Contemporary country rock style delivered with plenty of edge and attitude.

10 MP3 Songs
COUNTRY: Contemporary Country, COUNTRY: Modern Country



Details:
About the Quickshift Crew
Canadian country music artist QuickShift radiates an on-stage energy that has audiences calling for more. Sold-out crowds at the 2007 Juno Awards in Saskatoon were treated to a taste of that infectious energy, as QuickShift kicked it up with their own brand of having and delivering a good time. Country fans, says bass guitarist Justin Sopotyk, are what this band is all about--âFinding âem, getting âem & keeping âem.â

The crewâs collaborative efforts as song-writers resulted in 10 self-penned tunes on their current album, âDevil Wonât Go.â Produced by Bart McKay Productions (nominated 2006 CCMA Studio of the Year), the album includes a number of edgy, up-tempo tunes guaranteed to keep listeners tuned in. The title track was released May 14th, 2007.
If you want a little bit of âurbanâ in your âcountry,â be sure to give QuickShift a listen.

QuickShift hails from Saskatchewan and consists of:
Leanne Lozinsky â lead vocalist (originally from Aberdeen SK, currently living in Lloydminster, SK)
Jordan Wiebe â lead guitarist (Saskatoon, SK)
Marlin Koczak â drummer (Saskatoon, SK)
Big âJâ Sopotyk â electric/bass/acoustic (Prudâhomme, SK)

Biographies

Leanne Lozinsky
Twenty-three year old Leanne Lozinsky is the spark that ignites the mix. She grew up in the Aberdeen area, on a farm 14 miles north east of town. Quick with a quip, she has a dry, often flippant, sense of humour. Often leveling her wit at her band-mates--âthese hormone-crazed guysâ-- she finds it just as easy to level it at her own foibles. After insisting she's not, in fact, a âgirly girlâ and would âlove to play a game of touch football in a mud swamp,â she offers an immediate deadpan follow-up. âBut don't get me wrong,â she says, âI've nothing against diamonds and pearls and $900 dresses!â Leanne says sheâs âcountry roots all the way.â Her talented vocals fuel the urban country sound thatâs fast becoming QuickShiftâs signature.

Jordan Wiebe
New to the crew is Jordan Wiebe. At 29, Jordan is rapidly tuning up a musical career heâd thought was up on blocks. Jordan was working as a licensed auto-mechanic, not-quite-content to jam with friends on weekends, when Justin Sopotyk heard about his playing and gave him a call. QuickShift was booked for a one-hour set at the Longbranch in Saskatoon as part of JunoFest 2007, and needed someone to take over from guitarist Steve Enns, who was leaving the band to join the ranks of the police force. Jordan, who comes from a sort-of musical family (âDad made some noise on the harmonica, mostly to annoy the dogâ) has played guitar since he was a kid, but hadnât played seriously for six or seven years. Still, he didnât hesitate. The fit was right, and he hasnât looked back. âIt was dynamite right off the get-go,â he says.

Marlin Koczak
Like an engine at the redline, new drummer Marlin Koczak holds his considerable energy in check until he gets the nod. Then watch out, because heâs unstoppable. Now 29, Marlin holds degrees in anatomy, cell biology and physiology. He began playing the drums at 11 and will continue, he says, âas long as my arms and feet still work.â Marlin got the nod from QuickShift when drummer Jeff Enns decided to devote more time to his upcoming marriage. Introduced by Jordan Wiebe, Marlin joined the crew just in time in time to play the Longbranch gig. Though heâd practiced with the band only twice before joining them for the first time onstage, Marlin says the experience was âway betterâ than other gigs. âSomething,â he says, âjust felt right.â

Justin Sopotyk
âCountry rock fans, that's what we're all about,â says Big J. âFinding âem, getting âem and keeping âem.â J is the bandâs electric, bass and acoustic guitarist and one of the its founding members. His country roots are deep in the soil of the family farm south-east of Prudâhomme, Saskatchewan, where he still lives, works and plays his music. Big J is the bandâs youngest member. At just 23, he combines bucket-loads of dedication and over-the-top enthusiasm with just the right amount of self-deprecating humor. The result is a confident, infectious delivery, onstage and off, thatâs both charming and disarming.

Discography:
Album: Where the Devil Wonât Go (current â May 20/07)
Singles: 2006 Iâm Right Here
2005 I Moved On

Nominations:
2007 - received 3 nominations from the Saskatchewan Country Music Association; including two for the 2006 release, âIâm Right Hereâ: Single of the Year, Song of the Year (Composer) & Rising Star 2006 â SCMA Rising Star nomination

Performance Highlights

â¢CD release parties Lloydminster,AB/Saskatoon, SK Jul/Aug 2007
â¢invitation to showcase at the Junoâs 2007 (Longbranch-Saskatoon)
â¢invitation to perform at the 2007 Sask Country Music Awards Weekend
â¢opening for Deric Ruttan (Carlton Trail Jamboree â Rabbit Lake SK) 2006
â¢Saskatoon Exhibition (Budweiser Stage) 2006
â¢multiple local venues throughout Saskatchewan

Media Coverage

Shaw TV â (March 31-April 3/07) Jackie Kripki/Curtis Anderson
Televised Coverage - Juno performance at the Longbranch, including full-length post-performance interview with the QuickShift crew.
Inclusion of performance clip & interview aired during the âBest of the Junoâsâ
Star Phoenix (Mon. April 2/07) SP Services: â...Meanwhile, the Longbranch was packed â standing room only â and the crowd was jacked up. Saskatchewan band QuickShift mixed plenty of covers in with original material. Whatever they played, the two-stepping continued, sometimes reaching dangerous levelsâ¦â