Biography
The New Breed functioned from 1997 until their 2005 dissolution as the Canadian Maritimes' counterpart to anthemic, folk-tinged street punk acts such as the Dropkick Murphys and the Swingin' Utters. Halifax, Nova Scotia singer and songwriter Jonny Stevens fronted the group, which drew from the Pogues and Billy Bragg while echoing classic rock influences including Thin Lizzy and Bruce Springsteen. Stevens spent his early years in the coastal fishing village of Lunenberg, serving as an apprentice shipwright before relocating to the provincial capital in his late teens. Exposure to Halifax's active punk community and his parents' collection of classic rock and folk records shaped his approach, leading him to launch the New Breed in 1997. The band delivered four albums from 1999 through 2004—Blue Collar Blues, Day to Day, Port City Rebels, and Off the Beaten Path. Constrained by the New Breed's street-punk identity and drawn toward more explicitly folk-oriented material, Stevens dissolved the group in 2005 to launch a solo career. He assembled a restrained backing unit called the Racket, comprising guitarist Norman Love, organist Ian Mosher, bassist Serge Samson, and drummer Chris Gillis, and issued his self-titled solo debut in spring 2007.
Albums