WHY is a Canadian

Alternative Rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band from

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

. Formed in 1995, WHY released its first album ''The Naked Soul". WHY had two singles from the album ''Red'' (2007), "The Surface" and "Red". The latter song was song of the year on Winnipeg radio station KICK FM. Their most recent album was ''Despite All Of The Darkness'' (2019), with singles "Repair The Breach", "Not The End", "Slivers". WHY released single "Calloused Heart" (2022) (from forthcoming album) followed by their recent single "Soul Declares" (2024) WHY have just released an EP "Soul Declares (single mixes) featuring 2 versions of the single, 2 remixes by WATERMARK and the single "Calloused Heart". WHY have played multiple festivals and venues in support of their releases.

Origins

The name "WHY" was created by lead singer Brian Cook. As Cook explained,

"I was watching a TV special on John Lennon around 1992, and there was a part filmed the day he died and fans were all around his and Yoko's New York apartment with candles and signs, and one sign just said 'WHY.' No question mark, just three capital letters, and I thought, 'That's the most used word in our troubled world.' Henry Thoreau said, 'Why is the beginning of knowledge,' so it seemed right for a band with so many questions."

History

WHY released their first album ''The Naked Soul in 1994'' and followed it up with ''The Rise and Fall of the Question Mark''(2002). After playing shows in support of ''Question Mark'', the band underwent a line-up change. Why's next album, ''The Lazarus Effect,'' was 2005. The title song received air play in major radio markets across Canada In 2005 WHY began its involvement with the Make Poverty History campaign. Copies of ''Lazarus Effect'' were given out before U2 concerts in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

and

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. Other copies were made available at Make Poverty History and online at cdbaby.com, with a portion of the proceeds from the album going directly to the charity. The single ''Keep My Peace'' also received a music video. In 2007, WHY released the album ''Red''. The single (and title track) "Red" was serviced to radio worldwide. "Red" held #1 on KICK FM's Top 40 chart for 4 weeks in a row, and was named "Song of the Year". The second single "The Surface" also charted, hitting #1 on KICK FM and #5 on The Q FM in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

. The song was named in the ''

Winnipeg Free Press The ''Free Press'' (or FP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press''; previously known as the ''Winnipeg Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, natio ...

Top 10 songs of 2007. WHY played shows in Winnipeg supporting ''Red''. and appeared on A Channel's ''The Big Breakfast,''. WHY was also showcased in ''Canadian Music Magazine'' that same year. In an interview with

online magazine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to an online only magazine was the comput ...

''Interference'', singer Brian Cook explained that ''Red'' was based on everything which the color represents: anger, joy, passion, danger, heat, for example. After ''Red'' was completed, Cook became aware of the (RED) campaign and offered the use of the single "Red" at no cost. However, the (RED) campaign never picked up the song. Soon after the release of ''Red'', WHY underwent another line-up change. During this period, WHY released singles "We Started Out (Somebody's Baby)" and "More or Less" as part of Ray Zahab's film ''

Running the Sahara ''Running the Sahara'' is a 2007 Documentary film, documentary feature film that chronicles Ray Zahab, Charlie Engle (marathoner), Charlie Engle, and Kevin Lin's attempt to run across the entire Sahara Desert. They traveled a total of 6920 kilom ...

''. In late 2009, WHY recorded and released their hit single and video "Prisoner of Hope," which charted #6 on KICK FM and received national play. During the summer of 2010, the "Prisoner of Hope" video was entered into a contest for an opening slot before

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

in Winnipeg. Later that same summer, the video was again entered in a contest, Winnipeg radio station '' Curve FM'''s "Rock on the Range" Contest, and made it to the finals. ''Prisoner of Hope'' was played on Curve FM and members of the band were interviewed on air. WHY later released the single "Crash into the Future". The band has also recorded a re-mix version featuring Fresh IE. On World's AIDS Day, 2010, WHY played a benefit concert at the Winnipeg Convention Center. WHY released their fifth album, ''The Leap'', in 2013. WHY released album "Despite All Of The Darkness" (2019), with singles "Repair The Breach", "Not The End", "Slivers", "God Particle", "The Prophet". WHY released the single "Calloused Heart" (2022) (from forthcoming album) followed by their recent single "Soul Declares" (2024) WHY have just released an EP "Soul Declares (single mixes)" featuring 2 versions of the single, 2 remixes by WATERMARK and the single "Calloused Heart". WHY have played multiple festivals and venues in support of their releases.

Non-profit work

WHY has donated proceeds from their albums to The Global Fund, Make Poverty History, and UNICEF. WHY donated 100% of funds raised by downloads of "Prisoner of Hope," from cdbaby.com and

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UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

for relief for the earthquake in Haiti, . UNICEF featured the video for "Prisoner of Hope" on its website, under "Featured Videos." WHY where invited by

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...

ONE Campaign ONE Campaign (styled as ONE) is an international, non-partisan, non-profit organization advocating for the investments needed to create economic opportunities and healthier lives in Africa. The campaigning organization uses data, grassroots ac ...

to film a performance of an iconic protest song as a part of the Agit8, for the G8 to draw attention to extreme poverty. WHY covered the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

' song "

Gimme Shelter "Gimme Shelter" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Written by Jagger–Richards, it is the opening track of the band's 1969 album '' Let It Bleed''. The song covers the brutal realities of war, including murder, rape and f ...

" Why's performance was featured on ONE's international site, and footage from WHY's performance was featured in the Official ONE trailer. Why were the only Canadian rock band asked to participate. WHY's music has been featured on the websites of the charities Impossible 2 Possible and WaterCan, in fundraising efforts for

OXFAM Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs), focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. It began as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief ...

and UNICEF, and on

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. In a Brad Pitt filmography, film career spanning more than thirty years, Pitt has received list of awards and nominations received by Brad Pitt, numerous a ...

's MySpace page. 2013 WHY released the album "The Leap". 2019 the band released the album "Despite All Of The Darkness" (title taken from Bishop Desmond Tutu quote) 2022 "Calloused Heart" single released. 2023 "Soul Declares" single released. 2024 "Soul Declares (single mixes) EP released and received 225,000 plus streams on Spotify. WHY headlined Kleefeld Honey Festival summer of 2023. The band headlined The Winnipeg FRINGE FESTIVAL (Main Stage) for 2 nights the summer of 2024.

Band members

Current members

*Brian Cook (lead vocals) *Jeremy Dell (guitar) *Dave Bergmuller (drums) *Mandy Peters (bass)

Discography

Albums

*"Despite All Of The Darkness" (2019) *''The Leap'' (2013) *''Red'' (2007) *''Lazarus Effect'' (2005) *''The Rise And Fall of the Question Mark'' (2001)

EPs

*"Soul Declares (Single Mixes)" *''Suddenly Bang'' (1998)

Singles

*"Soul Declares (Radio Edit)" (2024) *"Soul Declares (WATERMARK Energy Drink Remix)" (2024) *"Soul Declares" (2023) *"Calloused Heart (Radio Edit)" (2022) *"Slivers" (2021) *"Calloused Heart" (2021) *"The Prophet" (2019) *"God Particle" (2018) *"Can't Stand Your Kids" (2018) *"The Comeback" (2018) *"Repair The Breach" (2017) *"Joy Is Louder" (2016) *"I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day" (2015) *"Can't Everyday Be Like Christmas" (2010) *"Prisoner of Hope" (2010) *"Happy on Purpose" (2010) *"Can't Everyday Be Like Christmas?" (2006) *" I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" (2005)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Why 1995 establishments in Manitoba Canadian rock music groups Musical groups established in 1995 Musical groups from Winnipeg