Biography
"Billy Manzik is a great songwriter, right up there with Steve Earle and Ryan Adams."
- Michael Murphy, Capitol Records Mastering
Billy Manzik's journey began where Highway 61, the 'Blues Highway', ends - in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The soundtrack for his childhood was provided by his guitar-slinging, country singing mother, and her love of all things sound. His 2007 debut recording, 'Billy Manzik', received extensive radio play across Canada and abroad, charting well on college radio, as well being featured on CBC Radio's "Key Of A". His performance at the 2008 Alberta Songwriter Sessions was recorded and broadcast nationally on CBC. He and his band were invited to kick off the 2008 Juno Awards (Canada's Grammy awards) with a spirited performance at their awards reception.
Billy Manzik's new album, 'AllTogetherNow', is music for modern times. It was produced by Chris Wardman (The Tragically Hip, Randy Bachman, The Watchmen, among others) in Toronto, Canada. Diverse music with plenty of energy, hope, a touch of melancholy, but mostly, just plain fun.
'AllTogetherNow' was created by a seasoned group of accomplished musicians, with noted piano/keyboardist Geoff Hilhorst (Deep Dark Woods) lending his hands in the shaping of it's sound. It is a modern, roots-rock take on our changing times. Aware, without dispair.
2010 promises to be another busy year for Billy Manzik with the release of 'AllTogetherNow'.
Past Highlights:
- Invited to perform at the 2008 Juno Awards Reception in Calgary, AB.
- Shared a stage with Canadian greats Blue Rodeo at the Warner Brothers 2008 Juno Awards Weekend Wrap-Up Event.
- Performed on the main stage for the City of Calgary's Canada Day Celebration in 2008 and 2009.
- "You Didn't Know Me", from 'Billy Manzik', received a short film treatment and placed #4 on CBC BC's top 5 songs of 2007.
- Shared stages and bills with very diverse artists and acts; Blue Rodeo, Grady (Gordie Johnson of Austin, Texas), Elliot Brood, Justin Rutledge, Deep Dark Woods, violinist Bill Zulak (Crash Test Dummies), and many more.
- Awarded a grant from Canada's Rawlco Radio in their 10K20 Program, helping to fund 'AllTogetherNow'.
- National live-concert broadcast on CBC Radio's "Concert On Demand".
- Performed at the NXNE Conference 2008 in Toronto, ON.
- Performed at numerous festivals and clubs, coast to coast in Canada.
Instrumentation
(Billy Manzik solo, or with his full band):
Billy Manzik - lead vocals, guitars
Geoff Hilhorst - piano, keyboards
Pat Auger - vocals, bass
Jarek Brown - drums
Discography
LP "Billy Manzik" - 2007
Radio play and podcasts on numerous stations worldwide:
"You Didn't Know Me"
"Sounds"
"Hannah"
"One More Time"
"Alone And Blue"
"Back To Hell Again"
"Woman Versus Nature"
"Take This Bottle"
"Intro"
LP "AllTogetherNow" - 2009 (soon to be released!)
Links
| http://www.billymanzik.com |
| Billy Manzik Myspace |