavy metal have existed side by side, with bands frequently standing on the boundary of, other antecedents include Link Wrays instrumental Rumble in 1958, and the surf rock instrumentals of Dick Dale, such as Lets Go Trippin and Misirlou. In the 1960s, American and British blues and rock bands began to rock and roll by adding harder sounds, heavier guitar riffs, bombastic drumming. From the late 1960s, it common to divide mainstream rock music that emerged from psychedelia into soft. Soft rock was often derived from rock, using acoustic instruments and putting more emphasis on melody. In contrast, hard rock was most often derived from rock and was played louder. Blues rock acts that pioneered the sound included Cream, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, in songs like I Feel Free combined blues rock with pop and psychedelia, particularly in the riffs and guitar solos of Eric Clapton. Jimi Hendrix produced a form of blues-influenced psychedelic rock, which combined elements of jazz, blues and rock, from 1967 Jeff Beck brought lead guitar to new heights of technical virtuosity and moved blues rock in the direction of heavy rock with his band, The Jeff Beck Group
5.
Nu metal
–
Nu metal is a form of alternative metal that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk and grunge. Nu metal bands have drawn elements and influences from a variety of musical styles, Nu metal rarely features guitar solos, the genre is heavily syncopated and based on guitar riffs. Many nu metal guitarists use seven-string guitars that are down-tuned to play a heavier sound, DJs are occasionally featured in nu metal to provide instrumentation such as sampling, turntable scratching and electronic backgrounds. Vocal styles in nu metal include singing, rapping, screaming and growling, Nu metal is one of the key genres of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal. Nu metal became popular in the late 1990s with bands and artists such as Korn, Limp Bizkit, Slipknot, many heavy metal fans have criticized nu metal, and do not regard it as true heavy metal. Many nu metal musicians have rejected the nu metal label and also have rejected being labeled as heavy metal, Nu metal is also known as nü-metal and aggro-metal. It is a subgenre of alternative metal, MTV states that the early nu metal group Korn arrived in 1993 into the burgeoning alternative metal scene, which would morph into nü-metal the way college rock became alternative rock. Stereogum has similarly claimed that nu metal was a outgrowth of the Lollapalooza-era alt-metal scene. Nu metal merges elements of metal music with elements of other music genres such as grunge, hip hop, funk. Nu metal bands also are influenced by and use elements of genres of metal music such as death metal, rap metal, groove metal, funk metal, alternative metal. Some nu metal bands such as Static-X and Dope made nu metal music elements of industrial metal. Nu metal music is heavily syncopated and is based mostly on guitar riffs, mid-song bridges and a general lack of guitar solos contrasts it with other genres of heavy metal. N its efforts to tune down and simplify riffs, nu-metal effectively drove a stake through the heart of the guitar solo. Another contrast with other metal genres is nu metals emphasis on rhythm, rather than on complexity or mood. The wah pedal is occasionally featured in nu metal music, Nu metal guitar riffs occasionally are similar to death metal guitar riffs. Nu metal bassists and drummers are often influenced by funk and hip hop, respectively, blast beats, which are common in heavy metal subgenres such as black metal and death metal, are extremely rare in nu metal. sound a Mack truck being crushed by a collapsing skyscraper. Some nu metal bands use seven-string guitars that are generally down-tuned, likewise, some bass guitarists use five-string and six-string instruments. Bass guitar-playing in nu metal often features an emphasis on elements such as slap bass, a percussive style of playing in which the thumb slaps the low strings
6.
Tooth & Nail Records
–
Tooth & Nail Records is a Christian rock record label founded by Brandon Ebel in California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington where it is situated today and it has been home to many well-known musical acts, including Underoath, Hawk Nelson, Emery, The Almost, FM Static, Family Force 5, and MxPx. Tooth & Nails first album released was Wish for Edens Pet the Fish, subsequent releases from The Juliana Theory, MxPx, and Starflyer 59 made Tooth & Nail a strong force in Christian music circles, as well as a niche underground subculture in itself. Prior to forming Tooth & Nail, Ebel worked for the Christian label Frontline, eight Tooth & Nail-affiliated albums have been RIAA-certified as Gold for sales of 500,000 or more copies. The label saw one of its greatest successes when Underoaths Define the Great Line debuted at No.2 on the Billboard 200 in 2006, the label also released a limited edition hard cover book, with the proceeds going to benefit Music Cares. Solid State Records distributes metal and hardcore albums by such as Living Sacrifice, Demon Hunter, Haste the Day, Underoath. Uprok Records was a hip hop label that included many of the early successes, such as ILL Harmonics. It is dissolved, though hip hop albums distributed by BEC Recordings still bear its logo, Plastiq Musiq primarily signed electronic music artists. Tooth & Nail entered a partnership to distribute Plastiq Musiq albums in 1998 and 1999, Plastiq Musiq continues to release albums independently. Fugitive Recordings primarily is made up of artists marketed outside of the Christian market, including Denison Witmer, The Presidents of the United States of America, the label acquired Takehold Records, an independent record label, in 2002. This acquisition brought several bands to Tooth & Nail including Underoath, Further Seems Forever, Few Left Standing and it will retain the rights to all future releases with a new distributor, RED Distribution. Tooth & Nail Records Discography List of record labels Official site Interview with A&R Chad Johnson, HitQuarters Oct 2006 A list of past Tooth & Nail artists
7.
