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I was a second year architecture student at UofM,
recalls Jean-Marc Pisapia, when a friend of mine,
Luc Papineau, later to become sound man and a
full member of the band, suggested that I join him
at a Genesis concert at the Montreal Forum, my first
rock show ever(!!!). I distinctly remember thinking
towards the end of the show, Thats it! This is what
I want to do for a living! Less than ten years and
three albums later, The Box was headlining
the Montreal Forum.
Released in 1983 through Alert-Polygram, the bands self-titled debut album teamed Jean-Marc with Guy Florent on guitars and a phantom drummer (beat box!). This release garnered the band its first Félix at lADISQ. It wasnt until the bands second record (All the Time, All the Time, All the Time) released in 1984 that the line-up became definitive (or was it?!) featuring Jean-Pierre Brie on bass, Claude Thibeault on guitars, Guy Pisapia on keyboards, Phil Bernard on drums and Jean-Marc Pisapia on vocals. Also featured intermittently as back-up singers were Sass Jordan, Marie Carmen, Josée Blondin and Ingrid Stitt. In 1987 The Box released Closer Together and raided lADISQ taking home three Félixes, one of which was for video of the year by popular vote, a clip directed by Jean-Marc.
In late 1989, the band flew off to England to record their 4th album The Pleasure and the Pain which was produced by Martin Rushent, then with Human League. The record was born under Capitol-EMI in Los Angeles. After ten years and selling more than 400,000 records, The Box disbanded in 1992 and its members moved on to other things. Jean-Marc recalls, We played our last show in Cannes, France and began to envision more stable lives. I for one had two small daughters and others in the band were making plans along those lines. But 13 years later (my kids are 14 and 16 now) and given that stage fever never left me, I thought The Box would be a perfect platform for this concept album project and subsequent concerts. And what about the former members? A couple of years ago I was approached to do some Box shows and I did submit the idea to two former key members. Their lack of enthusiasm regarding a return to showbiz and the record industry left no doubt in my mind that they were uninterested in pursuing this new project
After a 15-year leave, The Box is back with a 5th album entitled Black Dog There released by Komfy-Universal in March 05.
Clearly prog-rock oriented, the concept album tells a story through ten songs and draws from different musical genres in accordance with the themes encountered: Techno-hard in Liftoff depicts the launch of space shuttle mission 122, a waltz carries Round and Round and the never ending dance of parallel universes, Thats the World is straightforward Midwest rock given the central characters birthplace, etc.
I wrote the album I wanted to do when I was 20, admits project leader Jean-Marc Pisapia. That probably explains the surprising enthusiasm I get from kids (25 and under) for this stuff compared to the older material, given its free of constraint and non-conformist style.Non-conformist indeed! The album takes us nonetheless into known territory through avowed influences from Floyd, Giant, Genesis, Yes and other 60s and 70s prog-rock icons.
I was thirteen and in Naples when Pink Floyd filmed their concert in Pompei. It was the talk of the day and I realized this musical genre was the perfect medium to tell a story and suggest a thousand pictures in peoples minds without even having to use video!
comment ça va ? j'espère que tu va bien ?? On a une tout une nouvelle
15 novembre, Potion 13 va ouvrir pour Tim "Ripper" Owens (ex-Judas Priest & Iced Earth singer) à La Place a Coté, Montréal ... Si tu veux venir c'est 35$ ... et il ne reste plus beaucoup de billets laissez-nous savoir !
Playing an acoustic set with my mate, Pat Hamel. Opening for Balljoint. Last minute booking as the original openers pulled out. Hope to see you there....
DIAMOND DOGS - DAVID BOWIE TRIBUTE (MONTREAL SHOW!!!) FRIDAY FEBRUARY 15th 2008 THE "SAINTS" 30 St-Catherine West (corner St-Laurent) Montreal Doors:8:30PM Showtime:10PM Presale:10$ At the door: 15$ www.saintsmontreal.com
Hi JM, hope that you're well, miss to see you. I know it's short notice but tonight (Jeudi 29 Nov) I'll be playing with Val at...... DOUBLE DOSE (3425 Saint-Denis)
it's just north of Sherbrooke/ south of carre St-Louis....
it's also Val's birthday this weekend so it's a kind of celebration. Starts around 21h and no door charge.
Anyway if you could make it I'd love to see you and if not well I hope that we can take a beer or 2 very soon.
Bonjour, Je vous invite à visionner le tout nouveau vidéoclip de Marijo Bonheur sur www.marijobonheur.com . Il apparaîtra tout de suite après qu’elle se soit balancée 2 p’tits coups! Profitez-en aussi pour aller voir le photo-roman!
Ya know, you and your page are what MySpace is all about.
You ROCK!
"The Season" is nearly upon us. When you're in the mood to blast some techno Sugar Plum Fairy, or chill out to Arabian Dance, you know where to find it!
When's that new album coming out ?? Looking forward to it...
The Calm is performing at the Petit Café Campus this coming Wednesday evening with Ontario's Scott Normandy and his band. We'll be performing songs from our new album, "Are You On My Side?" as well as a few surprise covers and new songs we've been working out!
Oh, and if you're a fan of the Box and still haven't heard us - check us out and add us, folks!
Hey our profile has been updated, Our song list has been uploaded with an Acoustic song recorded live, due for release on our forthcoming album. Come back and visit our page, leave a comment and say Hi on our new interactive frappe map. PEACE MAYZ
Je suis un fan depuis longtemps, j'ai acheté Black Dog There dès sa sortie en magasin. Quel album, à mon avis un de vos meilleurs ! Pouvons nous espérer un autre album d'ici quelques années ?
