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Sleddogs

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AboutIt is rather fitting that a BC rock act from Kelowna called sleddogs received its tag from Winnipeg, Manitoba, the early music roots and the former home of founder Kenny Byrka. (vocals, bass, keyboards). What seems more ironic though is that the current foursome was assembled in Kelowna in December of 2004 half way across the Canadian highway of the Great White North, far from prairie whiteouts, frozen fields and blistering wind-chills.

What began as a solo album for Kenny quickly evolved into the current sleddogs concept having the two BC connections Michael Donley (guitar, backing vocals), and Arlen Park (vocals, guitar) already stamped all over the project. "It just seemed to make sense to take the songs into the next dimension as a unit, the chemistry was instantly workable and the vibes were all good, we just needed a drummer and preferably another Manitoban to even things out , !" Winnipeg native Eric Funk (percussion and backing vocals) joins the pack in an underground apple cellar turned rehearsal space carved into the south slopes of Kelowna , On January 27, 2005 @ the RCA in Kelowna in front of a sell out crowd of 250 the electrifying journey begins.

In just their first year together, B.C. band sleddogs have made a real mark on the Canadian rock landscape. Their stunningly accomplished debut album, Great Escape, has labelled them as serious contenders, and its first single, Bye Bye Life, was a multi-format radio hit, cracking the Hot AC Top 70.The debut video also received out of the box adds from both MuchMore Music and MusiMax. The band raced across Canada in 2005 playing a total of 152 shows overwhelming music fans at every stop with their captivating performances.

The backbone of this bands sound is derived from a high proportion of Canadian influences; the lyrical content is rather introspective suggesting connections to The Tragically Hip, Rush, Leonard Cohen, and Bowie discography. Sleddogs vocally driven melodies are powerfully gritty yet sensual in their delivery, listen live and you hear Neil Young, Pink Floyd, The Police, Fleetwood Mac and a touch of The Guess Who or April Wine in there somewhere. Growing up in the 80's it is expected that some of those power-pop sounds are unavoidable in filtering their way into the energy of the sleddogs sound. The writing arrangements and percussive thrust are at times analogous to bands like The Pursuit of Happiness, Cheap Trick, Van Halen, The Tubes, Harlequin, The Queen City Kids and perhaps a bit of Ozzy or Ritchie Blackmore. Finally, there is another thread in the sound fabric consisting of that 70's acoustic folk/rock like Simon & Gafunkel or America with a hint of Canadian icons Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell and Bruce Cockburn. The diversity of the writing and the prolific nature of its creators offer music lovers many choices on the disc which are also reflected in the bands live appeal.

The live performance of this foursome is brilliantly efficient yet remains somewhat raw and organic in nature since there are no samples, triggers and backing tracks present. "If we can't represent a song properly on stage it will not be tracked in the studio until we figure out an uncontained way to pull it off , that's just how this band functions, our records are important but our live performance has to be even better" The perfectionism that surrounds the band is obvious within the skilled musicianship all round, supporting Byrka's persuasively passionate lead vocals on top while strong three part harmonies lead by Arlen Park, ( who also adds some lead vocals on a few songs geared for the next CD) further emphasize the rich poetic and philosophical lyrical content. The enthusiastic retro guitar like grooves and cosmic sounding slide work of Donley ties the whole thing together sonically, further supported by the extremely solid percussive chest pounding power of Funk on the drum kit. This is a truly unforgettable and potent live experience that instantly becomes imbedded in the cerebral cortex of every listener.

The songs tell us of life like stories, portraying very real images capturing the emotional presence of the listener. There is a very moody almost satirical nature at times in some songs while others represent a more compassionate and positive take on life. Then there is that high energy aggressiveness of a rebellious nature in several songs, exposing the eccentricity of special characters and in many cases the malfunctions of human nature and society. There is also some of that deep, dark, out there from the depths of the 'corner of my brain' inference, hidden within the poetic structures of several songs. "The songs are initiated at random, sometimes out of situational experiences or from interesting characters,emotion has to play a huge part in the writing process otherwise it can become a very superficially contrived nightmare,not all of the songs we write will work for this band and every one is aware of that, we have a definite road map in terms of where we want to go musically for the next CD."

The sleddogs road is currently set for the release of the second single, "Perfect Place" from the debut CD "Great Escape". Music fans have a lot to look forward to from this band with the second CD now being conceived and a string of tour dates that expand from coast to coast pushing the dogs further into new territory as this band continues to make a serious impact in the music landscape.

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