FM Static
–
FM Static was a Canadian pop punk Christian duo based in Toronto, Ontario. The band was formed in 2003 as a project for Thousand Foot Krutch. Past members are Trevor McNevan and Steve Augustine, the original lineup included John Bunner on guitar and Justin Smith on bass. As of 2013, the band has released four albums, most recently My Brain Says Stop. Their first album What Are You Waiting For. was produced by Aaron Sprinkle, the album featured the hit singles Definitely Maybe, Something to Believe In, and Crazy Mary. FM Static toured through 2003 to 2005, John Bunner quickly retired after playing a few shows, on August 1,2006, FM Static released their second album titled Critically Ashamed, which featured the single Waste of Time. Originally, a cover of Vanilla Ices Ice Ice Baby was to be included on this album, the band did not tour in support of their second album because the Smith brothers had stopped playing for them. So FM Static became a band with studio musicians filling in for the other parts. While their second album featured only the single Waste of Time, the song Tonight had accumulated over thirteen million hits on YouTube as of November 2011, while Moment of Truth had nearly ten million. On April 7,2009, FM Static released their studio album Dear Diary. Written as an album, it details the fictional story of a boy facing the difficulties of life, love and faith. The entries themselves were released in a prior to the albums release. This album featured the singles Boy Moves to a New Town With An Optimistic Outlook, The Unavoidable Battle of Feeling On the Outside, Trevor announced in a TFK broadcast that FM Static planned to tour again in 2009 to promote the album. This was confirmed when FM Static was added to setlist of the Creation Festival tour alongside TFK as well as Jars of Clay, AA Talks, B. Reith and This Beautiful Republic. Due to the fact the Trevor and Steve could not play all instrumentals, Nick Baumhardt from TFK filled in on the tour, as well as Tom Beaupre on bass and keyboards. McNevan also posted on his Twitter account on February 5,2010, that he is in the process of finishing new songs for FM Static, which will appear on a new record. He stated originally that the title would be 4, but he later mentioned on his personal Facebook page that the title had been changed to My Brain Says Stop. At Lifest 2010, FM Static debuted a song from this album called Cinnamon & Lipstick, on November 23, FM Static released a triple pack called 3 Out of 4 Aint Bad
8.
Hawk Nelson
–
Hawk Nelson is a Canadian Christian rock and pop punk band from Peterborough, Ontario. Formed in 2000, the band has released seven albums to date. In 2000, Dunn, Clark, and Paige founded a Peterborough-based group called SWISH, while Biro sang lead vocals for a group called the Cheese Monkeys from Planet Nine from Barrie. In 2000, SWISH released their first independent album, Riding Around the Park on Mime Radio, in January 2002, Biro moved to Peterborough to join Dunn, Clark and Paige and SWISH was renamed Reason Being, before finally settling with the name Hawk Nelson. In 2003, they released their independent album, Saturday Rock Action. McNevan, also from Peterborough, Ontario, is credited with discovering the band, in July 2004, Hawk Nelson released their debut album Letters to the President. It was produced by Aaron Sprinkle and McNevan, who also co-wrote the albums fourteen songs and he has also appeared on some of the bands songs, as well as in their video for the song California. The band has achieved success in the mainstream as well. They portrayed The Who on an episode of the NBC drama American Dreams and this song and another hit song The Show were both used on Sunday Night Football commercials. Things We Go Through from Letters to the President was also featured in Yours, Mine, Hawk Nelson plays the party band for the film Yours, Mine and Ours. On December 20,2005, Hawk Nelson released an EP titled Bring Em Out, Hawk Nelson continued to gain popularity and was voted Favorite New Artist by CCM Magazine in their February 2006 Readers Choice Awards. On April 4,2006, Hawk Nelson released Connect Sets EP with six tracks, including Bring Em Out, Thing We Go Through. The band released their studio album, Smile, Its the End of the World. The album was also co-written by Trevor McNevan of Thousand Foot Krutch, the album won a GMA Canada Covenant Award for Modern Rock/Alternative Album of the Year in 2006. The albums first single, Everything You Ever Wanted, went on to hit No.1 for 9 weeks on the R&R Christian CHR chart, the band spent the middle of 2006 touring the major Christian music festivals, and also took part in Jeremy Camps Beyond Measure tour. Hawk Nelson released a three-track Christmas EP titled Gloria on November 21,2006, and then toured with TobyMacs Winter Wonder Slam tour along with The Afters, Family Force 5, in addition, Bob Carlisle, Leigh Nash, and The Send have all contributed exclusive tracks. Hawk Nelson performed in 2006 on the Fringe Stage at Creation Festival Northwest, in 2007, Hawk Nelson performed at Winter Jam with a variety of other Christian bands, including Newsong, Jeremy Camp, Steven Curtis Chapman, Sanctus Real, and Britt Nicole. Hawk Nelson also toured with MxPx, Run Kid Run, Project 86, The Fold, on March 27,2007, Hawk Nelson released a Double Take which includes selections from Letters to the President and Smile Its the End of the World
9.
