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Billy Talent’s bassist muses about forgiveness and healing society’s rifts

Billy Talent performs Thursday at the Centrium in Red Deer
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Billy Talent performs on Thursday at the Centrium during Red Deer’s Westerner Days. Tickets to the show will also get you into the fair. (Contributed photo).

Standing on the threshold of 30 years in the music business, the musicians in Billy Talent have beaten long odds.

In an industry rife with band break-ups, this former high school group has not only stayed together since forming in 1993, there’s also been minimal lineup change.

While multiple sclerosis has sidelined performances by drummer Aaron Solowoniuk, requiring Jordan Hastings to fill in, Solowoniuk remains very involved with Billy Talent’s operations. “He’s a very strong-minded person and we see him regularly. In fact, I played poker with Aaron just on Saturday,” said bassist Jonathan Gallant.

He believes mutual respect is the glue that binds band members. “And we were lucky. We were very fortunate to have met each other in high school and we still like each other.”

Gallant will join Hastings and original members Benjamin Kowalewicz and Ian D’Sa when Billy Talent performs Thursday night at Westerner Days at Red Deer’s Centrium.

The musicians from Mississauga are thrilled to be playing in Central Alberta. “We’re excited to be back in Red Deer and we’re hoping it’s going to be a great day,” said Gallant.

The Juno Award-winning punk-rock band released a sixth album, Crisis of Faith, in January. It was conceived around 2019, but then the pandemic happened. All live performances were cancelled (a stressful period, said Gallant, who makes about 80 per cent of his income from live shows), so there was time to tinker with the recording and make adjustments.

The latest single, Reckless Paradise makes a statement about the angry phase the world has been going through since 2016, said Gallant. The bassist faults the U.S. presidential election for igniting division that’s still ongoing. “It was a terrible year. My son’s birth was the only good thing that happened…”

Part of the polarization centred around vaccinations, and Gallant makes no bones about it: “We should all be vaccinated,” he said. “The numbers are out there: the unvaxed get sicker… But people read a lot of incorrect stuff. I understand that they’re hesitant to trust and are getting more and more cynical but it seems a (no brainer) to me,” added Gallant.

The tune off the latest album Forgiveness I and II has been praised by some critics for its innovations. Gallant admitted, “We are really proud as we get older that we continue challenging ourselves to be a little different.” He believes influences from Pink Floyd, Rush and various psychedelic bands can be found in the song’s second half.

The theme of forgiveness has something to do with a personal crisis D’Sa went thorough after his mother’s death, said Gallant, “but it’s also more open-ended than that. It’s about how if you can’t find forgiveness, then maybe you can find understanding.”

The father of three considers his opportunities to travel and see the world “an incredible learning experience.” Observing how other cultures live has “opened my eyes and given me a different understanding,” added Gallant, who hopes the issues still dividing people will eventually wane. “I just hope we can put this stuff behind us and get back to normal.”

For more information about the 8 p.m. show, please visit ticketsalberta.com.



lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com

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