Timber Wins Grand Prize at National Songwriting Competition

Newfoundland's fastest rising rock group, TIMBER, took home the Grand Prize at the 9th Annual National Songwriting Competition held at Canadian Music Week in Toronto on March 3, 2002 and Sponsored by STANDARD Radio. The name of the winning song was Parade, a tune penned by the entire band Billy Hickey, Greg Mercer, Chris Sooley and Rick Hollett.
The contest attracts thousands of entries each year from songwriters across the country. From these applicants, ten winners are chosen; one from each province spanning from British Columbia to Newfoundland. The premise for the contest is to recognize new talent in Canadian songwriting. Any self-published or non-published songwriter residing in Canada is eligible to enter. Radio stations from across Canada oversaw regional participation.
Back in December, St. John's radio station Magic 97 chose Timber as the regional winner to send to Toronto for the national competition.  Once in Toronto, Timber attended early morning sessions and reviews of all the competitors.  
"I thought we had a good chance at placing, but to actually win is amazing," says lead vocalist Billy Hickey. "I cannot believe it.  This money will certainly come in handy when when we put the finishing touches on our new album."
The grand prize consists of a cheque for $10,000.00, production of the song with Gordie Johnson of Big Sugar, 30 hours mixing and mastering from Metalworks Studios (Canada's #1 Recording Studio), promotional release by Universal Music Canada and a tour of the Gibson Guitar Factory in Nashville, TN accompanied by Gordie Johnson of Big Sugar.
Timber has had much success in the past three years.  The band has had three songs on US television shows and has played with other great Canadian acts such as Tom Cochrane, Great Big Sea, Nelly Furtado and Sloan, to name a few.
Timber is now in pre-production for a new album which is anticipated to be released in the summer of 2002.  

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