Manafest
–
Chris Scott Greenwood, better known by his stage name Manafest, is a Canadian rapper and rock artist from Pickering, Ontario. He has been nominated and won awards for the GMA Canada Covenant Awards, GMA Dove Awards. Signed for almost a decade with BEC Recordings, Manafest became fully independent as of early 2015 and continues to write and record music. Beginnings and early years After a skateboarding accident in 1998, Chris Greenwood shifted his focus to musical writing, in 2001, Manafest debuted with his EP, Misled Youth. The release garnered Modern Rock/Alternative Song of the Year for the song Freedom at the GMA Canada Covenant Awards in 2002, the following year, Manafest released his first full-length album My Own Thing and attracted the notice of Trevor McNevan of the Ontario-based rock band Thousand Foot Krutch. This led to his signing with a distributed label, BEC Recordings under the Uprok Records label. After signing on with BEC, Manafest released his second album Epiphany in 2005, the release achieved several nominations and awards. In 2006, Manafest released his third album Glory, the album received critical success and went on to win Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year at the 2007 GMA Canada Covenant Awards, as well as receiving the artist a nomination for Artist of the Year. The album also marked Manafests first release to be nominated in the Juno Awards, in 2008, Manafests fourth album Citizens Activ was debuted to similar success receiving many nominations, as well as awards. The album boosted Manafests fame and reputation in Japan immensely, mainstream breakthrough In 2010, Manafest debuted his fifth full-length album The Chase. The album was well-received with the single Avalanche charting on the Billboard Christian Songs, the album showcased a directional change for Manafest, moving from a more straight hip hop flare to a heavier rock-based rap style. In 2011, Manafest released his first live album Live in Concert, the album won Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year at the 33rd GMA Canada Covenant Awards. In 2012, Manafest released his studio album of Fighter. The album continued the previous releases heavy rock influence and garnered a nomination for Hip-Hop/Rap Album of the Year in the GMA Dove Awards, because of this albums release, Manafest fans have since become known officially as Fighters amongst themselves, as well as Manafest himself. In late 2013, Manafest released his first Christmas single California Christmas, the track was additionally featured BECs Christmas compilation release Christmastime All Year. In 2014, Manafest released his seventh album The Moment, the genre of the release deviated from his hard rock style and featured a more electronic hip hop sound. Reborn and Stones In late 2014, Manafest released the single Let Go, the track was a song that didnt make the final cut of The Moment and was later released by itself. The song was pulled from iTunes
10.
