William Joel MacDonald Plaskett (born April 18, 1975) is a Canadian rock musician and songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was a member of Halifax alternative rock band Thrush Hermit in the 1990s. Plaskett performs in a number of genres, from Americana and folk to hard rock, roots, and pop.
Plaskett's songwriting frequently contains allusions to his home city, Halifax. With his band The Emergency, he has toured throughout North America and Europe with The Tragically Hip, Sloan, Bill Plaskett (his father), and Kathleen Edwards.
Early life Plaskett grew up in Lunenburg, a small town on Nova Scotia's South Shore. His father, Bill Plaskett, is also a musician, and was a cofounder of the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival."Joel Plaskett's new album is a veritable kitchen party". The Globe and Mail, March 13, 2015. Plaskett learned to play guitar and write songs while listening to an eclectic range of music, from singer-songwriters such as Joni Mitchell and Neil Young to rockers such as the Sex Pistols and the Pixies.
Plaskett's family moved to Halifax when he was twelve; by the next year, he had formed his first band with friends Rob Benvie and Ian McGettigan. Initially, they called themselves Nabisco Fonzie. By 1992, they were a foursome called Thrush Hermit, with Michael Catano on drums.
Career Thrush Hermit Plaskett was the lead singer and guitarist for the Halifax-based band Thrush Hermit. Catano was replaced by drummer Cliff Gibb in 1994, the same year the band was signed to Murderecords. After two EPs, the group went on to release its full-length debut on Elektra in 1997–Sweet Homewrecker, which was recorded in Memphis with producer Doug Easley. The album did not do well commercially, and they were dropped by their label. The band would record one more album, Clayton Park, for Sonic Unyon Records, before quitting in 1999.
Neuseiland Neuseiland was formed in 1998 out of the remains of many other Halifax, Nova Scotia bands (including The Super Friendz, Coyote, the Euphonic, and Thrush Hermit). Taking the name of the band from a Dutch children's book by Annie Schmidt called The Island of Nose, the band consisted of Plaskett on drums, Charles Austin and Drew Yamada on guitar, Andrew Glencross on keyboard and Tim Stewart on bass. They cited King Tubby, Kraftwerk, Pink Floyd, Ray's Chicken Pita and Willie Nelson as influences. The goal of the band was to mix conventional song structure with experimentation inspired by krautrock, stoogian protoplasm and the subtractive mixing techniques of "version" reggae. The band released one album, the self-titled Neuseiland, recorded and released on March 4, 2000. The band released an extended play, The Disappearing E.P., on December 8, 2001. Sessions for a third release, titled Ai Yi Yi, were recorded in 2002, but never materialized in an official release until 2014. The band broke up after performing a farewell show on January 6, 2005.
In August 2014, the band released a digital-only compilation collection titled Rarae Aves, which included outtakes, CBC RadioSonic performances, and select demos from recording sessions dating back to 2002, on Bandcamp. Included in this collection were photographs and a near-complete video of their final show in 2005.
On August 3, 2017, the band's bassist Tim Stewart died.
Solo work and the Emergency While still performing with Thrush Hermit, Plaskett began writing material for his first solo album. He released In Need of Medical Attention shortly after the band's breakup. It was well received by critics, but not until the release of 2001's Down at the Khyber did Plaskett begin to enjoy more widespread acclaim. Khyber was a harder-rocking album that featured a new backing band, The Emergency, consisting of Plaskett, drummer Dave Marsh and bass player Tim Brennan. Together they called themselves Joel Plaskett Emergency. The album earned Plaskett a Juno Award nomination as best new artist.
The band's next album, Truthfully Truthfully, in 2003, was Plaskett's first all-out commercial success. It was produced with his old Thrush Hermit bandmate McGettigan and was the band's debut release for MapleMusic Recordings. The album featured the song "Come On, teacher," which became a hit in Canada. The album later received an East Coast Music Award as best rock recording.
Plaskett's follow-up album was a solo effort, called La De Da, on which he played most of the instruments himself (McGettigan, however, played bass). Plaskett consciously sought a different sound for La De Da than he did for his previous effort; he considered it a record more for himself than for commercial radio. It was recorded at Flying Blanket Recording in Mesa, Arizona with Bob Hoag. The album was released in 2005 and earned two East Coast Music Awards in 2006, as Male Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year, for the song "Happen Now." He was also nominated for a Juno Award for songwriter of the year that year and was named male artist of the year and songwriter of the year at the East Coast Music Awards.
In March 2006, Joel Plaskett Emergency released their first DVD, Make a Little Noise. It was produced by Gordie Johnson of Big Sugar and featured Ian McLagan on keyboards. It included an EP of three songs. The single "Nowhere with You" has received the most mainstream radio airplay of any Plaskett release to date, and was featured in a Zellers television commercial. Make a Little Noise had three wins at the 2007 East Coast Music Awards: DVD of the year, single of the year ("Nowhere with You"), and songwriter of the year (Joel Plaskett, for "Nowhere with You").
The band's next album was Ashtray Rock, released in April 2007. It was produced by Gordie Johnson and featured Ian McLagan on keyboards. A concept album about high school love and suffering Ashtray Rock was on the shortlist for the 2007 Polaris Music Prize, but lost to Patrick Watson's album Close to Paradise. The album's single "Fashionable People" was nominated for the 8th Annual Independent Music Awards for pop/rock song of the year.
