Biography
Canada has produced some of the world’s most enduring songwriters and Joel Plaskett is being hailed as one of the best.
Joel’s latest release, titled “Three” (released on March 26th, 2009) ) is a masterpiece 3 disc collection featuring an eclectic blend of styles, ranging from drum-machine rock ‘n’ roll, to stripped-down acoustic folk, to a deep-country vibe and rollicking pop. A songwriters holy trinity – “Three” marks another landmark in the career of this great Canadian songwriter.
“Three listens in — and it becomes evident that Plaskett has written and recorded what could very well be the album of his career.” Vancouver Sun
Since spending his teenaged years recording and touring with Halifax indie upstarts Thrush Hermit, Plaskett has been writing his own story. After releasing two critically acclaimed albums – In Need of Medical Attention (1999) and Down at the Khyber (2001) – independently, Joel signed to Maple Music Recordings for the release of 2003’s Truthfully Truthfully, a rock tour de force with his band, The Emergency. That record scored with critics and fans alike and truly put Plaskett on the national radar once and for all. Truthfully Truthfully was nominated for a Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year and won an East Coast Music Award for Rock Recording of the Year.
During a summer break from touring in 2004, Joel responded to a longtime fan’s offer of recording time at a home studio in Mesa, Arizona. The results of that journey are on Plaskett’s MapleMusic effort, a solo album called La De Da. The album is “solo” in the sense that Joel plays all the instruments but it’s by no means a simple acoustic project. It also isn’t a permanent move away from his work with The Emergency. Rather, it’s the mark of an artist at home with his instincts and his creative muse and one that’s willing to follow fearlessly where those imperatives lead. La De Da attracted attention at regional and national media and the hit single “Happen Now” topped the Canadian campus music chart for months running.
Over the last three years, Joel has toured extensively both solo and with The Emergency, to sold-out clubs, theatres and headlining festivals throughout Canada, the United States and Australia, on the heels of great Canadian success with his Make A Little Noise DVD & EP (2006) and Ashtray Rock (2007). Make A Little Noise spawned an infectiously catchy hit single, “Nowhere With You,” that landed Plaskett on the Top 10 at hot Adult Contemporary (AC) radio. He also garnered three 2007 East Coast Music Awards wins for “Nowhere With You,” DVD for Make A Little Noise, and Songwriter of the Year. Ashtray Rock was nominated for the high profile Polaris Music Prize award, and earned Plaskett and his band all six of the 2008 “of the year” ECMAs for which he, and they, were nominated: Recording, Group Recording, Single (for “Fashionable People,” another hit song), Video (also for “Fashionable People”), Rock Recording, and Songwriter. Topping that off was Joel’s Juno Award nomination for Songwriter of the Year and his placement as First Place Winner in the 2008 Great American Song Contest and the Billboard World Song Contest for his single “Fashionable People” (in the Pop Category).
Joel’s latest triple layered album, “Three” (release March 2009) is his most ambitious work to date and features a stellar line up of guest musicians including his father Bill Plaskett, Rose Cousins, Ana Eggie and his band, The Emergency (Chris Pennell and Dave Marsh). Received with over whelming response from media and radio programmers across the country, the lead single, “Through & Through & Through” is positioned to go straight to the top of the charts. Most recently, Joel and his latest effort, “Three” were also nominated for the prestigious 2009 Polaris Music Award chosen by national media critics and recognizes the best Canadian recordings in the last year. Without a doubt, another personal career highlight for Joel and his band was sharing the stage opening for the legendary Paul McCartney (in Halifax, Nova Scotia) performing to an audience of over 50,000 fans….and so begins another chapter for one of Canada’s finest songwriters.
Awards & Achievements …
2010
JUNO Winner/Nomination Adult Alternative Artist of the Year ( Three )
Juno Nomination Songwriter of the Year ( Three )
ECMA Winner/Nomination Male Solo Recording of the Year (Three)
ECMA Winner/Nomination Entertainer of the Year
ECMA Nomination SOCAN Songwriter of the Year (Through & Through Through)
ECMA Winner/Nomination FACTOR Recording of the Year (Three)
ECMA Winner/Nomination Single of the Year (Through & Through & Through)
ECMA Nomination Single of the Year Nomination (You Let Me Down)
ECMA Winner/Nomination Pop Recording of the Year (Three)
ECMA Nomination Video of the Year (Through & Through & Through)
ECMA Winner/Nomination Producer of the Year
2009
Polaris Music Prize Nomination (Three)
Canadian Folk Music Award Winner/Nomination Contemporary Album of the Year
Canadian Folk Music Award Winner/Nomination Producer of the Year
Canadian Folk Music Award Nomination Solo Artist of the Year
Canadian Folk Music Award Nomination Pushing The Boundaries Recording of the Year (Three)
ECHO Songwriting Prize Nomination (Through & Through & Through)
Music Nova Scotia Award Winner/Nomination Album of the Year (Three)
Music Nova Scotia Award Winner/Nomination Male Solo Artist of the Year
Music Nova Scotia Award Winner/Nomination Pop/ Rock Recording of the Year (Three)