Three Days Grace
–
Three Days Grace is a Canadian rock band formed in Norwood, Ontario in 1997. Based in Toronto, the bands original line-up consisted of guitarist and lead vocalist Adam Gontier, drummer and backing vocalist Neil Sanderson, in 2003, Barry Stock was recruited as the bands lead guitarist. In 2013, Gontier left the band and was replaced by My Darkest Days vocalist Matt Walst, the band has a string of number one songs on the Billboard Alternative Songs and Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks charts. Three Days Grace has its origins in a band called Groundswell, formed in Norwood, Ontario. Groundswell released one album, Wave of Popular Feeling. The bands line-up consisted of lead vocalist Adam Gontier, drummer Neil Sanderson, bassist Brad Walst, lead guitarist Phil Crowe, most of the members were attending high school when the band formed. By the end of 1995, the band had broken up, in 1997, Gontier, Sanderson, and Walst regrouped as Three Days Grace. According to Gontier, the name refers to a sense of urgency, once in Toronto, the band became acquainted with local producer Gavin Brown. The band gave him years of material which they had created. Brown and the band polished the songs, and created a demo album, the record label wanted to hear more material, and with Brown producing, the band created the song, I Hate Everything About You, which attracted the interest of several record labels. The band was signed to Jive Records after being sought out by the companys president. The band moved to Long View Farm, a studio in North Brookfield, Massachusetts, the self-titled album was finished in Woodstock, New York and released on July 22,2003. It was met with mixed to favourable reviews, dave Doray of IGN said of the album, Mistakes. To support the album, in 2003 Three Days Grace released its first single. The song received airplay and rapidly became a widely recognizable song. After Barry Stock joined as lead guitarist in late 2003, Three Days Grace toured continuously and extensively for two years in support of their major label debut. The release of I Hate Everything About You was followed by two single releases, Just Like You and Home. About this time, Gontier developed an addiction to the prescription drug OxyContin, while in treatment, Gontier began writing lyrics for songs regarding how he felt and what he was going through in rehabilitation
11.
Neil Sanderson
–
Neil Christopher Sanderson is the drummer, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the Canadian rock band, Three Days Grace. He cites his influences as John Bonham, Danny Carey and Stewart Copeland, Neil Sanderson was born on December 17,1978 in Peterborough, Canada. Sanderson took up the piano before he started school and he had an avid interest in music and worked with different instruments while he was in elementary school. He became enamored of drums during this time and he entered the Norwood, Ontario high-school in 1992. Before that, he attended Adam Scott C. V. I High School in Peterborough, Ontario, with bassist Brad Walst, they practiced writing and playing instruments. They created the band Groundswell with Phil Crowe and Joe Grant, Sanderson was also the drummer for the band Thousand Foot Krutch from 1996 to 1997. Groundswell reformed as Three Days Grace in 1997, under the name Three Days Grace the band played various concerts and locations in Toronto and eventually signed a recording contract with the American label, Jive Records. The bands first album, the self-titled Three Days Grace, was released in 2003, Three singles from the album, I Hate Everything About You, Just Like You, and Home became hits, each reaching No.1 on the US Rock Charts. This album has been certified Platinum, the band released a second album, One-X in 2006. That album reached fifth place on the Billboard Album Chart, Three singles from that album Animal I Have Become, Pain, and Never Too Late also reached first place on the US Rock charts. This album has also been certified Platinum, in 2006 Three Days Grace won an American Billboard Song of the Year award. In 2006, Three Days Grace served as the act for the Rolling Stones in Saskatchewan. Three Days Grace has toured in the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Europe, speaking of the bands comeback from problems in 2007 Sanderson said, Now its all about maintaining that communication, and it makes so much easier and a so much more enjoyable experience. Sanderson was thrilled by the success of Three Days Grace, speaking in Greensboro, North Carolina during their 2008 tour, he said, We get to blow stuff up onstage now. We like to put in as much production and lights as we can, the seizure factor has gone way up. Speaking of the move to larger playing sites, he continued Its great to be able to see everybody in a smaller place. But the same people who were there in the days are still there for us. Speaking of fan response to album songs, he said, e also play a lot of tracks
12.
Toronto
–
Toronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. With a population of 2,731,571, it is the fourth most populous city in North America after Mexico City, New York City, and Los Angeles. A global city, Toronto is a centre of business, finance, arts, and culture. Aboriginal peoples have inhabited the area now known as Toronto for thousands of years, the city itself is situated on the southern terminus of an ancient Aboriginal trail leading north to Lake Simcoe, used by the Wyandot, Iroquois, and the Mississauga. Permanent European settlement began in the 1790s, after the broadly disputed Toronto Purchase of 1787, the British established the town of York, and later designated it as the capital of Upper Canada. During the War of 1812, the town was the site of the Battle of York, York was renamed and incorporated as the city of Toronto in 1834, and became the capital of the province of Ontario during the Canadian Confederation in 1867. The city proper has since expanded past its original borders through amalgamation with surrounding municipalities at various times in its history to its current area of 630.2 km2. While the majority of Torontonians speak English as their primary language, Toronto is a prominent centre for music, theatre, motion picture production, and television production, and is home to the headquarters of Canadas major national broadcast networks and media outlets. Toronto is known for its skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, in particular the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere. The name Toronto is likely derived from the Iroquois word tkaronto and this refers to the northern end of what is now Lake Simcoe, where the Huron had planted tree saplings to corral fish. A portage route from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron running through this point, in the 1660s, the Iroquois established two villages within what is today Toronto, Ganatsekwyagon on the banks of the Rouge River and Teiaiagonon the banks of the Humber River. By 1701, the Mississauga had displaced the Iroquois, who abandoned the Toronto area at the end of the Beaver Wars, French traders founded Fort Rouillé on the current Exhibition grounds in 1750, but abandoned it in 1759. During the American Revolutionary War, the region saw an influx of British settlers as United Empire Loyalists fled for the British-controlled lands north of Lake Ontario, the new province of Upper Canada was in the process of creation and needed a capital. Dorchester intended the location to be named Toronto, in 1793, Governor John Graves Simcoe established the town of York on the Toronto Purchase lands, instead naming it after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. Simcoe decided to move the Upper Canada capital from Newark to York, the York garrison was constructed at the entrance of the towns natural harbour, sheltered by a long sandbar peninsula. The towns settlement formed at the end of the harbour behind the peninsula, near the present-day intersection of Parliament Street. In 1813, as part of the War of 1812, the Battle of York ended in the towns capture, the surrender of the town was negotiated by John Strachan. US soldiers destroyed much of the garrison and set fire to the parliament buildings during their five-day occupation, the sacking of York was a primary motivation for the Burning of Washington by British troops later in the war
13.
