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.