Jordon Zadorozny's tale begins in 1994 when Jordon Zadorozny, fresh from his ancestral wilds of Ontario, packed up and moved to Montreal in search of his first big city music experiences. He answered the call from local darlings Tinker, who were searching for a guitar player. J



ordon joined the group and was a perfect spoke in the Tinker wheel, adding a sonic guitar splash that the Montreal music scene had not seen on the Main since Apollo 5 was carted through the streets at the St. Patrick’s Day parade in 1977. Tinker was enjoying a charmed run when bassist Melissa Auf der Maur packed her bags for Seattle, joining forces with Courtney Love’s Hole. Tinker was left to fend for itself.



Undaunted, and all the while recording his own material, Jordon left Tinker to form his own band in his own vision. Blinker the Star, meaning “blinking star” in Gaelic, Icelandic and Jive, released their eponymous debut album through Vibracobra/Treat and Release Records in 1995. The album, a mixture of fun and loud, was mostly self-recorded in Jordon’s basement in the cozy confines of his hometown of Pembroke, Ontario. The album was critically acclaimed from New York to New Delhi and with that, Blinker the Star embarked on its first North American tour.



While in Los Angeles, Jordon met Ken Andrews, producer, guitarist, and vocalist for L.A. space-grungers Failure. An easy friendship and affinity for all things studio was struck. Schedules cleared, Blinker the Star began recording its second LP with Andrews at the helm.



A Bourgeois Kitten, a more detailed but no less howling effort than its predecessor, soon caught the attention of fans and musicians alike. One such fan was Hole’s Courtney Love, who caught the band in New York in the summer of 1996. Courtney dug the Blinkers thoroughly and asked Jordon to come to L.A. to co-write material for Hole’s upcoming album. Jordon giddily obliged and, enjoying Los Angeles more and more, made the move to Southern California in the summer of 1997. Soon after, Jordon and Ken were back in the studio working on the follow up to A Bourgeois Kitten. August Everywhere, Blinker the Star’s third album and first for the Dreamworks label would mark a shift in musical direction for the band. Turning his back on the day’s major label grunge-lite culture (and on his guitar, largely), Jordon set about to record an album of lush orchestral beauty. Featuring the talents of Medicine’s Brad Laner, Vinnie Colaiuta (Frank Zappa), John Parish (P.J. Harvey) and string arranger David Campbell, August Everywhere drew wild critical appraisal, an even more diversified fan base and quite possibly, a new dance move or two.



Full of vim and vigour and rolling with anticipation, Jordon returned to Canada and Pembroke to begin demos for a fourth Blinker LP. Jordon had by this time begun to develop a love for the finer points of studio craft and production, and focused his energies likewise. While in Pembroke, Jordon recorded demos for many of his friends and acquaintances. One friend was Sam Roberts, an affable Montrealer with a duffle bag full of tunes in one hand and a hockey stick in the other. The results produced The Inhuman Condition, produced by Jordon and released in the summer of 2002. The EP saw Gold status in Canada and provided employment for Jordon’s brother Corey as drummer in the Sam Roberts band. But Jordon had his own album to think about. Hunkering down in Pembroke once again, he started recording more demos for Dreamworks.



And recorded, and recorded. After delivering over 80 songs for the label, an impasse was met, with no green light coming from Dreamworks to begin work on a new album. Throwing his hands into the air, Jordon asked if he and Dreamworks could just be friends. They amicably parted ways.



Sensing that the time had come to consolidate his studio resources, Jordon built French Kiss Recording Studios in November 2001. Tiny Pembroke’s doors were now open to a parade of rockers including Paul d’Amour (Tool, Lusk), Melissa Auf der Maur, Hotel, Tara Slone (Joydrop), and The Social Register among others. The locals looked on.



As satisfying as producing had become, something was missing. While smoking some medicinal “healing tobacco” (he won it at a local fair), Jordon threw on a recently re-mastered CD of Led Zeppelin’s fourth album. Hearing new things in Led Zep’s masterpiece, Jordon had an epiphany of sorts. A refocussed drive to produce uncompromised, relentless, God-like rock music was born and a new vision formed. Work on Blinker the Star’s new LP would begin January 2002.



Work continued in Los Angeles through the summer with Jordon recruiting the talents of Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham and Jellyfish chanteuse and skin-basher Andy Sturmer. Back in Canada, recording continued until the spring of 2003. Album completed but not yet released, Blinker the Star embarked on a mini tour of Eastern Canada, playing their first shows in 3 years. Drummer Tony Rabalao, guitarist Paul Leach, and stalwart bassist Pete Frolander competed the new Blinker lineup.



Still In Rome, Blinker the Star’s fourth album, will be released in the fall on 2003 through MapleNationwide. A dark, edgy, yet joyfully ecstatic rock record, the LP represents a rejuvenated Jordon with a renewed ideal: to give rock fans the music they crave and deserve, music that encapsulates the untamed stubbornness of the best 1970s rock with a forward thinking attitude towards process and presentation. With a live band cocked and loaded, Jordon’s plans for Blinker the Star are to see the band release albums in much quicker succession than in the past, easier now that the band has its own studio. Live shows are planned and more music is being recorded already. Still In Rome, 2003.



Jordon Zadorozny drummed on Melissa auf der Maur's debut album which was released in February 2004.