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the heavy blinkers

THE HEAVY BLINKERS

About Me

Since the age of steam, well over a million immigrants from around the globe have arrived through the port of Halifax Nova Scotia at Pier 21, the Gateway to Canada. Halifax is a harbor town with a population of 330,000 people. It is the halfway point between Europe and the West Coast of North America. Its latitude and longitude are 44N39, 63W34. Halifax has 7 degree granting universities, 8 major hospitals and 171 parks. It is home to the Heavy Blinkers. Halifax possesses remarkable air quality. The high ratio of trees to population in the area contributes to this quality of air and magnificence of surroundings. Since 1998, in and among these surroundings, the Heavy Blinkers have been conspiring to take over the world of orchestral pop. On their downtime (of which they have little), they lay on their favorite wharf and marvel at the "183rd best skyline in the world.Living on the East Coast of Canada, the Heavy Blinkers experience an average of 43 snow days a year. It is in this time, that songwriters Jason MacIsaac and Andrew Watt lock themselves up in their respective houses and write their pop masterpieces. The core summer months - June through September - are characterized by days warm enough to enjoy the many salt water beaches within a few minutes drive of the city, and that's precisely what keeps this sextet going.In keeping with Halifax's nickname "the City of Firsts", the Blinkers are constantly blazing new trails with their brand of orchestral pop music. Of course, having been born and raised in a city that boasts the Gold Kingfisher as its official mascot, it should come as a surprise to no one. Halifax breeds a strong work ethic and a sense of community spirit into her denizens. A testament to this, is the beautiful Victoria Park church in the cities' downtown. Two thousand men built it in one day! Fueled by this monument to maritime ingenuity, the blinker’s standards are very high indeed.Halifax was the first city in the world to have a saltwater ferry service and you can hear it in the band’s music.Adele Hugo, daughter of world famous Victor Hugo fled to Halifax 1863-1866, creating one of the 19th centuries most notorious love scandals which is a constant source of musical inspiration for MacIsaac. It is difficult not to write a beautiful love song when you live in a city immersed in such a history of doomed romance.Halifax has two twinned cities. One is Hakodate Japan, and the other is Halifax England. It pleases the blinkers endlessly that they've found so much success in Japan and Britain, as they feel a very strong Haligonian connection to these countries. At the time of this writing, Halifax is on the cusp of spring. The mayflowers and the red spruce trees are being reborn. The Blinkers are starting to poke their heads outside, and they're feeling around. They are currently working on album ..5, which is titled HEALTH. It will be a double album and will knock the socks off of many.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 10/1/2005
Band Website: heavyblinkers.com
Band Members: jason macisaac & david christensen
Influences: Serge Gainsbourg, Brian Wilson & VDP, Burt Bacharach, Francoise Hardy, Bob Dylan, Phil Spector, Leonard Cohen, Harry Nilsson, Kurt Weill
Sounds Like: Rufus Wainwright, Belle & Sebastian, Keren Ann, The Beach Boys, High Llamas, MGM musicals, Brent Randall, The Flaming Lips, Super Furry Animals..
THE NIGHT AND I ARE STILL SO YOUNG live on Zed TV

VIDEO FOR "TRY TELLIN' THAT TO MY BABY"
..
"I USED TO BE A DESIGN" live on Zed TV

video for YOU CAN HEAL

Record Label: endearing records
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

new interview at

Recently, a warm and kind gentleman by the name of Eric Warncke interviewed me for his wonderful pop music blog. Follow the link THIS IS POP MUSIC...
Posted by the heavy blinkers on Thu, 17 Apr 2008 03:58:00 PST

still alive

Hey everyone, First off, I want to apologize for being so negligent with blogging and keeping people updated as to the goings ons of the heavy blinkers. I know that I have promised...
Posted by the heavy blinkers on Thu, 03 Apr 2008 05:57:00 PST

Blinkers/Llamas mash-up

Jason MacIsaac of the heavy blinkers is thrilled about the new High Llamas record that was just released on Drag City (home of Joanna Newsom, Jim O'Rourke). The album features Blinker Dave Christense...
Posted by the heavy blinkers on Fri, 23 Mar 2007 09:21:00 PST

the heavy blinkers need your help

I know that these exist!!! If anybody owns CD samples of mellotron, chamberlin, or optigan for samplers, and is willing to lend them to us, we will thank you in the credits on our new album HEALTH. J...
Posted by the heavy blinkers on Fri, 02 Mar 2007 01:35:00 PST

live video footage-I USED TO BE A DESIGN

I USED TO BE A DESIGN (live footage from the ol' CBC) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk6OP2mp6QE    ...
Posted by the heavy blinkers on Fri, 29 Dec 2006 08:39:00 PST

CHAPLIN'S CHRISTMAS available for download now

Hey everyone, Merry Christmas!!!! I have put Chaplin's Christmas up on ye ol' jukebox for download as a gift from us to you. Chaplin's Christmas tells the story of Jesus Christ and Charlie Chaplin an...
Posted by the heavy blinkers on Thu, 21 Dec 2006 05:24:00 PST

We have been nominated for a 2007 P.L.U.G award!

PLEASE VOTE FOR US! The Heavy Blinkers have been nominated for best video for "TRY TELLING THAT TO MY BABY"Instructions: This year everyone's invited to cast their votes in GENERAL and (for us music f...
Posted by the heavy blinkers on Wed, 15 Nov 2006 07:42:00 PST

APOLOGIES FOR THE CMJ MIX-UP

Hi everyone,  We have been getting a lot of emails about our November 3rd abscence from CMJ. Let me tell you right off the bat that it gives me a knot in my stomach to imagine people arriving to...
Posted by the heavy blinkers on Mon, 06 Nov 2006 05:43:00 PST

PRODUCTION NEWS: Jenn Grant & Brent Randall

PRODUCTION NEWS: Jenn Grant & Brent Randall Myself and the lovely David Christensen (both from the heavy blinkers www.myspace.com/theheavyblinkers) have just finished producing the won...
Posted by the heavy blinkers on Wed, 18 Oct 2006 06:25:00 PST

new HARP magazine review!!

So here we have yet another young band, this one from Canada, who has built the foundation of its entire sound primarily on Brian Wilson's acknowledged masterpiece Pet Sounds. Yes, it's been done be...
Posted by the heavy blinkers on Thu, 31 Aug 2006 05:58:00 PST