Broken Social Scene

2005 TMA149 Musician of the Year Award Recipient

Broken Social Scene are the TMA’s 2005 Musician of the Year. Congratulations to TMA members Brendan Canning, Kevin Drew, Charles Spearin, Andrew Whiteman, Justin Peroff, Jason Collett, Emily Haines, James Shaw, Amy Milan and the numerous other singers and players who are part of this extended family band who have re-defined the term “supergroup.”

Formed in 1999 in Toronto with core members Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning recording the band’s ambient debut album, Feel Good Lost, in 2001, with contributions by Justin Peroff, Charles Spearin and Bill Priddle. Nowadays, the band is expanded by whoever else is available to attend any individual show. The “pool” includes the brightest lights on the Toronto indie scene — Andrew Whiteman, Jason Collett, Metric’s Emily Haines and Leslie Feist , Evan Cranley, Dave Hewfeld, John Crossingham, Ohad Benchitrit, Julie Penner and Lisa Lobsinger. Over time, the band has come to include contributions from James Shaw, Evan Cranley, Justin Peroff, John Crossingham and Stars’ Amy Millan.

Many of them joined with Drew, Canning, Peroff and Spearin to record the band’s second album, You Forgot It in People, which won the Alternative Album of the Year Juno Award in 2003. Their third full-length, selftitled album with new contributors including k-os, won the Alternative Album of the Year Juno again and they performed “Ibi Dreams of Pavement” at the Juno Gala.

Broken Social Scene’s music (“Lover’s Spit”) has also been featured in director Clément Virgo’s movie Lie With Me (2005), Paul McGuigan’s Wicker Park (2004), and Bruce McDonald’s The Love Crimes of Gillian Guess (2004), and Showtime’s Queer as Folk (2003).

The band is currently on a bit of a hiatus while individual members pursue solo projects but once they announce some Toronto BSS dates, the TMA will arrange a convenient opportunity for an official presentation.