Our Lady Peace
Comprising Raine Maida (vocals), Mike Turner (guitar), Chris Eacrett (bass) and Jeremy Taggart (drums), Our Lady Peace were formed in Toronto, Canada, in 1994. The unusual, eclectic nature of the band's music is as much a result of their varied experiences as their musical influences. Maida (b. c.1972, Canada) is a former criminology student at the University of Toronto, while Turner (b. c.1965, Canada), an English graduate, grew up in England during the punk explosion. Eacrett (b. c.1971, Canada) was studying marketing when he made initial contact with Maida and Turner. The youngest member of the group is drummer Taggart (b. c.1977, Canada). Accommodatingly, Our Lady Peace waited until he had finished high school studies before entering the studio. After meeting local producer Arnold Lanni they set about recording their first demos, which immediately attracted the attention of Sony Music Canada. The group's debut album, Naveed, took its title from 'the ancient Middle Eastern name for bearer of good news'. As Maida elaborated: 'We took the concept of Naveed and placed it into the dark optimism of our music. Naveed is a constant quest to obtain knowledge, possessed with the desire to grow mentally and spiritually.' The songwriting, which was undertaken before their stage debut, evolved out of a communal musical approach, with Maida supplying lyrics. Although there are strong influences of Nirvana and Dinosaur Jr the strength of their material is likely to see them through.



Official Our Lady Peace site
Clumsy
Clumsy

Celine Dion
  b. 30 March 1968, Charlemagne, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Celine Dion is the youngest of 14 children, and was a vastly popular artist at home long before her success in the US and European charts and took up the mantle of the 'new Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey'. Her parents and large family had a singing group and toured playing folk music, the influence of which was soon felt. It was Dion's mother who wrote her her first song, which she recorded with her brother at the age of 12. Together with Mrs Dion, the two siblings were sent to the office of René Angélil, then a local rock manager, who took over the young star's guidance (later, in December 1994, he married Celine, despite a 26 year age gap). Following a series of albums addressed to her French Canadian audience she made her English language debut in August 1991 with Unison, an impressive achievement as she had only learned English in 1989. Although this produced four hit singles her true international breakthrough arrived with the soundtrack of the Walt Disney movie, Beauty And The Beast . The titled track went to number 1 in the US and earned an Academy Award for Best Song and a Grammy. Following a tribute collection comprising Dion's interpretations of the songs of Canadian writer Luc Lamondon, she concentrated on developing an international audience. 'Beauty And The Beast' formed the centrepiece of her second English language album, which also produced the hit singles 'Love Can Move Mountains', 'Water From The Moon', 'If You Asked Me To' and 'Did You Give Enough Love'. In its wake Dion became a veritable staple of awards ceremonies, making a second appearance at the Grammys, becoming a personal favourite of The Tonight Show 's Jay Leno, and herself hosting Canada's Juno Awards where in 1993 she won the Female Vocalist Of The Year Award for a third time in succession. Before the release of a third English language set, Dion recorded 'When I Fall In Love', the theme tune to the hit movie Sleepless In Seattle. This was included on The Colour Of My Love alongside a cover of Jennifer Rush 's AOR classic, 'The Power Of Love', also released as a single. It saw her work with songwriters including David Foster, Dianne Warren, Phil Goldstone, Albert Hammond, Charlie Dore and Ric Wake. A similarly impressive cast of producers added Guy Roche, Aldo Nova and many others to a project seemingly without budget restrictions. Regardless, Epic Records investment was repaid multifold by the astonishing singles success of 'Think Twice', which spent several weeks on top of the UK charts and also charted strongly in the US during 1995. The album, and it's follow-up Falling Into You, simultaneously topped both UK and US charts in 1994 and 1996. Dion was chosen to sing (in front of billions of television viewers) at the opening of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, USA.

Celine Online
Let's Talk About Love
Pour Que Tu M'aime Encore

Moist
Vancouver, Canada-based band, featuring David Usher (vocals) and Mark Makowy (guitar), who met at a party hosted by mutual friend and keyboard player Kevin Young. Makowy brought in bass player Jeff Pearce, and eventually drummer Paul Wilcox completed the line-up. Following a demo cassette in early 1993, the band went on to release a debut album on their own label in February of the following year. Picked up by EMI Music Canada just one month later, the record would go platinum within their own country, mainly bolstered by a ferocious appetite for live appearances. Their most important early exposure in Europe came when they were invited on to the Annual Smash Hits Poll Winners' Party as a token rock presence (alongside that ofTerrorvision).



Official Moist Site
Creature
Resurrection

I Mother Earth
Alternative rock band I Mother Earth were formed in Toronto, Canada, in 1990. Within two years the group: Christian Tanna (drums), brother Jagori Tanna (bass), Luis Conte (drums) and Daniel Mansilla (guitar), had set off a major label bidding war. The eventual winners were Capitol Records. However, the ensuing debut set, Dig, was ineffectively marketed, falling, like so many records of the period, between the spheres of heavy metal and alternative rock. Despite selling some 70,000 copies in Canada, there was a long gap between the debut and the follow-up, Scenery And Fish, as the group concentrated on touring. This second set featured a slightly less harsh, more commercially orientated collection of songs. 'One More Astronaut', released as a single, proved that the absence had not dulled I Mother Earth's edge, and featured an innovative video coupled to the group's first truly convincing commercial song.