Ian D'Sa is a Canadian guitarist, producer and songwriter best known as a member of the rock band
Billy Talent
Billy Talent is a Canadian Rock music, rock band from Mississauga, Ontario. They formed in 1993 with lead vocalist Benjamin Kowalewicz, guitarist Ian D'Sa, bassist Jonathan Gallant, and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk. There have been no lineup change ...
.
Early life and career
Ian was born in the suburb of
Southall
Southall () is a large suburban town in West London, England, part of the London Borough of Ealing and is one of its seven major towns.
It is situated west of Charing Cross and had a population of 69,857 as of 2011. It is generally divided ...
,
Ealing
Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...
, London. He is of
Goan
Goans ( Romi Konkani: , ) is the demonym used to describe the people native to Goa, India, formerly part of Portuguese India (''Estado Português da Índia''). They form an ethno-linguistic group resulting from the assimilation of Indo-Aryan, ...
background. His family moved to Canada when he was three years old. He grew up in
Mississauga
Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...
,
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, learning guitar at the age of 13. He attended
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary School. In 1991, he formed a band named Dragonflower with some fellow schoolmates. After Dragonflower broke up, he formed another band named Soluble Fish and recorded a five-song demo entitled ''Nugget Sauces''. He eventually met
Benjamin Kowalewicz,
Jonathan Gallant and
Aaron Solowoniuk in 1993 at a high school talent show. He started a new band with them named Pezz (later to become
Billy Talent
Billy Talent is a Canadian Rock music, rock band from Mississauga, Ontario. They formed in 1993 with lead vocalist Benjamin Kowalewicz, guitarist Ian D'Sa, bassist Jonathan Gallant, and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk. There have been no lineup change ...
) while also playing in Soluble Fish. Both bands played shows together until Soluble Fish broke up in 1996. Still playing with Pezz, D'Sa went to
OCAD and then
Sheridan College
Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, formerly Sheridan College of Applied Arts and Technology, is a public polytechnic institute partnered with private Canadian College of Technology and Trades operating campuses ...
where he got his degree in classical animation and has worked on the TV shows ''
Angela Anaconda
''Angela Anaconda'' is a comedy animated children's TV series created by Joanna Ferrone and Sue Rose that originally aired from Fall 1999 until December 10, 2001. 65 episodes were produced.
Premise
The show focuses on the adventures of an e ...
'', ''
Birdz'', and the film ''Adventures in 3-D IMAX'' as a character animator. Pezz changed their name to Billy Talent a few years later in 1998.
Billy Talent
In 1998, Pezz changed their name to Billy Talent after the fictional character in Michael Turner's ''
Hard Core Logo'' book. D'Sa co-produced the album ''
Billy Talent II'' with
Gavin Brown. He also did art direction and package design on the album. He received co-direction credit for the video "
Fallen Leaves", for which the band was awarded Best Video and Best Rock Video at the
2007 MuchMusic Video Awards
The 2007 MuchMusic Video Awards were held in Toronto, Ontario at MuchMusic's headquarters on June 17, 2007, and featured performances by Fergie (singer), Fergie, Maroon 5, The Used, Avril Lavigne, Finger Eleven, Hilary Duff, and others. The mo ...
. Released in September 2012, the fourth album of the band, ''
Dead Silence'', was produced entirely by D'Sa. He was nominated for
Producer of the Year at the
2017 Juno Awards for his work on the band's fifth album, ''
Afraid of Heights''.
D'Sa produced his first two singles on
Die Mannequin
Die Mannequin was a Canadian alternative rock band from Toronto, founded by guitar player and singer Care Failure (born Caroline Slezak Kawa) in 2005. The band toured across Canada several times, opening for Buckcherry, Guns N' Roses, Marilyn ...
's EP ''
Slaughter Daughter
''Slaughter Daughter'' is the second EP by the Canadian Rock music, rock band Die Mannequin, released on September 25, 2007. "Do It or Die" and "Saved By Strangers" were produced by Ian D'Sa of Billy Talent and "Upside Down Cross" and "Lonely of a ...
'', the songs being "Do it or Die" and "Saved by Strangers". He played guitar on
Sarah Slean
Sarah Hope Slean (born June 21, 1977) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, composer and musician. She has released eleven albums to date (including EPs and live albums). She is also a poet, visual artist, and occasional actress.
Career Major recordi ...
's song "Lucky Me". He makes a
cameo in
The Operation M.D.'s single "Sayonara" as a doctor pushing
Stevo in a wheelchair. He also makes a brief cameo as a year book photo in the
K-OS video for "
ELEctrik HeaT - the seekwiLL". He also sang guest vocals with
Alexisonfire
Alexisonfire (pronounced "Alexis on Fire") is a Canadian post-hardcore band formed in St. Catharines, OntarioRoss, Mike. "", Canadian Online Explorer, CANOE JAM!, April 30, 2004. Retrieved on July 17, 2007. in 2001. The band's members are Georg ...
during a few live shows.
D'Sa is known for making unexpected appearances at other bands' live shows and to guest as vocalist sometimes with
Alexisonfire
Alexisonfire (pronounced "Alexis on Fire") is a Canadian post-hardcore band formed in St. Catharines, OntarioRoss, Mike. "", Canadian Online Explorer, CANOE JAM!, April 30, 2004. Retrieved on July 17, 2007. in 2001. The band's members are Georg ...
. He joined
Sum 41
Sum 41 was a Canadian rock band formed in Ajax, Ontario, in 1996. The band's final lineup consisted of Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), Dave Baksh (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason McCaslin (bass, backing vocals), Tom T ...
as a guest guitarist for a one-off performance of their popular encore song "Pain for Pleasure", and also performed as a guest in one show with British band
Reuben
Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob.
