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Justin Nozuka
Justin Nozuka
Justin Nozuka
Nozuka at The Bowery Ballroom in NYC
Background information Birth name Born Justin Tokimitsu Nozuka 29 September 1988 (1988-09-29)
New York, USA
Origin Genre(s) Occupation(s) Years active Label(s) Website
Toronto, Ontario, Canada Folk, Acoustic Soul Singer 2006–present Coalition Entertainment http://www.justinnozuka.com, http://www.justinnozuka.co.uk
Justin Tokimitsu Nozuka (born September 29, 1988) is a Canadian/American singersongwriter. His debut album Holly has been released in Europe, Canada, Japan and the United States. He has licensed the album to indie label Coalition Entertainment Records, distributed by Warner Music in Canada, Outcaste Records in the UK/EU distributed by EMI and Glassnote Music in the US distributed by RED.
Biography
Nozuka was born in New York City’s Queens area, the son of Holly Sedgwick and Hiromitsu Nozuka. His father is Japanese and his mother an American of English ancestry. His mother’s half-sister is actress Kyra Sedgwick[1][2] and his first cousin twice removed
is Edie Sedgwick. His mother raised Nozuka and his six siblings as a single mother.[3] He is the brother of R&B singer George, and actor Philip. Other family members include Christian, another musician; Henry, a dancer of modern dance and two sisters, Margaret and Sandra (Sandy). Nozuka began writing his own songs at age 12 and the earliest of his songs on Holly, "Supposed to Grow Old" and "I’m in Peace," were written when he was 15.[4] While attending St. Andrews College, an international boarding school in Aurora, Ontario, Justin learned to play guitar from Mexican classmates. From there, he went to the Etobicoke School of the Arts. His musical influences stem from artists such as Lauryn Hill and Marvin Gaye.[5] He recently graduated from the Etobicoke School of Arts in Ontario. With help from a fellow Canadian artist, Damhnait Doyle, whom he met at a song writing workshop, Justin was introduced to Universal Records talent scout, Allan Reid. He recorded three tracks through Universal with Bill Bell as producer, and following this, Universal requested to sign Justin to their label, but he decided he wanted to "record an album on my own, with my own freedom".[6] He has played at the Green room stage at the Irish music festival Oxegen and T in the Park in 2007. Recently, Nozuka’s song "After Tonight" has been featured in a commercial for "Scott Baio Is 46...and Pregnant" on VH1, and has also been featured on mtvU’s The Freshman. Nozuka recently traveled to Austin, Texas to take part in the SXSW Music Festival as well as being interviewed by many radio stations in the area. The album has eleven songs to it and includes a hidden track following the final listed song "If I Gave You My Life". Many of Justin’s songs deal with mature themes such as the song "Save Him", which is a fictional song about a woman being beaten by her husband. Another track, "Down in a Cold Dirty Well", is about his perspective being stuck in a well, watching his life flash before his eyes. Another track is "Criminal" which Justin wrote about a man having an
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experience while intoxicated and throwing a bottle that smashes on the concrete street "where children play with bare feet",[7] and suffers from the overwhelming guilt. Holly is named after his mother who helped and supported his chosen career in music. He was also on Degrassi the nest generation playing Emma’s next door neighbor and the new kid. In February 2008, Nozuka was nominated for a Juno award in the category of "New Artist of the Year". In 2008, Justin Nozuka toured with Marié Digby and Eric Hutchinson. He will be touring all around the United States with Gabe Dixon Band & Jay Nash from Aug 2008 through Nov 2008, as well as in parts of Europe. In 2009, Justin will be touring through France and the United States, co-headlining with Missy Higgins and with special guest, Lenka. • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Justin Nozuka
Why I Wanna Know Blue Velvet Sea I Don’t Know Hollow Men Gray Love Pink Sky Mother Land Gone Falling Face First Woman Put Your Weapon Down Swan in the Water My Heart is Yours
Videos
• • • • • Mr. Therapy Man (Holly, 2007) [1] Criminal (Holly, 2007) [2] After Tonight (Holly, 2007) [3] Be Back Soon (Holly, 2008) [4] Golden Train (Holly, 2009) [5]
Bandmates
• Mark Pellizzer (Guitar and Piano) (b.June 14 1980) plays guitar and piano for the Justin Nozuka Band also the occasional back up vocal. • Anthony Lavdanski (Bass and background vocals) (b. August 13 1984) Born and raised in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Anthony attended University of Toronto from 2002-2006 majoring in Jazz Performance. • Alex Tanas (Drums and background vocals) (b. November 29)
Guest Contributions
• Bad Fog of Loneliness, from the album Borrowed Tunes II: A Tribute To Neil Young (2007) • At Long Last You by Joe Sbrocchi f/ Justin Nozuka - Fatlabs Studio (2007) [8]
References
[1] http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/ nozuka__justin/artist.jhtml [2] http://www2.canada.com/ edmontonjournal/news/culture/ story.html?id=729ef0a5-50c3-41bcadb6-fc25fed2e141&k=46936 [3] http://www.cbc.ca/sunday/2008/05/ 051108_10.html [4] Interview with FaceCulture Retrieved on April 1, 2008 [5] Official Biography from justinnozuka.co.uk Retrieved on July 15, 2007 [6] Interview with TeenSpot.com Retrieved on July 15, 2007 [7] Official lyrics page Retrieved on April 1, 2008 [8] At Long Last You - Fatlabs Portfolio
Discography
Studio Albums
• Holly (2007)
Other Releases
• iTunes Festival: London - Justin Nozuka (live) - EP (2007) Available in the U.K.
B-Sides
Ain’t No Sunshine (Cover) Bad Fog Of Loneliness (Cover) Comfort In Emptiness Don’t Listen To A Word You’ve Heard (Hidden Track) • Lullaby • Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay (Cover) • • • •
External links
• Official website • Justin Nozuka at MySpace • Justin Nozuka on Facebook
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Justin Nozuka
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Nozuka" Categories: 1988 births, American expatriate musicians in Canada, American male singers, American rhythm and blues singers, Canadian Americans, Canadian male singers, Canadian rhythm and blues singers, Canadian rhythm and blues musicians, Japanese Americans, Japanese Canadians, Living people, People from Queens, People from Toronto This page was last modified on 15 May 2009, at 23:17 (UTC). All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.) Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) taxdeductible nonprofit charity. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers
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