Faber Drive

Expansive, eclectic, confident, and professional – Faber Drive release their second album can’T keEp A SecrEt. It’s a different proposition than the Juno nominees of 2008. Their debut album Seven Second Surgery found the Vancouver-based band suspended between modern rock’s heft and the bracing immediacy of pop punk, can’T keEp A SecrEt deftly brings new colour, tone, and emotion into the fold, crossing borders into pure electropop, dance music, and one very pristine revamp of a familiar old classic.

can’T keEp A SecrEt is bonded by the coherent force of a band ambitious enough to challenge itself and possessing the confidence and poise to actually pull it off. First single “G-Get Up and Dance” sits at one extreme of the spectrum; a platinum iTunes grand slam that affixes Faber Drives’ native exuberance to the synth-heavy moves of Justice and classic Chicago House.

On the opposite pole, “By Your Side” is smooth, melancholy, and buffed to a fine polish beneath a vocal performance from Faber that feels like a punch in the gut. “Never Coming Down” tackles the very issue of “loving life” itself, according to Faber, barreling into view on a thumping backbeat, keening U2 guitars, AAD electronica, and a chorus of amped-up whoa-ohs. On “Our Last Goodbye”, Genn and the band found themselves back at square one, constructing the perfect pop punk throwdown.

Faber is quick to admit that FD gets a little “goofy behind closed doors”, and “The Payoff” somehow walks the line between tongue-in-cheek and triumph, celebrating the band’s graduation into Canada’s mainstream with an irresistible chunk of spiky, exclamatory, sing along pop-rock. Pritchett joins powerhouse drummer Andrew Stricko as the newest members of Faber Drive 09; an outfit that has only built on a foundation forged on the road with Nickelback, Collective Soul, Hedley, and more. That any of the ten tracks on can’T keEp A SecrEt would make worthy successors to iTunes gold favourites like “Tongue Tied” and “When I’m With You” goes without saying – as Faber himself maintains, “everything is a progression.”

Anjulie

Anjulie is a captivating and authentic new talent in pop music. Ingeniously fusing the world-music rhythms and Top 40 melodies she was inspired by growing up in Toronto, she creates startlingly imaginative songs that underscore her undeniable melodic gifts and crackle with provocative, confessional, lyrical word-play. Songs from Anjulie have been heard all over network television since it’s release including The Hills, The City, Taking The Stage, Eastwick, Vampire Diaries and Melrose Place just to name a few. For Anjulie 2009 has been an impressive year as she’s played to rapturous audiences including sold-out national tours setting the stage for Jesse McCartney, Swayze and Raphael Saadiq while supporting her self-titled debut album and it’s slinky, Nancy-Sinatra-esque first single “Boom”, a #1 Billboard dance hit this summer.Additionally Anjulie was recently selected as one of mtvU’s “Freshman 5”, one of five exciting new artists the channel believes are about to jump from college favorites to household names. mtvU also unveiled Anjulie’s new single “The Rain”, a flamenco-flavored, sophisticated urban gem that hits with the sharp initial blast of her contemporaries, M.I.A., Nelly Furtado and Corinne Bailey Rae. Her sparkling new website can be found at anjuliemusic.com and you can follow her at Twitter.com/Anjulierocks.

Jarvis Church

Jarvis Church’s self produced sophomore CD The Long Way Home, the follow up to 2002’s Shake It Off, is an earth-quaking, booty-shaking Jamaican inspired musical love festival. From the opening grooves of the dancehall/reggae influenced “Just Like That” and “I’ll Rock You” through easy pop tunes like “Lover’s Kiss” and “Whole Day Long” to the CD’s slow dance special “Basic Guy”, the Juno Award winning, Grammy-nominated Church drives a rhythmic, sexy pop-soul fusion with a distinct Jamaican accent. Church was born in and lived in Jamaica until he was 8 when his parents moved the family Toronto, Ontario. His birth name is Gerald Eaton and that’s how he started his career as a founding member of Toronto band The Philosopher Kings. The band formed in the post-grunge era and distinguished itself with a sound that was a mix of smooth grooves, R&B and soul music. The Philosopher Kings had a series of hits including “Charms”, “It Hurts to Love You”, “If I Ever Lose This Heaven” and “Castles In The Sand”. The band toured from one corner of the country to the other earning the title of “Canada’s Favourite Live Band”. Along with fellow Philosopher King Brian West, Church formed Track and Field Productions and Track and Field Records. Church discovered a young singer named Nelly Furtado, and Track and Field developed and produced her acclaimed debut CD Whoa Nelly which sold more than 7 million copies around the world, earned several Juno awards, as well as a number of Grammy nominations, including Producer of the Year. With his career going strong in so many directions, it was the groove of the Jamaican music scene that pulled Jarvis back into the studio to create a much anticipated follow up to his solo debut CD Shake It Off, which was nominated for Pop Album of the Year at the 2003 Juno Awards. Spending time in Jamaica lit a spark in Church and fueled his desire to head back in the studio to explore his musical roots.

