Classy Talent

Billy Talent & Fathers

How do you spell classy?
B-i-l-l-y-T-a-l-e-n-t.

The MMVA veterans rolled up to the red carpet in an unmarked white GMC truck and, rather than hop out right away, four older gentlemen exited and got ready to stroll down the red carpet like the stars they were trying to be!  No one knew who they were or what to think, but worries were soon put to rest when Billy Talent emerged from the vehicle, with Ben sprawling his arms as if to say “gotcha!”

More after the break…

Having been nominated an insane 26 times, Billy Talent is no stranger to the event, but they know they have to keep things fresh and interesting.  One reporter asked how they’d ever be able to top the tank arrival they had a few years back and, while Ben whipped out the quick wit and responded “we’re trying to get an aircraft carrier”, I see it a different way.

It was father’s day and in an unprecedented move, the band took the low budget approach and therefore became extremely high class by inviting their fathers to the show. How do you top that is my question.

I had the chance to ask the gentlemen how they are able to go from laid-back guys off stage to the guitar-laden, emotional-roller coasters that they are on stage in such an instant.  Ian thinks of the music as an outlet in a therapeutic sense.  “The really negative things come out in your music and lyrics and off stage is the happy side.”  Ben agreed that when “we’re with all our friends and our families and we brought our fathers down here for father’s day, so why not be in a good mood?”

Ben also assured the fans that their new album is “the best piece of work that we’ve ever done between the four of us in sixteen years.” That is quite a statement given the raving success of their last two albums, but they managed to build on the success of their first album with II and they seem to be on track to do it again with III.