Hamilton, Ontario
–
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Residents of the old city are known as Hamiltonians, since 1981, the metropolitan area has been listed as the ninth largest in Canada and the third largest in Ontario. Hamilton is home to the Royal Botanical Gardens, the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, McMaster University is ranked 4th in Canada and 94th in the world by Times Higher Education Rankings 2015-16 and has a well-known medical school. Possibly because of its environment, numerous TV and film productions have been filmed in Hamilton, regulated by the Hamilton Film. A growing arts and culture community garnered media attention in 2006 when the Globe and Mail published an article called Go West, the article highlighted local art galleries, recording studios and independent film production. In pre-colonial times, the Neutral Indians used much of the land but were driven out by the Five Nations who were allied with the British against the Huron. A member of the Iroquois Confederacy provided the route and name for Mohawk Road, which originally included King Street in the lower city. In 1784, about 10,000 United Empire Loyalists settled in Upper Canada, chiefly in Niagara, around the Bay of Quinte, and along the St. Lawrence River between Lake Ontario and Montreal. They were soon followed by many more Americans, some of not so much ardent loyalists but attracted nonetheless by the availability of inexpensive. At the same time, large numbers of Iroquois loyal to Britain arrived from the United States and were settled on reserves west of Lake Ontario. The town of Hamilton was conceived by George Hamilton, when he purchased farm holdings of James Durand, nathaniel Hughson, a property owner to the north, cooperated with George Hamilton to prepare a proposal for a courthouse and jail on Hamiltons property. Hamilton offered the land to the crown for the future site, Durand was empowered by Hughson and Hamilton to sell property holdings which later became the site of the town. As he had instructed, Durand circulated the offers at York during a session of the Legislative Assembly. Initially, this town was not the most important centre of the Gore District, a permanent jail was not constructed until 1832 when a cut-stone design was completed on one of the two squares created in 1816, Princes Square. Subsequently, the first police board and the limits were defined by statute on February 13,1833. Official City status was achieved on June 9,1846, by an act of Parliament,9 Victoria Chapter 73, the city had several interurban electric street railways and two inclines, all powered by the Cataract Power Co. Though suffering through the Hamilton Street Railway strike of 1906, with industrial businesses expanding, allan Skyway in 1958, and the first Tim Hortons store in 1964. Since then, many of the industries have moved or shut down operations and the economy has shifted more toward the service sector, such as transportation, education
14.
Aaron Sprinkle
–
Aaron Sprinkle is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer from Seattle, Washington. His career in began in high school with a group called BellBangVilla. BellBangVilla became Poor Old Lu and they released a number of albums, Aaron Sprinkle also sang and played lead guitar in Rose Blossom Punch, and has produced albums independently. On his solo releases, he plays almost all instruments except drums and he was hired as producer for Tooth & Nail Records in 2001, and works out of Compound Recording Studios in Seattle, Washington. In 2005, Sprinkle formed the band Fair with Joey Sanchez, Nick Barber, Fair released its debut album The Best Worst-Case Scenario on Tooth & Nail Records in June 2006. He is the brother of Jesse Sprinkle, Aaron has production, engineering, or other credits on albums by the following bands, Official website Poor Old Lu Fair Interview @ Christianity Today from early 2004 Aaron Sprinkle on Pure Volume
15.
