Not by Choice - Maybe One Day

Not by Choice I stumbled upon a small dark cave on the side of a hill northeast of Toronto. As I entered the cave, littered with worms, spiders and bugs of all sorts I heard a voice carried on the sinister wind calling me. I followed the dirt path towards the bone chilling voice that beckoned my name. Deep within the cave, there lay a heap of a man, index finger extended, drawing me closer. As I bent forward to hear his words I felt the shiver of wisdom oozing with each breath he took. With his last ounce of energy he uttered three words 'Not by Choice'. I stared into his ice-cold eyes and begged for explanation. He grasped my trembling hand and said, 'Go forth! Find these four young men - do not rest until you make them understand what plans fate has for them. They are the chosen ones'. And with that he drew his final breath and was gone. Maybe they aspired to be classical artists in an orchestra? Maybe they're bluegrass yodelers at heart? Hell hath no fury like Rock fate scorned. When it came to music, these four Ajax boys had no say. Not by Choice plays rock music. When they pick up their guitars, sit behind the drums or step up to the microphone - that's what exudes. They can't escape it. They were born to ROCK. Formed in the hallowed halls of a faceless, Ajax Ontario, secondary institution - more seriously pursued due to post-graduation 9-5 job induced trauma - Not by Choice is fuelled by high energy, high impact dedication to making solid music. Their tender ears weaned on Nirvana and later Green Day, Mike Bilcox (vocals / guitar ) and Glenn 'Chico' Dunning (guitar / vocals), later joined by AJ Bovaird (bass guitar) and Liam Killeen (drums), started banging out power pop/rock songs that have earned them recognition and set them on their way. A couple of years later and Not by Choice has been racking up stage experience like detention slips in high school - firing up the stage for old school favorites Pennywise, 'pull up your pants' comrades Goldfinger, Unwritten Law and SUM 41 as well as a fieldtrip to Warped Tour '01 in Montreal and Toronto, and Edgefest 2002. 'I have to admit, this is what we all craved. Wherever we are on tour we are ecstatic that we're not stocking shelves or waiting tables somewhere. We're having the time of our lives', says lead singer Mike Bilcox. Wistful in ideology, aggressive in reality, Not by Choice's debut CD on Linus Entertainment, Maybe One Day, is poised to set your eardrums on end, with 11 songs full of heavy-weight crunching riffs, bang on harmonies and tastefully sweet melodies that redefine in-your-face as in your CD player over and over again. Recorded this spring in Toronto, Not by Choice handed the keys to Grammy Award winning producer John Whynot - who's worked with everything from Blues to Roots Rock to Jock Rock and has proven himself a force to be reckoned with. 'He's a rock genius. It's like he was found at birth and raised by a wild pack of guitars', espouses guitarist Chico. Marking his territory, Whynot's signature knack for coaxing a melodically pleasing song based on guitar driven guts is evident throughout Maybe One Day, most noticeably on the lead off single, Standing All Alone. It looks like the man in the cave was right. This is exactly what the world's been waiting for. Not by Choice toured on their cross-Canada adventure with fellow Ajaxians SUM 41 on the Pepsi Taste Tour this past September, opened for Avril Lavigne, Simple Plan and won Best New Indie Release at this year's CASBY Awards hosted by Edge 102.1 radio. The second single, Now That You Are Leaving will hit radio desks in January and a new video, again directed by Brad will grace your TV screens in January as well.