Variants include Reuvein in Yiddish or as an English variant spelling on th ...
in 2006, while the band supported Billy Talent. He produced the first single, "Buried at Sea", from The Operation M.D.'s second studio album ''
Birds + Bee Stings'', which was released in June 2010.

D'Sa has been involved with
Song for Africa since 2007, a project to connect Canada's youth to the
AIDS
The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
pandemic, playing guitar on the song and in the video and single. In July 2007, he travelled to Kenya for 10 days to be part of the Song for Africa documentary film. D'Sa also wrote and recorded the song "Land of a Thousand Hills" for the benefit album ''
Song for Africa – Rwanda: Rises Up!'', in which he sings lead vocals and plays guitar with
punk rock
Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
band Noble Blood. In November 2012, he contributed a guitar solo to the song "Toast to Freedom", recorded by Anti-Flag for Amnesty International as a benefit single. He played solo in the video for the song.
D'Sa and fellow Billy Talent bandmate
Ben Kowalewicz appeared in the music video for
Emigrate's song "1234", whom Kowalewicz provided co-lead vocals for.
Musical equipment
When playing live shows, D'Sa plays an Olympic White
Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of double- cutaway electric guitar designed between 1952 and 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corpora ...
Fat Strat Deluxe with a black pickguard loaded with Seymour Duncan JB Trembucker pickups. He also plays a Montego Black Stratocaster Fat Strat Deluxe with a red
pickguard loaded with Seymour Duncan JB Trembucker pickups. When recording in the studio, his favourite guitars are a '52
Fender Telecaster
The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele (), is an electric guitar produced by Fender (company), Fender. Together with its sister model the Fender Esquire, Esquire, it was the world's first mass-produced, commercially successfulLes ...
Reissue (nicknamed "Crispy Chicken"), a '72
Fender Telecaster Deluxe (nicknamed "Rooster"), a '57
Gibson Les Paul Junior and several other vintage guitars.
D'Sa has said that "Crispy Chicken" is one of his main recording guitars, and has been used on all six Billy Talent albums along with other guitars such as his '57 Junior, for overdubs. He also owns a three colour sunburst stratocaster with a white pick guard, which is shown in the "
Devil in a Midnight Mass" music video. His main live amp setup consists of a 60 watt head custom made by Mark Stephenson of Stephenson Amplification, along with a
Diezel VH4.
YouTube
accessed 17 September 2014.
Discography
;Album appearances
* Pezz – ''Demoluca'' demo (1994)
* Soluble Fish – ''Nugget Sauces'' EP (1995)
* Pezz – '' Dudebox'' EP (1996)
* Pezz – '' Watoosh!'' LP (1998)
* Billy Talent – '' Try Honesty'' (2001)
* Billy Talent – ''Billy Talent
Billy Talent is a Canadian Rock music, rock band from Mississauga, Ontario. They formed in 1993 with lead vocalist Benjamin Kowalewicz, guitarist Ian D'Sa, bassist Jonathan Gallant, and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk. There have been no lineup change ...
'' (2003)
* Billy Talent – '' Billy Talent II'' (2006)
* Billy Talent – '' Billy Talent III'' (2009)
* Billy Talent – '' Dead Silence'' (2012)
* Billy Talent – ''Hits
Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block
* ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998
* ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...
'' (2014)
* Billy Talent – ''Kingdom of Zod'' (2014)
* Billy Talent – '' Afraid of Heights'' (2016)
* Billy Talent – ''Crisis of Faith
Spiritual crisis (also called "spiritual emergency") is a form of identity crisis where an individual experiences drastic changes to their meaning system (i.e., their unique purposes, goals, values, attitude and beliefs, identity, and focus) typ ...
'' (2022)
Production credits
* Pezz – ''Demoluca'' demo (1994, producer)
* Soluble Fish – ''Nugget Sauces'' EP (1995, producer)
* Billy Talent – '' Billy Talent II'' (2006, co-produced with Gavin Brown)
* Die Mannequin – ''Slaughter Daughter
''Slaughter Daughter'' is the second EP by the Canadian Rock music, rock band Die Mannequin, released on September 25, 2007. "Do It or Die" and "Saved By Strangers" were produced by Ian D'Sa of Billy Talent and "Upside Down Cross" and "Lonely of a ...
'' EP (2007, producer)
* Operation M.D. – ''Buried at Sea'' single (2010, producer)
* Billy Talent – '' Dead Silence'' (2012, producer)
* The Lazys – ''Black Rebel'' single (2015, producer)
* Say Yes – ''Real Life Trash Mag'' (2015, co-produced with Eric Ratz)
* Billy Talent – '' Afraid of Heights'' (2016, producer)
* The Lazys – ''Tropical Hazards'' (2018, co-produced with Eric Ratz)
* Billy Talent – ''Crisis of Faith
Spiritual crisis (also called "spiritual emergency") is a form of identity crisis where an individual experiences drastic changes to their meaning system (i.e., their unique purposes, goals, values, attitude and beliefs, identity, and focus) typ ...
'' (2022, producer)
References
External links
*
BillyTalent.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:D'Sa, Ian
1975 births
Living people
Canadian punk rock guitarists
British people of Goan descent
English emigrants to Canada
Desi musicians
Billy Talent members
Musicians from Toronto
Canadian musicians of Indian descent
Sheridan College animation program alumni
Canadian people of Goan descent