Kardinal

Easily Canada’s most recognizable hip hop star, Kardinal Offishal has an international appeal that resonates with both young and old. He is world renown for his high-energy stage performances and has criss-crossed the globe performing in festivals, stadiums, concert halls and various clubs. He is a 4 time Juno award winner, including Single and Rap Recording of the Year for 2009. He has won 4 Much Music Video Awards and has had show stopping MMVA performances including his 2008 performance with Akon. In December Kardinal will be awarded the privilege of being a torchbearer for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. He was nominated by Coca Cola Canada after he recorded his part for the Coca Cola song Open Happiness. He will be performing the Open Happiness Song in Vancouver during the Olympics. In the spring of 2010 Kardinal will release his new album entitled Mr. International. The title is fitting with the amount of global shows he does. Along with another hit he penned with Akon (Body Bounce), Mr. International features a duet he recorded with Grammy-winning U.K. singer Estelle (Hey Love). His current single, Clear, is in heavy rotation on the airwaves and in clubs around the country. www.kardinaloffishall.com

Karl Wolf

The phenomenal success of his inventive remake of Toto hit “Africa” launched Karl Wolf into the international spotlight. This multi-talented Montrealer has long enjoyed serious peer and music industry respect in Canada as a producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and singer of true skill and vision. Wolf’s music is now reaching the global marketplace, and his new album, Nightlife, dramatically confirms he’s the real deal. He has recorded and released two albums previous to Nightlife – Face Behind the Face and Bite the Bullet, and has amassed an impressive list of accolades around the world. His accomplishments in Canada are no less impressive, his single “Africa” was certified 3X platinum, and secured the #1 spots on MuchMusic (video), the Adult Contemporary Charts (radio) and iTunes influential Pop chart (sales). The rest of the world has clearly taken notice, as Nightlife has already been released in the Middle East and Japan, with Australia and Europe to follow. Vocally, Wolf’s sweetly soulful delivery is a constant pleasure, while lyrically he digs deep, probing matters of the heart with real flair. www.karlwolf.com

The Mission District

Originating from Montreal, The Mission District fuse Eighties-style synthesized power-pop with pure punk energy. With a sound perfectly suited to soundtrack a John Hughes teen movie, The Mission District have already earned a devoted audience through shows with Simple Plan, McFly, Saving Aimee and Elliot Minor. They’ve also earned the unlikely but very welcome patronage of celeb blog king Perez Hilton who described the youthful Canucks as “a beautiful hybrid of California and British pop rock.”

Vocalist David Rancourt and guitarists Travis Barfoot and Rob Rousseau paid their dues by playing in a local pop-punk band that was inspired by the likes of Green Day, The Clash and Jimmy Eat World. They hit the Warped Tour and became local scene favourites, but the trio considered the experience part of their induction into the music industry and soon set about searching for a new sound.

Joined by old friend, classically trained jazz musician and lapsed saxophonist Antoine Rochette on bass and keyboards, the early days of The Mission District focused on jamming and working towards that new sound. ““We started off as an indie rock band, but we figured we were far better at writing pure pop,” concedes Rancourt. “We wanted to write music with catchy choruses that gets kids moving rather than playing to a bunch of hipsters with their arms folded.” www.themissiondistrict.com

ROCK OF AGES

Nominated for five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, ROCK OF AGES has taken Broadway by storm. Now it will have its Canadian premiere at the legendary Royal Alexandra Theatre, with performances beginning April 20, 2010. Set in 1987 on the Sunset Strip, a small town girl meets a big city rocker and in LA’s most famous rock club, they fall in love to the greatest songs of the ‘80s. It’s ROCK OF AGES, an arena-rock love story told through the mind-blowing, face-melting hits of Journey, Foreigner, Styx, Reo Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison, Asia, Whitesnake and many more. With songs including “Sister Christian,” “We Built This City,” “I Wanna Rock,” “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” “Waiting For A Girl Like You,” “Wanted Dead or Alive,” “I Want To Know What Love Is,” “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” “Renegade,” and, of course, “Don’t Stop Believin’”

It’s an awesomely good time, a musical joyride about dreaming big, playing loud and partying on. www.RockofAgesMusical.com