Music Nova Scotia Award Winner/Nomination SOCAN Songwriter of the Year
Music Nova Scotia Nomination Entertainer of he Year
Music Nova Scotia Nomination Video of The Year (Through & Through & Through)
ECMA Entertainer Winner/Nomination of the Year Award
ECMA Nomination Single of the Year (Face of the Earth)
First Place Winner Great American Song Contest (Face of the Earth)
2008
First Place Winner Billboard World Song Contest Pop Category (Fashionable People)
First Place Winner Great American Song Contest (Fashionable People)
COCA ( Canadian Organization of Campus Activities ) Mainstage Artist Award
ECMA FACTOR Recording of the Year Award (Ashtray Rock)
ECMA Group Recording of the Year Award
ECMA Rock Recording of the Year Award
ECMA SOCAN Songwriter of the Year Award
ECMA Single of the Year Award (Fashionable People)
ECMA Video of the Year Award (Fashionable People)
Juno Songwriter of the Year Nomination (Ashtray Rock)
CMW Indie Awards Favourite Rock Artist / Group of the Year Nomination
CMA Indie Awards Galaxie Rising Star Award of the CBC Nomination
ECMA Entertainer of the Year Nomination
2007
CBC Radio 3 Bucky Award ”Best Falsetto” (Fashionable People)
Music Nova Scotia Album of the Year Award (Ashtray Rock)
Music Nova Scotia Pop Rock Recording of the Year Award
Music Nova Scotia Entertainer of the Year Award
Music Nova Scotia Group of the Year Award
Music Nova Scotia Songwriter of the Year Award
Music Nova Scotia Video of the Year Award (Fashionable People)
Polaris Prize Nomination (Ashtray Rock)
ECMA SOCAN Songwriter of the Year Award (Nowhere With You)
ECMA Single of the Year Award
ECMA DVD of the Year Award (Make A Little Noise)
CBC Radio 3 Bucky Award” Song Most Likely to be a Future Classic”
The Coast voted “Top 50 CDs of the Year Award” (Ashtray Rock)
The Coast voted “Best Canadian Male Musician”
The Coast voted “Best Canadian Solo Artist”
Verge Awards “Album of the Year Award”
Chart Magazine The Golden Toque Award Nomination “Best Canadian Album”
Canadian Radio Music Award Nomination “Best New Solo Artist – Hot AC”
2006
ECMA Male Artist of the Year Award (La De Da)
ECMA Songwriter of the Year Award (Happen Now)
ECMA Album of the Year Nomination
ECMA Single of the Year Nomination
ECMA Video the Year Nomination
Juno Songwriter of the Year Nomination (La De Da)
Music NS Songwriter of the Year Award (Nowhere With You)
Music NS Entertainer of the Year Award
First Place Great American Song Contest (Nowhere With You)
Music NS Single of the Year Nomination
The Coast voted “Best Canadian Male Musician”
The Coast voted “Best Local Male Musician”
The Coast voted “Best Local Album (La De Da)”
CBC Radio III voted #1 Top 94 list (Nowhere With You)
2005
MIANS Male Artist of the Year Award MIANS Album of the Year Award (La De Da)
MIANS Pop/ Rock Recording of the Year Award
ECMA Rock Recording of the Year Award
ECMA Album of the Year Nomination
ECMA Group of the Year Nomination
The Coast voted “Best Canadian Male Musician”
The Coast voted “Best Local Male Musician”
The Coast voted “Best Local Song”
2004
MIANS Group of the Year Award (Truthfully, Truthfully)
MIANS Alternative Recording of the Year Award
MIANS Entertainer of the Year Award
Juno Best Alternative Album of the Year Nomination
The Coast voted “Best Local Band”
The Coast voted “Best Local Album (Truthfully, Truthfully)
2003
The Coast voted “Best Local Band”
The Coast voted “Best Local Live Act”
2002
Juno Best New Artist of the Year Nomination (Down at the Khyber)
ECMA Rock Recording of the Year Nomination
ECMA Best New Artist of the Year Nomination
ECMA Video of the Year Nomination (Maybe We Should Just Go Home)”
The Coast voted “Best Local Album (Down at the Khyber)”
The Coast voted “Best Video (Maybe We Should Just Go Home)”
The Coast voted “Best Male Solo Artist”
film & television placements …
Fashionable People – Wild Roses TV
Fashionable People – Growing Op Film
Fashionable People – A Fine Bromine TV
A Million Dollars – MVP TV Series
Love This Town – Canadian Idol TV
Drunk Teenagers – Wild Roses TV
A Million Dollars – Wild Roses TV
Aquateam – 20 songs TV Series
A Million Dollars – Global Television 2008 Season Launch
Extraordinary, Work Out Fine – Extra Ordinary
Nowhere With You – Zellers Summer 2006 Campaign
Work Out Fine, Nowhere With You, Come On Teacher – Citizen Duane
True Patriot Love, This is A Message, Just Go Home – TV show Food Jammers
Extraordinary – 20th Century Fox
Absentminded Melody – 15 Love (the Series)
Absentminded Melody – North South TV Mini Series
Maybe We Should Just Go Home – Fashion TV
Maybe We Should Just Go Home – Diamonds TV
Writers Licenses …
Purple Eyes, Yellow Light & Jezebel – Two Hour s Traffic
Growing Op
Heat Seeker – One Fee Hill TV
Jezebel – Ghost Whisperer TV
Jezebel – American Teen TV
Stuck For The Summer MTV
Jezebel – Heartland TV
Instrumentation
Joel Plaskett – Vocals, guitars
The EmergencyDave Marsh – Drums, bass, background vocals
Chris Pennell- Bass, background vocals
Discography
Three (2009) Maplemusic Recordings/ Universal Music Canada
Ashtray Rock (2007) Maplemusic Recordings/ Universal Music Canada
Make A Little Noise DVD (2006) Maplemusic Recordings/ Universal Music Canada
La De Da (2005) Maplemusic Recordings/ Universal Music Canada
Truthfully, Truthfully (2003) Maplemusic Recordings/ Universal Music Canada
Down at the Kyber (2001) Re-released Maplemusic Recordings/ Universal Music Canada
In Need Of Medical Attention (1999) Re-released Maplemusic Recordings/ Universal Music Canada
