Interview – The Static Shift – Week 3 Winners – CTV’s The Launch

Three weeks into Season One of The Launch and Canada is hooked!

This week’s victors are Calgary-based alternative/blues/psychedelic rock trio The Static Shift – comprised of Mitchell Brady (guitar/lead vocals), Keone Friesen (Bass/harmonica/background vocals), and Isaiah Stonehouse (drums/background vocals). They were chosen from among the episode’s featured artists (Dylan Menzie, Chad Price, Sons of Daughters and Amy Bishop) to record the new original single “Wide Awake” (written by Nathan Barlowe and Bonnie Baker). Sons of Daugthers did a wonderful audition performance of original material and Amy Bishop’s rendition of the Leonard Cohen classic, “Hallelujah”, earned her the opportunity to also record and perform “Wide Awake” to the live audience.

The series’ third single was released to radio stations across the country immediately following the broadcast and is also available to buy and stream everywhere, including iHeartRadio, Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify, and Google Play. The single now sits in the No. 1 spot on the iTunes Rock and Top 5-and-rising All-Genre charts in Canada. Listen to “Wide Awake” here.

This past week was nothing short of exhilarating! It featured rock icon Nikki Sixx (founding member of legendary rock band Mötley Crüe) and award-winning producer Dann Huff (Keith Urban, Reba McEntire) joined Scott Borchetta – in partnership with Randy Lennox and Bell Media.

“The Static Shift completely blew my mind,” said Scott Borchetta. “I am always on the hunt for uniquely talented artists and musicians that have a special chemistry and that’s exactly what they have. This is a band that has a world stage and they’re uniquely positioned at the dawn of a new Rock Revolution.”

The momentum continues as previous winners both hit No. 1 on the iTunes All-Genres Top Songs Chart following the broadcast in which the aspiring artists were featured and remain in the upper echelon at iTunes in Canada. Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine’s “Ain’t Easy” is still holding No. 4 All-Genre at iTunes and No. 2 on the Spotify Viral Top 50 chart while their video trended on the YouTube Top 20 videos in Canada after the show. Logan Staats “The Lucky Ones” is Top 40 on iTunes All-Genres and spent all last week at No. 2 on the Viral Top 50.

Viewer engagement for The Launch continues to be strong as the hit show was one of Twitter’s Top Trending Topics that evening proving that the Big Machine and Bell Media format has built-in multi-platform success.

Next Wednesday on CTV at 9P ET as Grammy® Award-winning, multi-platinum solo artist and recording star Fergie and the music mastermind behind massive inescapable hits like the quintuple-platinum “Wrecking Ball” Stephan Moccio hold court as guest judges on The Launch.

About The Static Shift:
Calgary-based power trio The Static Shift is comprised of Mitchell Brady (guitar/lead vocals), Keone Friesen (Bass/harmonica/background vocals), and Isaiah Stonehouse (drums/background vocals), whose sound radiates classic/blues rock with romps of alternative, indie, and psychedelic rock. Emulating the hay days of rock n’ roll, The Static Shift’s goal is to transport audiences away through music. Bursting onto the scene at the age of 14, The Static Shift were the youngest band to ever headline the Blues Can. Now with more than 130 live performances under their belt and multiple award wins, The Static Shift has shared the stage with Trooper, Colin James, The Sheep-dogs, and more.

Connect with The Static Shift:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
iTunes
Spotify
YouTube

About The Launch:
The Launch was put into development in January 2016. The series was co-developed by and is produced by Bell Media in association with Scott Borchetta of Big Machine Label Group, Paul Franklin of Eureka (Masterchef, The Biggest Loser), in partnership with John Brunton and Lindsay Cox of Insight Productions (The Amazing Race Canada, Canadian Idol, The JUNO Awards).

The Launch is executive produced by Scott Borchetta, Randy Lennox and John Brunton; Paul Franklin and Lindsay Cox are Showrunners and Executive Producers; Executive Producers for Bell Media are Robin Johnston and Corrie Coe, who is also Senior Vice-President, Original Programming, Bell Media. Pat DiVittorio is Vice-President, CTV and Specialty Programming, Mike Cosentino is President, Content and Programming, Bell Media. Randy Lennox is President, Bell Media.

The Launch is truly a new and unique format documenting a behind-the-scenes and in-studio look at what it takes to bring a new, original song to life in each hour-long episode, and it’s all shot in 48 hours. Each week the artists audition for the opportunity to record and perform the new original song written by a world-famous songwriter/producer and mentored by a panel of internationally renowned music industry legends. Immediately following the auditions, the mentors choose two artists to enter the recording studio and record the original song and prepare to perform it in front of a live audience. The mentors then choose which artist and recording will immediately be released across the country following the broadcast of the episode each week.

Connect with The Launch:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube

Linda Heldman

Hello everyone! My name is Linda and I have been a fan of Canadian Music for as long as I can remember. That counts for way too many decades than I want to admit to! I have three primary passions in my life, music, photography and writing. When I can combine them all, I feel I am right where I should be. Though I can appreciate all genres of music, my particular favourite is Country. Canadian Country is moving in leaps and bounds. I love how it is progressing and I’m thankful that I can be a small part of it.