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soulDecision, Canadian Idol wannabe visit next month

Yep, that's Billy Klippert, the third-place also-ran from Canadian Idol. Billy's going to be here in the Sault on Sunday March 13 for a all-ages show organized by Brendan Fyfe's Front Row Events. Also on the ticket are soulDecision and SooToday.
BillyKlippert

Yep, that's Billy Klippert, the third-place also-ran from Canadian Idol.

Billy's going to be here in the Sault on Sunday March 13 for a all-ages show organized by Brendan Fyfe's Front Row Events.

Also on the ticket are soulDecision and SooToday.com Arts and Entertainment Egghead Chris Belsito, whose latest weekend entertainment prognostication-thingee can be accessed by clicking here.

It will happen at the Canadian Night Club, with tickets available on Tuesday, February 22 at the Canadian, Evolushun in Station Mall and CD PLus in Cambrian Mall.

$12 advance/$15 door.

Click here if you like cats

The following excerpts are from the official biographies for soulDecision and Billy Klippert:

*********************** soulDecision

With more than 750,000 copies of their first album sold in 2000, soulDecision is one of the most successful new bands to come out of Canada in the past decade.

sD’s story is one of achievement, let down and overall victory as they continue to create their legacy with their follow-up LP Shady Satin Drug.

A student of jazz piano, vocals and fluent in both Spanish and French, singerguitarist Trevor Guthrie formed soulDecision at the height of the 1990s grunge-rock movement.

Guthrie met keyboardist Ken Lewko and singer-keyboardist Dave Bowman at Capilano College, where all three were studying music.

Honing their chops and kick-starting their career with two nationally successful independent singles, soulDecision signed a worldwide deal with Universal Music/MCA in 2000.

Soon after, they released the album No One Does It Better that quickly attained platinum status in Canada and became a gold record in America.

sD’s debut album spawned a Top 5 hit in the U.S. (Faded)and five Top 5 hits – including three #1 songs in Canada, and a #1 video on MTV’s Total Request Live (Ooh It's Kinda Crazy).

North American tours with Destiny’s Child, Christina Aguilera and NSYNC set soulDecision apart in the pop world as a real band – real musicians who wrote their own music and played their own instruments.

Once the extensive touring and promotion for their hugely successful debut album wrapped up, soulDecision settled down to write and record the follow-up that would become Shady Satin Drug.

After a prolonged period of uncertainty, the band finally and officially, parted ways with Universal.

They took their hard-earned new album with them, and experienced some personnel changes along the way.

Influenced by classic groups such as INXS, the Police, Tears for Fears and Duran Duran, Guthrie and Lewko hooked up with three new members; Tino Zolfo (bass), James Reid (guitar) and Terepai Richmond (drums) and have become the true underdogs in the topsy turvy music industry.

sD’s sophomore album, Shady Satin Drug, is built on the foundation that lay with their first collection.

Produced by Nile Rodgers (David Bowie, Chic) and Peter Mokran (Christina Aguilera, The Flaming Lips, Aaliyah), Shady Satin Drug demonstrates not only their pop song craftsmanship but their overall prowess as true musicians.

The first single "Cadillac Dress" is currently sitting at #5 on the National Club Charts and has reached Top 20 hit status on Canadian radio.

Their latest single "Kiss the Walls" is also quickly climbing the charts.

Shady Satin Drug was released nationally on November 30, 2004.

Click here if you like houseflies ********************* Billy Klippert

In a parallel universe Billy Klippert is probably playing an accordion.

Billy was born into a musical family, his father’s musical instrument store still a fixture in Calgary.

As a toddler, Billy’s playground was the store, his toys the fascinating instruments (many of which, he confesses, he broke).

Billy’s father is a world-class accordion player and every year, Billy and his brother Bennie, were taken to the Kimberly Accordion International Championship to watch their father play.

"We had to pack at least 300 accordions into the family motor home, and man, they were heavy," relates Billy, his dad not only a great player but the largest accordion dealer in Western Canada.

But Billy had other ideas.

"When I heard Metallica, I felt really guilty that I liked it," confessed a recalcitrant Billy.

But his musical course was set.

Leaving polkas and waltzes behind, Billy embarked on the life of a rock 'n' roller.

"Hey, I learned guitar for the same reason every guy does…to impress the ladies."

Billy plays guitar, piano and bass and has taught guitar at the family store.

In 200l, he packed his bags and moved to Australia where he picked fruit, chipped cotton, slept on beaches and eventually became a professional musician in a most traditional manner.

He played a variety of sidewalks in towns up and down Australia's Gold Coast, his patrons, passersby who would occasionally throw a few coins into the busker’s guitar case.

He didn’t have a permit but the cops liked his sound and would show up now and then and request their favourite tunes.

Back home in Calgary, Billy formed a band with his brother, a hard rock outfit called Kovered In Lies.

The band developed a loyal local following, Billy’s gravely-edged voice, his commanding 6’2” frame and blonde-spiked hair making him a compelling front man.

It was Billy’s sister who re-directed Billy’s fate.

She insisted that he audition for a new television talent show that was holding auditions in Calgary.

She went so far as to get into line at 3 o'clock in the morning with the hundreds of other talented and not-so talented Canadian Idol aspirants.

A call at about 5 in the morning from sister to brother convinced Billy to come down to the audition and replace her in line.

The rest, as they are fond of saying, is history.

By 9:30 p.mm that same day, Billy had his ticket to Toronto and the Canadian Idol finals.

In the winter of 2003, Billy was approached by The Orange Record Label.

The fledgling label, recording home for singer/songwriters, were intrigued by something they saw in those TV appearances, a talent who seemed to be ill-suited for a talent show, an artist whose fans adored him, a songwriter whose voice and stage presence could make him a successful recording artist.

Partnered with producer Harry Hess (former singer for Harem Scarem), Billy Klippert has recorded an album that stays close to his rock roots while maintaining a link with his broad fan base.

Billy has writing credits on six of the album’s 11 songs.

First single from the album is "Levon." an ode to his fans and the song that made him a household name.

********************* Click here if you hate misleading SooToday.com links


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David Helwig

About the Author: David Helwig

David Helwig's journalism career spans seven decades beginning in the 1960s. His work has been recognized with national and international awards.
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