It is rather fitting that a BC rock act from Kelowna called Sleddogs received its tag from Winnipeg, Manitoba, the early music roots and the former home of founder Kenny Byrka. (vocals, bass, keyboards). What seems more ironic though is that the current trio was assembled in Kelowna in December of 2004 half way across the Canadian highway of the Great White North, far from prairie whiteouts, frozen fields and blistering wind-chills. What began as a solo album for Kenny quickly evolved into the current sleddogs concept having the BC connection Michael Donley (guitar, backing vocals) already stamped all over the project. “It just seemed to make sense to take the songs into the next dimension as a unit, the chemistry was instantly workable and the vibes were all good… we just needed a drummer and preferably another Manitoban … !” Winnipeg native Eric Funk (percussion and backing vocals) joins the pack in an underground apple cellar turned rehearsal space carved into the south slopes of Kelowna … On January 27, 2005 @ the RCA in Kelowna in front of a sell out crowd of 250 the electrifying journey begins. In just their first year together, B.C. band Sleddogs have made a real mark on the Canadian rock landscape. Their stunningly accomplished debut album, Great Escape, has labelled them as serious contenders, and its first single, Bye Bye Life, was a multi-format radio hit, cracking the Hot AC Top 70.The debut video also received out of the box adds from both MuchMoreMusic and MusiMax. The band raced across Canada in 2005 playing a total of 152 shows overwhelming music fans at every stop with their captivating performances. The follow up single Perfect Place surpassed expectations by charting in the Hot AC Top 40 and cracking the MediaBase ROCK Top 100. The Perfect Place video was added to medium rotation on MuchMoreMusic, as well as garnering a feature interview on The Loop Weekend in which they were “…touted as Canada’s next Tragically Hip.” The band followed up the success of Perfect Place with another cross Canada tour, concentrating on Eastern Canadian shows as a result of the success of the single. On CHOM97 in Montreal, Perfect Place received the third highest number of spins next to Cold Play, creating a major buzz amongst industry and fans alike. Vernon, BC played host to the 4th Annual Okanagan Music Awards 2006, where the Sleddogs , who were nominated for six awards including: Album of the Year – Great Escape, Group of the Year, Male Artist of the Year – Kenny Byrka, Rock/Pop Artist or Group of the Year, Song of the Year – Happy Face, and Songwriter of the Year – Kenny Byrka, had the honour of taking home the hardware for Group of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, and Rock/Pop Artist or Group of the Year. They also received the opening performance spot for the internationally successful Wide Mouth Mason. Other success stories this year include DigiFest 2006, where the Sleddogs’ video Perfect Place was accepted into the international video festival that took place in Florence, Italy. The Sleddogs’ music was also selected to be used on the Rock n Cookin’ Kitchen show. Rock n Cookin' Kitchen is a cooking, entertainment show dedicated to providing unlimited exposure opportunities to talented indie bands / artists of all genres. M & M Performance in Kelowna, BC welcomed Biker TV and the Sleddogs, who were asked to perform. This performance was taped by Biker TV. Watch for their live appearance which will be airing soon. If that isn’t enough, the Sleddogs were also selected to play at Indie Week Toronto 2006. With over 350 acts that applied to perform at Indie Week 2006, the Sleddogs were selected as one of 50 other bands from around the world. <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Sleddogs">Read more on Last.fm</a>. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.