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story KATHY BUCKWORTH    photos DUSTIN RABIN “The hair? Here’s what you need to know: Watch me do it on YouTube,”D’Sa says with a laugh, answering the number one question most of his fans have about his mile-high brush cut. The guitarist for Billy Talent takes the question good naturedly, and sounds both relaxed and enthusiastic as I speak to him from a production office in Toronto. He has good reason to be happy.  Billy Talent won Best Rock Album at the 2010 Junos (ceremony took place on April 18th) and they were also nominated in the categories of Best Group, Best Album, and Best Single. Prior to the awards, D’Sa admitted “The one I’d really like to win is Best Rock Album,” because the competition in that category is so great and it’s really who we are.” Job well done. Who Billy Talent is, along with D’Sa, is lead singer Ben Kowalewicz, bassist Jon Gallant and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk. They’ve been together since 1993, when the four Mississauga-raised boys (Streetsville/Meadowvale) formed a band in a city not known for its wide selection of music venues. “We rented out the Kinsmen Hall”, says D’Sa, “We rented a PA system, built the stage out of…well I don’t know…various things, and we got all our friends to help and come out.” They moved up to the Masonic Lodge in Streetsville, which was in turn rented out by fellow Mississauga-based band Alexis On Fire. “I saw that Now Magazine is listing it as a venue,” laughs D’Sa. He’s a fan of Alexis On Fire (currently on tour with Billy Talent), as well as Ill Scarlett. Clearly, Mississauga is becoming known for fostering young musical talent. D’Sa’s interest in music started in his youth, but he also studied Classical Animation at Sheridan College, and worked on feature cartoons such as Angela Anaconda. D’Sa’s family still lives in Meadowvale and while he travels around the world, his roots are still important to him. “Success is definitely everything I thought it would be. You wake up feeling really lucky you get to do what you do for a living, and tour with friends.” But it’s not all good. “There are ups and downs for sure”, he adds “travelling is really hard on relationships and sometimes they don’t work out because you’re just not there.” One of the places Billy Talent recently travelled to was the Olympics in Vancouver where they had the honour of performing at one of the medal ceremonies. “It was so great”, says D’Sa “seeing all the different countries coming together. The energy and the buzz….you just can’t describe it.” He wasn’t uncomfortable at all about the overt patriotism Canadians displayed at the games. “It’s about time!” he insists, “Canadians don’t usually act like that, but we won so many gold medals and it’s not every day we get to celebrate like that.” Billy Talent has fans worldwide, and they are kept informed about the band’s concerts and events through a Facebook fan page. I was curious as to whether the band members themselves were involved with this social media tool, or any others, like Twitter. “Me and the guys contribute to the Facebook page”, says D’Sa, “But Twitter, well that’s kind of brand new to us. Maybe when we have some more time.” D’Sa is known for making guest appearances during other band’s concerts, so I asked him if there was one group he’d like to tour with in particular. “Soundgarden,” he said, without pause. “I hear they’re getting back together and I would love it. Foo Fighters would be awesome as well.” His advice for young musicians starting out is simple. “Find like-minded people, stick with it, and write really good music.” And apparently, book the Masonic Lodge as soon as you can.  GL

ABOVE Ian D'Sa, guitarist ABOVE Jon Gallant, bassist ABOVE Aaron Solowoniuk, drummer ABOVE Ben Kowalewicz, singer