Mae
–
Mae is an American rock band that formed in Norfolk, Virginia in 2001. The bands name is an acronym for Multi-sensory Aesthetic Experience, based on a course taken by drummer Jacob Marshall while a student at Old Dominion University. Jacob Marshall and Dave Elkins began what would become Mae by writing their first song, Embers and Envelopes, the band signed with Tooth and Nail Records and released their first album, Destination, Beautiful, in 2003. They released their second album, The Everglow, in 2005. The band toured extensively to promote it, and also performed on the Vans Warped Tour, Mae re-released The Everglow in 2006, adding three new songs and a two-hour DVD. Later in 2006, the band signed to Capitol Records for their third full-length album, Mae began recording the album in the fall of 2006, working with producer Howard Benson. The album, titled Singularity, was released on August 14,2007, on June 19,2007, the band released the first single from Singularity, Sometimes I Cant Make It Alone. On September 24,2007 Padgett and Sweitzer parted ways with Mae, the following year, Mae announced that they had split ways with Capitol Records. They also stated that they would embark on a new, experimental project, each song would be available to download on their website for a minimum donation of $1, with proceeds going to humanitarian projects of Maes choosing. Additionally, they would be compiling the songs into three separate EPs entitled orning, fternoon and vening, respectively. In July 2009, Mae announced they were starting their own label called Cell Records through which they would release their three-EP set, in order to get in-store distribution Mae returned to their original label Tooth and Nail Records and signed a distribution agreement with the label. The orning EP was released in stores and online on September 22,2009, there was a limited edition scratch-and-sniff disk that was only available on their spring US tour and which was scented like the ocean. Mae released the fternoon EP in stores and online March 30,2010, the final EP, vening, was initially available in a limited edition on the bands Goodbye, Goodnight tour. The EP was then released in stores and online on March 8,2011 bundled with a DVD of their farewell show filmed at The Norva in Norfolk. The farewell show features 20 songs, with songs from each of their full-length records, on May 7,2010 word began spreading of Mark Padgett and Rob Sweitzer rejoining Mae for their upcoming fall tour. On June 19,2010, Mae played a show in Singapore, on June 22,2010, Maes Dave Elkins confirmed on the bands forums that Mark Padgett and Rob Sweitzer have reunited with Mae. On June 28,2010 Mae announced that their upcoming Goodbye, Goodnight Tour would be their last for the foreseeable future, on Saturday November 27,2010, the band played what was billed as its last show at the Norva in Norfolk, VA. The show was filmed to be released on DVD, what were believed at the time to be Maes actual final performances consisted of two shows played on February 23 and 24,2011 at the Shibuya and Shinsaibashi locations of Club Quattro in Japan
16.
Anberlin
–
Anberlin is an American alternative rock band formed in Winter Haven, Florida in 1998 and disbanded in 2014. Since the beginning of 2007, the band consisted of lead vocalist Stephen Christian, guitarists Joseph Milligan and Christian McAlhaney, bassist Deon Rexroat, and drummer Nathan Young. Members of Anberlin originally formed a band under the name SaGoh 24/7 in 1998, Anberlin was formed in 2002, within a year of forming, they had signed with semi-independent record label Tooth & Nail Records and released their debut album, Blueprints for the Black Market. In 2005, the released their second album, Never Take Friendship Personal. The bands third album, Cities, was released in 2007, prior to the release of their fifth studio album, Dark Is the Way, Light Is a Place, Anberlin had sold over 1,000,000 albums. Their sixth studio album Vital was released October 16,2012, lead singer Stephen Christian met bassist Deon Rexroat while they were both in high school, and they formed a punk band called SaGoh 24/7. Drummer Sean Hutson and guitarist Joseph Milligan joined the group as well, the band released two albums, Servants After Gods Own Heart, and Then I Corrupt Youth, both under Rescue Records. After the albums sold only 1,300 units, Hutson left the band to start a family, Christian, Milligan and Rexroat began working on a side project, marking the beginning of the end for SaGoh 24/7. The side projects sound transformed after a suggestion from Milligan to develop more of a sound for Anberlin. They used money left over from shows SaGoh had performed and teamed up with producer Matt Goldman to record five demos, the demos that were then posted on PureVolume. On the advice of friends, including Chad Johnson, and Timmy McTague from Underoath, Out of the five demos Anberlin recorded with Matt Goldman, three were eventually chosen to be reworked for the bands debut album, the lead single Readyfuels, Driving and Foreign Language. Barely a year after their formation, their first album as a new band was entitled Blueprints for the Black Market and it failed to chart, but spurred on by their debut single, Readyfuels, the album sold over 60,000 units. They toured steadily with other bands in their label, rhythm guitarist Joey Bruce was eventually ejected from the band. According to Christian, he was all about sex and drugs, after several failed replacements, Nathan Strayer from The Mosaic took over rhythm guitar duties. Anberlin released their follow-up to Blueprints, Never Take Friendship Personal, in early 2005, charting at No.144 on the Billboard 200, the album brought the band closer to the mainstream. NTFP was generally well received by critics than Blueprints for the Black Market. Before its release, the band promoted the album by releasing a track per week on their PureVolume and MySpace website accounts, Two singles were released from the album, A Day Late and Paperthin Hymn. Both were reasonably successful on rock radio, with the latter peaking at the No.38 position on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart
17.
