William David Foster

Love Songs, the highly anticipated new album from William David Foster, has just released ! The collection uses his wife as muse and explores themes of love and family. Also featured are some remixes from his acclaimed debut album Family Pictures. Love Songs promises to be Foster's most personal work yet.

Born in 1959 in the unique reality and the evolving "Révolution tranquille", his English-speaking parents (who met during WWII) moved from Verdun to Mont St-Hilaire after a picnic outing to the mountain in the early 40's. They fell so much in love with the mountain and river that they moved soon after. One of the first English families in the region, they brought up seven kids who grew within a predominantly French-based culture of farmers and small businessmen. William was as heavily influenced by this in his musical works, trickling from his ear to his heart and soul.

I grew up playing in the woods, the orchards and the mountain trails... the people of the region... and playing the music of the day. These were my compass.

Will found music at an early age. Guitar, piano, French horn, he will even join the high school symphony.

From the Seventies to the Nineties, he surfaces and helps create many local bands among which "Balance", "Nobody Knows", "The Shoar" and "Harmony Thirst" are stand outs.

Balance was born out of the music Renaissance Of the 60s and 70s. Thirteen year old William and his neighbour Pierre Farkas began sharing their love of The Beatles, Dylan, Pink Floyd and the Stones... Charlebois, Vignault, Beau Dommage and Harmonium by huddling together where they could to try and write their own songs together and encourage each other's solo efforts... trusting each other to listen and share thoughts... test them and grow!

As the Duo improved, so did the needs of the vision. Jean Marc Hebert and Normand Lanthier were invited into the fold for their versatility as musicians while adding guitars, flute, mandolin, bass and voices as well as their enthusiasm for writing and arranging original material to the existing vision. The following year Pierre Brisebois was invited in to complete the band on drums.

In three years The Band developed a strong fan base and youth following that began to show up at their concerts everywhere. Balance's claim of fame was that their shows were comprised of original material only without being signed to a record label and little marketing help, yet their shows were regularly sold out.

Stand out events include a string of shows at the coveted "La Point au Café" in St-Jean sur Richelieu, "Le Show d'Oxfam" with Robert Paquette and Le Groupe Hazard as well as their crown jewel "le Show d'Octobre" at the Centre Culturel de Beloeil. Without initially realizing it, all members were born within days of each other in the same month of October 1959 thus the name of the Band became Balance, the French name for Lybra.

Analogue Tape transfers to digital form are being worked on and will be available on this site in the coming months.

The Shoar became by accident and then by design a kind of Super Talent Band of the South Shoar of Montreal. With the break up of William then Band Roots and the shuffling of other top players and singers from the South Shore of Montreal, a Rock Band took shape with William as songwriter on Keyboards and back vocals, Dean Newman as songwriter on bass and back vocals, Doug Mowbray as songwriter, acoustic guitar and lead vocals, Ted Doyle, Louis Lemieux and eventually Don Pinkerton on drums with last but not least Larry Adams songwriter and seasoned electric lead guitar.

Many Top Rock Songs were adopted and became part of The Shoar Live Shows. Each of these songs got their unique Shoar treatment and were seeded amongst The Shoar Originals that were also played at all shows. Although The Shoar played Montreal, West Island and the Eastern Townships, Scotys Bar on the South Shore of Montreal became a frequent stage and home base. Over three years the Band interpreted songs from Steely Dan, The Beatles, The Stones, James Taylor, Tom Petty, Jethro Tull and many more (hear clips provided). They also coveted many originals, some recorded at La Salle D'Urgence by Pierre de LaSalle (hear clips provided).

Family Pictures , his "best of CD" of original songs, was released in 2007 to much local acclaim. It celebrates 35 years of song writing made new through the collaboration of William David Foster and Pierre De Lasalle. Persuaded that a dozen of William's many songs fly anew, producer and friend Pierre De Lasalle helped Will develop a process that became like choosing old pictures from a box, dusting them off and putting a new frame around each one.

We all have our favourite family pictures somewhere...hidden away... or on a mantle or fridge door. The trick is to revisit and breathe life back into these memories and keep them alive in today's world. We hope you like the trip.

Harmony Thirst was formed by the remaining "The Shoar" band members (Dean Newman, Larry Adams, and Will Foster) to record original compositions by Dean Newman and new singer Carolyn Coventry. They, along with a newly added drummer Mike Alati, collaborated to create their own distinct sound that is rooted in Rock, Blues, and a hint of Jazz styles. Foster unique brand of piano and keyboard work appears on the songs througout the album "Harmony Thirst" released in 2010 that invite the listeners on a harmony-filled journey of different moods and emotions of life's ups & downs.

OPUS Mont St-Hilaire - Mountain Glory, River, Train is a love story between man and his environment... the condition of spirit and heart... the eternal search for love and ultimate completion. The project tells the story of William David Foster growing up in this region. We believe it speaks volumes to his life today and will entice many to open their ears and choose a mountain path.

Mont St-Hilaire is alive with sounds generated by an ancient mountain, a snake-like river pivotal to the emergence of the region, and North America for that matter, as well as the train line that helped develop, industrialize and connect the region to its neighbours. These sounds were formative to me as a native and, ultimately, as an artist and musician...

I strongly believe that what I am as a person and musician comes from the heartfelt learning instilled in me through my years growing up in Mont St-Hilaire. This project came to me as a calling.

Press article: A love rock album for William David Foster

Press article: Ode to Mont-Saint-Hilaire

Gala Québec Cinéma Nomination: "Documentary Short" -Michel Brault Space directed by Sylvain Brault (Music by William David Foster)

Get in touch with William to discuss media inquiries and partnership opportunities.