During the week of December 10, 2007, Plaskett and the Emergency played six consecutive shows at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto as part of the music venue's 60th-anniversary celebrations. Each night, a different album was performed in its entirety, starting with In Need of Medical Attention on Monday and finishing with Ashtray Rock on Friday night and Saturday night.
Emergency was nominated for seven East Coast Music Awards in 2008, more than any other act. They won six of those awards, tied with the previous record.2008 East Coast Music Awards nominees "Plasket gets 6; local talent makes city proud". Daily Gleaner
Another solo album came next: the album Three, which was released on March 24, 2009. It consists of three discs each consisting of nine songs for a total of 27 songs. The first single from the album was "Through and Through and Through." The triple album was nominated for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize short list.Polaris Prize 2009 Longlist. Polarismusicprize.ca In the same week that the Polaris shortlist was announced, Paul McCartney announced that he had selected Plaskett and the band Wintersleep as the opening acts for his concert of July 11 at Halifax Common. Three won adult alternative album of the year at the 2010 Junos; Plaskett was also nominated for songwriter of the year. On the Three tour, Plaskett headlined Toronto's Massey Hall for the first time.
In May 2011, he became the first artist ever to reach one million plays on CBC Radio 3's online music streaming site,"Live on CBC Radio 3 w/ "Grant Lawrence: Trivia Tuesday... the Joel Plaskett Edition!" . CBC Radio 3, May 31, 2011. and released an exclusive acoustic version of "Nowhere with You" to the network for the occasion. In June, he released a B-sides and rarities compilation titled EMERGENCYs, false alarms, shipwrecks, castaways, fragile creatures, special features, demons and demonstrations.. chartattack.com, May 16, 2011.
The band returned for the 2012 Joel Plaskett Emergency album Scrappy Happiness, released in March."Joel Plaskett's Announces 'Scrappy Happiness' LP, Canadian Tour with Frank Turner". Exclaim!, January 6, 2012. The album followed a unique release strategy, in which Plaskett and his band recorded one song each week for ten weeks, releasing each song to iTunes for sale as a single as soon as its recording and production were completed, and then rereleased the songs as a complete album once the project was concluded.
His album The Park Avenue Sobriety Test was released in March 2015. He released the album Solidarity, a collaboration with his father Bill, in 2017.
A "spiritual successor" to his album Three, Plaskett released the quadruple album 44 on April 17, 2020, the last day he was 44 years old.White, Adam (March 22, 2020). Make A Sound'Some Party. Retrieved on 2020-04-25.O'Kane, Josh (April 21, 2020). The audacity, and necessity, of Joel Plaskett's pandemic quadruple-recordThe Globe and Mail. Retrieved on 2020-04-25. Plaskett recorded the 44-song collection across Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Memphis, Nashville and Toronto, having worked with 33 other musicians over four years.Thiessen, Brock (January 24, 2020). Joel Plaskett Unveils Quadruple Album '44'Exclaim!. Retrieved on 2020-04-25. Each of the four records in the album contains 11 songs, with their own title and theme. The first record (41: Carried Away) is centred around travelling, the second collection (42: Just Passing Through) turns to finding a homecoming unfamiliar, the third set (43: If There's Another Road) tackles transitioning from lost to found, and the last record (44: The Window Inn) deals with arriving at a personal destination.
Plaskett's eleventh album, One Real Reveal, was announced in May 2024, and released on September 13, 2024.
In April 2025, to mark Plaskett's 50th birthday, his management team revealed that it had commissioned Songs from the Gang, a tribute album featuring Canadian musicians recording covers of Plaskett's songs which was not revealed to Plaskett in advance of its release.Katie Kelly, "‘I’m finding it a bit emotional’: Joel Plaskett surprised with tribute album ahead of 50th birthday". CTV News, April 11, 2025. Artists featured on the album include Sloan, Jenn Grant, Two Hours Traffic, The Arkells, City and Colour, Bahamas, and Frank Turner.
Other collaborations In recent years, Plaskett has embarked upon a number of projects. He has acted as record producer for a variety of Canadian artists, including Steve Poltz, David Myles, Mo Kenney, Sarah Slean, and Meredith Shaw. As well, in 2004 he made his television debut as a rock coach on the CBC Television documentary series Rock Camp. In 2008, Plaskett and his father Bill were featured in an episode of the Bravo! television concert series The Berkeley Sessions.
Plaskett also appeared as a busker in the film One Week and was a guest anchor on the March 5, 2013 episode of This Hour Has 22 Minutes. A collaboration with CBC Kids in 2012 resulted in a music video for an alternate rendition of Plaskett's "Fashionable People", recast from the original song's satirical portrait of hipsters into a song about how fun it is to play dress-up. Fellow East Coast Canadian musician Classified (Luke Boyd) featured Plaskett on his single "One Track Mind" from his 2009 release, Self Explanatory.
In 2013, Plaskett opened New Scotland Yard (now Fang Recording) at 45 Portland Street; the location is also home to Morley's Coffee, Taz Records, and Friction Books.
Plaskett and Chris Murphy collaborated on the production of Prize for Writing, a posthumous album by singer-songwriter Matthew Grimson which was recorded in 1995 but was not commercially released until 2020.Brad Wheeler, "Joel Plaskett and Sloan singer-bassist Chris Murphy bring songs of late Halifax musician Matthew Grimson back to life". The Globe and Mail, August 5, 2020.
Discography Thrush Hermit 1994: Smart Bomb, EP