MxPx
–
MxPx is an American punk rock band from Bremerton, Washington founded in 1992 as Magnified Plaid. The band has skate punk leanings, with connections to the pop punk scene, current members include Mike Herrera on lead vocals and bass, Tom Wisniewski on guitar and backing vocals, and Yuri Ruley on drums. The bands discography includes nine studio albums, four EPs, four albums, a live album, a VHS tape. A number of the releases have charted on Billboard, including the Billboard 200. MxPx began in July 1992 with the name Magnified Plaid, initially, the band started playing music inspired by Descendents, Black Flag and other punk rock bands. Mike Herrera, Yuri Ruley, and Andy Husted were classmates at Central Kitsap High School in Silverdale, the name was a tribute to the original guitarists fascination with plaid shirts but did not fit on the bands posters. Consequently, the name was abbreviated to M. P, but in Yuri Ruleys handwriting, periods appeared as Xs, and since he made up the show posters for the band, the four-letter moniker stuck. MxPx caught the attention of Tooth & Nail Records when the played a showcase for the label in 1993 in Herreras parents back yard. The bands first major album, Pokinatcha, was released while the members were still in high school. The album, though classified as Christian punk, incorporated the quick styles of hardcore punk, the songs are characterized by their raw punk sound, catchy rhythm, and classic punk three-chord guitar style. Guitarist Andy Husted soon left the band and was replaced by Herreras longtime friend, despite only knowing power chords on guitar, Wisniewski was willing to be in the band. MxPx released two albums with Tooth & Nail, Teenage Politics in 1995, and Life in General in 1996. MxPx received a distribution deal with A&M Records. This deal first saw a re-release of Life in General, MxPx then released two more studio albums jointly distributed by Tooth & Nail and A&M, Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo was the first in 1998. It ranked at No.99 on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold on January 27,2000 by the Recording Industry Association of America, at the Show is a live album recorded by MxPx, released in 1999. At the time of the recording, the band was touring in support of Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo as well as the B-sides collection Let it Happen and this was followed by The Ever Passing Moment in 2000. MxPx gained critical recognition for this album and landed a supporting for The Offspring. Responsibility proved to be a radio hit, peaking at #24 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart
18.
Billy Talent
–
Billy Talent is a Canadian rock band from Mississauga, Ontario. They formed in 1993 with Benjamin Kowalewicz as the lead vocalist, Ian DSa on guitar, bassist Jon Gallant, in the 13 years since their inception, Billy Talent sold well over one million albums in Canada alone and nearly 3 million albums internationally. 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 Torontos indie music scene until 2001. The band renamed itself Billy Talent after running into trouble with the old name. It was then that Kowalewiczs connection with an employee of Warner Music Canadas A&R department landed the band a record deal and launched them into mainstream success. Since then, Billy Talent has made three records in Canada, and continues to expand their success overseas, this included touring for 20 months supporting their second album. They released their album, entitled Billy Talent III, on July 14,2009. Dead Silence was followed up by a full UK tour over the course of 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 on November 4,2014. The band regrouped and began to prepare material for its studio album. Just prior to entering the studio, drummer Aaron Solowoniuk made the decision to sit out the recording sessions while he continued his longstanding battle with multiple sclerosis. Fellow Canadian Jordan Hastings quickly recruited to play as Solowoniuks studio stand-in, and in early 2016 the group completed work on Afraid of Heights, the band got together during a high school talent contest. Pezz began writing, performing songs, and gaining attention and credibility at first locally and their first recording was a cheap 4-track demo. Soon after, in January 1995, they all put in money to 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 recorded tracks were compiled onto it, but a year later the band recorded four more tunes live in the studio. After these releases and their performances in the immediate area, Pezz was gaining a following in Mississauga. DSa 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, 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, Kowalewicz started singing in melody with DSa
19.
