About The Box
The Box is a Canadian pop rock band from Montreal, Quebec, whose style evolved from synth-based new wave pop on their early albums toward prog-influenced guitar rock later in their careers. Founded in 1981, they achieved commercial success in Canada, recording four charting albums and 10 charting singles between 1984 and 1990.
The group broke up in 1992, but a new line-up was founded in 2004. This iteration of the group has released two further albums.
The band was formed in 1981 by Jean-Marc Pisapia, an early member of Men Without Hats. He recruited guitarist Guy Florent and bassist Jean-Pierre Brie and, before they settled on calling themselves The Box, the group was known as Checkpoint Charlie.
The band's first single attracted the attention of Montreal radio station CKOI-FM, leading to a deal with Alert Records. Also that year, Jean-Marc's brother Guy Pisapia joined on keyboards.
Their debut album The Box was released in 1984, and produced the singles "Must I Always Remember" and "Walk Away". Drummer Sylvain Coutu joined the band for its supporting tour, but was replaced by Pierre Taillefer before the next album. Florent also left and was replaced by Claude Thibeault. Their shows to promote the album included some dates opening for British prog rock band Marillion on their Canadian tour.
In 1985, The Box released All the Time, All the Time, All the Time. That album, which included backing vocals by Sass Jordan and Marie Carmen, produced the singles "My Dreams of You" and "L'Affaire Dumoutier ". The latter song, in which Pisapia narrates, rather than singing, a tale of a murder committed by a man with multiple personality disorder, was opposed as a single by the record label due to its unconventional sound and strange subject matter, but the label relented due to the strength of its cinematic music video, which was constructed as a mid-century European crime thriller film with Pisapia playing the police detective. Pisapia, who to this day considers it the best song he ever wrote, was vindicated when the song became the band's first Top 40 hit.
"L'Affaire Dumoutier", further, was one part of a trilogy of songs, with the album track "Evil in Me" and the non-album "For the First and Very Last" delving further into the murderer's story, although they were released as B-sides to "L'Affaire Dumoutier" rather than separate singles.
Map & Directions To Venue
