BILLY TALENT是来自加拿大安大略省Mississauga,发展于多伦多的一支朋克乐队,成员包括主音Benjamin Kowalewicz,吉他手Ian D'Sa,贝斯手Jon Gallant 以及鼓手Aaron Solowoniuk。
乐队于1998年以PEZZ命名的乐队发行了第一张单曲 WATOOSH,后来更名为BILLY TALENT,这个名字的灵感来源于一部电影和小说《HARD CORE LOGO》(Michael Turne著)中的吉他手。在2001年发行了TRY HONESTY这张单曲后,BILLY TALENT 迅速变得受人瞩目。主音本杰明说:“这是我们疯狂的旅程的开始。”,之后的《THE EX》《THE RIVER BELOW》《NOTHING TO LOSE》等单曲也大受欢迎。以上单曲均收录与BILLY TALENT 第一张同名专辑《BILLY TALENT》中。
在2004年的朱诺奖上,BILLY TALENT获得了最佳新乐队组合奖,从此开始在领奖台上频繁出现。2005年是BILLY TALENT丰收的一年,他们夺得了朱诺奖的年度专辑以及年度乐队组合奖,另外在2005年的MUCH MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS(MMVA)中,BILLY TALENT 总共获得了九个奖项的提名,他们的《THE REVER BELOW》获得了最佳影片奖以及最佳摇滚影片奖。
2006年6月28日,BILLY TALENT的第二张专辑《II》正式发售。
BILLY TALENT左起依次为
贝斯手Jon Gallant 主音Benjamin Kowalewicz 吉他手Ian D'Sa 鼓手Aaron Solowoniuk
by Johnny Loftus
Punk revivalist quartet Billy Talent used to be known as Pezz back in their Streetsville, Ontario, high-school days. But by 1999, the quartet -- vocalist Ben Kowalewicz, guitarist Ian D'Sa, bassist Jon Gallant, and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk -- had adopted a new moniker and were making their way in Toronto with the self-released Watoosh! LP under their belt. The Try Honesty EP followed in 2001; it led to strong local buzz, exposure supporting larger touring acts, and an eventual demo deal with EMI. The band entered the studio in early 2003 with producer Gavin Brown and emerged with its eponymous debut in July, which was slated for a September release on Atlantic. Billy Talent got the word out during that summer with a slot on Lollapalooza and a series of dates with the Buzzcocks. Before they knew it, the band had not only garnered an impressive following, but also a slew of Juno (Best New Group, Group of the Year and Album of the Year) and MuchMusic (Best Video, Best Rock Video) Awards to their name. Billy Talent hit the studio in February 2005 to begin work on their sophomore offering. Submitting to fan requests, the group re-released Pezz's Watoosh! that September before the highly anticipated and explosive II appeared in June 2006. A handful of festivals and U.K. dates were played prior to spending the rest of the summer on the Warped Tour, and in 2007, they preserved a live performance at Düsseldorf, Germany, on CD and DVD with 666 Live.