Our Lady Peace
–
Our Lady Peace is a Canadian rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1992. Headed by lead vocalist Raine Maida since its formation, the band consists of Duncan Coutts on bass, Steve Mazur as lead guitarist. The band has sold millions of albums worldwide, won four Juno Awards and our Lady Peace are one of Canadas most popular bands and are also one of the few Canadian rock acts that managed to achieve success in both the 1990s and 2000s. They have released eight albums, one live album, and two compilation albums to date, with their 1997 album Clumsy often being considered their signature. Our Lady Peace enjoyed many hit singles, ranging from Starseed in 1994, the bands earlier albums are often praised for their unique sound and style, with lead singer Maida being called erratic and truly unrivaled as a vocalist. Their fifth album, Gravity, is noted to have been a radical departure from this distinctive style. Lead singer Maida has confirmed the difference, calling Gravity vastly different from their previous records, in late 1991, guitarist Mike Turner placed an ad in Toronto-based Now newspaper in search of musicians. Michael Maida, a student at the University of Toronto, was the first to reply. The two formed a band called As If, inviting Jim Newell as drummer and a friend of Turners, Paul Martin, to play bass. After they played a number of gigs in Oshawa with sets containing a mix of original and cover material, Martin departed soon after, Chris Eacrett, a business student at Ryerson University, replied and was accepted after an audition. During that time, Turner and Maida attended a music seminar where they met songwriter and producer Arnold Lanni, the band, with Lanni, commenced writing new material and recorded some material under the As If name. Soon thereafter, the name was changed to Our Lady Peace. With encouragement from their producer Lanni and his management team, the band performed some gigs in Eastern Ontario and it was during this time that Maida began using the stage name Raine instead of Mike to reduce confusion about having two Mikes in the band. He has used this name ever since, legally adding it. An independent music video of the debut song Out of Here was created in February 1992 by Sam Siciliano, a film student and friend of Turners, who produced, edited. The video was aired on MuchMusic on their Indie show, after returning to Arnyard Studios to continue writing and recording material, drummer Jim Newell departed the band. Writing and recording continued with session drummer John Bouvette, with managers Rob Lanni and Eric Lawrence of Coalition Entertainment representing the band, short showcases were arranged with Warner Music Canada, EMI Canada, and Sony Music Canada. Sony Music Canada head of A&R Richard Zuckerman liked what he heard, and saw the potential of the band, its producer, the band signed a record and publishing deal with Sony Music Canada in April 1993, and commenced writing for their debut album
20.
Finger Eleven
–
Finger Eleven is a Canadian rock band from Burlington, Ontario, formed in 1990. They have released seven studio albums, with their album The Greyest of Blue Skies bringing them into the mainstream. They won the Juno Award for Rock Album of the Year in 2008 and it was later certified gold status in the US and multi platinum in Canada. They released their studio album, Life Turns Electric, on October 5,2010. They released their first single, Living in a Dream, adding a bit of more of funk rock and dance rock. Five Crooked Lines, their 7th studio album, was released July 31,2015, with Wolves, Finger Eleven first formed in their high school, Lester B. Pearson High School in Burlington, Ontario as Rainbow Butt Monkeys. They achieved a following in Canada throughout their time as a band. One of their first shows was at a school Christmas concert in 1990 and they released their first full album Letters from Chutney with money won from a rock band search contest on 97.7 CHTZ HTZ FMs Rocksearch competition. The group found a new management team in Coalition Entertainment in 1996, once they had realized their music changed and wanted to be taken more seriously, Rainbow Butt Monkeys became Finger Eleven. The name Finger Eleven comes from a version of the song Thin Spirits from the album Tip. Scott Anderson explains, when everything is pushing you in one direction and your instinct drives you in another thats finger eleven and their breakthrough album, Tip, was released on Mercury Records in Canada in 1997 and re-released by Windup Records in the United States in 1998. This marked a change in the bands sound, Tip was produced by Arnold Lanni. By then, they managed to tour alongside bands such as Creed, in 2000, Finger Eleven released The Greyest of Blue Skies, again produced by Arnold Lanni. They had success in Canada with this album going gold, in 2002 they recorded the song Slow Chemical for Superstar Kane as his entrance music, which he used from 2002 to 2008. It was also released on the 2004 album The Punisher, The Album and their 2003 release, self-titled album Finger Eleven was produced by Johnny K. This album includes the hit single One Thing which pushed the band into the mainstream. The song was a hit on rock, pop, and adult radio charts, One Thing reached No.16 in the U. S. and had exposure on TV series such as Scrubs, Smallville and Third Watch. It was used on World Wrestling Entertainments edition of June 25,2007 of Raw during a video featuring Chris Benoit who had killed himself on June 25
