LUCIDMEDIA

Drumming For A Good Cause

Written by Catherine Kustanczy Wednesday, 04 February 2009 15:26

In 1998, the Billy Talent drummer was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. “Every story is completely different,” he says, “and that’s the thing about MS: it’s invisible, at other times it’s visible. My symptoms are ones no one sees, ones I deal with on my own. This medical routine, I’ve accepted it, and now I’m just letting it go.”

Getting to the point of acceptance can be tough, however. In 2006, the drummer wrote an open letter to fans explaining his condition, in the hopes he might raise awareness of the disease, and of the ways to live with it. Educating others and providing inspiration to those living with MS has become a sort of life mission for Solowoniuk. That’s why he and a number of other prominent drummers are taking part in Cut To The Drummer; part art event, part benefit, the exhibition aims to raise awareness while celebrating the worlds of music and design. Cut To the Drummer takes place Thursday, February 5th through 28th and features portraits of fifty drummers by fifty different artists and illustrators. Musicians portrayed include Zeppelin legend John Bonham, Neil Peart of Rush, Blink 182’s Travis Barker, jazz legend Tony Williams, and of course, Solowoniuk.

A gala event takes place February 5th at the Steamwhistle Brewery; the $150 ticket includes a private reception and a silent auction for the portraits, which are expected to fetch anywhere from $300 to $2500 each. A litany of talented drummers will be performing too: Archie Alleyne, Scott Russell (The Planetsmashers) and Jeremy Taggart (Our Lady Peace), as well as Goldfinger drummer and 102.1FM The Edge DJ Darrin Pfeiffer and Solowoniuk. In addition, the two will be spinning tunes following the silent auction at 9.30pm ($10 advance; $15 at the door), giving late-night visitors an opportunity to view the portraits and enjoy a night of good music. All proceeds from the evening will go towards the MS Society of Canada Scholarship Fund, which, in 2008, helped to send 80 young people to higher-level education, in college or university. It’s a cause close to Solowoniuk’s heart. He’s had to contend with MS for over ten years, and has experienced the ways in which the illness can hamper the pursuit of dreams. Solowoniuk wasn’t initially sure he’d be able to continue with Billy Talent when he was first diagnosed.

Originally formed as Pezz in 1993, the four-man band re-named themselves in 2001, and went on to become a major music success story. On the radar since the release of the tunefully aggressive “Try Honesty” in 2003, the Canadian band have built a steady, loyal following at home and abroad. They’ve attained multi-platinum status in Canada, and have won two Junos, for Best Album of the Year (for their self-title debut), and Best Band of the Year, in 2004. Their third album is set for release in June of this year. Their new single, “Turn Your Back,” has a peppy, sea-shanty-meets-punk sound, with vocalist Ben Kowalewicz warning “there’s no place to hide” even as he extols the hope of righting “everything that’s wrong” and “with loving hands, turn(ing) sick to strong.” Wise words. Amidst all of Billy Talent’s success, Solowoniuk rode a roller coaster of emotions, eventually becoming determined not to let Multiple Sclerosis interfere with his plans.
“In the beginning, (the music) made me forget all about (MS),” he confesses. “I just engulfed myself in my band, and going on the road. I’d just had a baby girl just when this started happening, and we had a new record deal, and then …I had MS.” The medical routine of touring with a refrigerator in the van (in which to store Solowoniuk’s medication) was just another reality everyone got used to, but at one point the drummer realized he didn’t want to take the disease –or the effect it’s had on his life –for granted. “Other than doing a needle every three days, I forgot about it. But after four years, I’m learning about it again, learning about younger kids getting affected by it. It wasn’t a young thing when I was diagnosed. It affected those twenty-one (years of age) through thirty-five, and now it’s seven-year-olds, three-year-olds…”

The growing prevalence of the disease made Solowoniuk want to get more involved in raising awareness of MS and in using his art to reach those who might not otherwise take their health as seriously. He met graphic designer and illustrator Sandra Dionisi when Warner Music Canada President Steve Kane suggested the Billy Talent drummer to the designer. “(Sandra) has always wanted to do some sort of a show based around the drummers of bands, she’s been talking about it, and now it’s turned into this one month long show.”

The idea for Cut to the Drummer came from Dionisi’s interest in the occasionally-infamous position, as well as her passion for visual art. “I had this idea a few years ago to work on a personal project about drummers,” she explains. “I’m kind of interested in focusing on a subject not covered that extensively, and… you don’t really hear that much about drummers when it comes to bands unless they’ve had some kind of reputation, so it started out as a personal project. When I started the Bepo + Mimi project, I thought it would be interesting to collect a group of people to get their take on the same subject.”

Bepo + Mimi has already held three events that explored the connections and contexts of illustration. Lids, an event held in 2007, was inspired by the involvement Dionisi’s family has had with the hair and beauty industry; Fall Back featured an exclusive collection of eighteen time-obsessed pillows, while 1st Sign of Spring, held last March at the Gladstone Hotel, explored the idea of seasonal change and featured the work of sixteen prominent illustrators. The exhibits, including Cut To The Drummer, are fully indicative of the spirit in which the company was founded. Around since 2007, Bepo + Mimi explores the role the illustrative arts play in business and commerce. Far from being solely for professionals however, the company also provides opportunities for the public to interact at a greater level with artists and illustrators, and to understand the extent illustration has pervaded every aspect of modern popular culture.

“Initially I started (Bepo + Mimi) because I felt that a lot of people don’t understand what illustration is,” Dionisi explains. “If someone asks what you do, it’s ‘Oh, so you do cartoons,’ but that’s not what we do. There are some illustrators that have that side, but the definition of illustration … hasn’t been good in the general public, so one of the ideas was through the shows. People would (have) an experience, to have a better understanding.” She thought it would be a good idea to promote “people who interpret the world around them in terms of the communication of ideas” and use their work for “helping commercial ventures or businesses through complimentary imagery.”

Dionisi initially did a bit of research on the drummers she wanted when the event was in the planning stage. “I had heard about some that are more publicly known for their reputation and talent. Then I asked Steve Kane to help me with a list, to narrow it down. There were tons –more than 120 –but we narrowed that down to about half.” From there, she chose the matching artists; some illustrators told her which drummer they wanted to portray, while she had to assign others their matches. Dionisi herself has done a portrait of Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker for the exhibit/auction.

“Part of the mandate anytime we have a show is to connect the context and community exposure that illustration has,” Dionisi explains, “and music and illustration are long-lost cousins. They used to be more connected when album cover art was more prevalent. Most artists are generally music lovers, so I didn’t think it would be too difficult to put those two together. As it turns out, many illustrators had a favourite drummer.”

Solowoniuk hasn’t seen the portrait done of him by Swiss-Canadian artist Virginie Egger, who has worked in Québec’s animated movie industry and done illustrating for magazines and children books. “I’ve seen a couple other (portraits), but not my own.” Waiting for the unveiling Thursday night, he has mixed feelings about viewing Egger’s depiction of him. “It’s cool…” he says with a nervous laugh, “but it’s weird. To be in the same lineup with all these great drummers is … pretty flattering!” He’s more confident about his commitment to raise awareness about Multiple Sclerosis, and to deal with it on both intimate and epic levels. After all, “it’s a fight I’m going to do for the rest of my life.”