Luck Media & Marketing, INC.

STEP ASIDE, ALL PRETENDERS! CANADIAN INDIE ROCKERS ALTERED STATE —WITH POWERHOUSE VOCALIST LORNA DOWELL, GUITARIST BIMAN BHARADWAJ AND THE ROCK PURIST, KICK ASS RYTHYM SECTION OF JIM DOYLE ON BASS AND DEAN WALSH ON DRUMS —SAY IT'S TIME TO ‘GET REAL'
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Early Versions of Tracks from The Cheeky, Energetic Band's Debut— Which Includes Three Tracks Helmed By Veteran Rock Producer Stoker (Sting, ZZ Top)— Scored Airplay Everywhere From Their Native Saskatchewan Throughout The U.S.; New Active Rock/College Radio Campaign Will Be Underway Beginning In January 2007 AND The First Single “Only Women Bleed” Set For Promotion To Top 40/CHR Stations
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“I Need A Vacation,” Which Received An Award >From The 13th Annual Billboard World Songwriting Contest, And “Let Me In” Were Heard In The Tim Daly TV Movie 'Bereft'

Tired of puffed up indie bands who promise original and edgy sounds but who only deliver artificial hype and overcooked fluff? Then it's time to Get Real with Altered State , the cheeky foursome from Saskatchewan whose catchy hooks and rock-purist, kick-ass beats have been all the rage on radio everywhere from their home country all across the Americas—all in advance of the official Feb. 6 release of Get Real , which will be distributed in the U.S. by Morada Music.

Not since Chrissie Hynde fondled the brass in her pocket has a three guy group with a fiery and charismatic female lead singer (Lorna Dowell, unafraid to declare that “I Need A Vacation” while exposing her “Skeletons In The Closet”) kicked up this much punky pop/rock dust.

The band's official radio promotion campaign will kick into high gear, with the single “Get Real” going out to Active Rock and the entire eleven track album hitting College Stations throughout the U.S. and Canada beginning in January 2007. The single “Only Women Bleed,” a raw, power ballad take that does Alice Cooper proud, is heading out to CHR/HOT AC outlets. Dick Wagner, co-writer of the song, says, “I love the Altered State version of ‘Only Women Bleed'. It's unique among the many covers of this song that have been recorded over the years. Being a rock and roller, I really enjoy this rock interpretation of the song.”

In an extraordinarily inventive promotional move, Altered State—who released a self-titled “feeler” album in 2004—sent out early versions of many of the tracks to radio stations across North America long before they had a finished, professionally produced project. Songs like “Consuming Me,” “Anticipation,” “War” and “I Want It Now” received spins at over 75 stations from Champaign, Illinois to Amarillo, Texas and Eureka, California. Altered State is also crossing mediums. A publisher who loved the crunchy guitars and cool harmonies of “Let Me In” placed the song in the Tim Daly TV movie Bereft .

This buzz, backed up by the strong material and a powerful live show that has energized crowds at regional events (Taste of Saskatchewan, Flatland Music Festival) and beyond, caught the attention of Stoker, former drummer with Dexy's Midnight Runners whose production credits include Sting and ZZ Top. Stoker flew to Altered State's hometown of Saskatoon and liked the raw tracks he heard.

He produced “Get Real,” “I Need A Vacation” and “Only Women Bleed,” and mixed and contributed additional production to the other eight tracks. The project was mastered by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering Studio in Los Angeles.

“The songs on Get Real are a lot more polished and cohesive than the somewhat naïve material we recorded for only $2500 on our first album,” says Bharadwaj. “It's along the same vein stylistically, same drive, same width, just not all over the place. Growing together as a band is a definite learning process, but what's always been clear to us is that it should be all about the music. A lot of groups want to impress you with their image and attitude, the tattoos and earrings and things, but we're into real songs about real life, love and frustration. For me personally, I record music so that I can play it live. There's such a great buzz for us when we have a good sound guy, everything comes across just right, and the audience gets right into it.”

Dowell, who cites her chief rock influences as Alice Cooper and AC/DC, adds, “Maybe it's the times we are living in, but when I listen to people who like our music, I find that they're really excited about hearing something that sounds happier. So on Get Real, we've managed to create a light, upbeat vibe while still getting our point across. The title track conveys a lot of what we're about. People feel they're getting scammed all the time and long for honesty and integrity. Why do we have to be politically correct to the point of being politically incorrect? While the lyrics have a tinge of anger, the reality is that nobody wants to listen when you're angry. So we say what we say but without bringing the listener down. We just want them to think, and make sure they have a good time in the process.”

Each member of Altered State is originally from a different region in Canada—Bharadwaj from Toronto, Doyle from Thunder Bay, Dowell from Quebec, and Walsh, the drummer from Saskatchewan. “I think our different life experiences play into what each of us brings to the band,” Bharadwaj says, “but our personalities are all along the same wavelength and we basically all love playing and writing music, performing live and hanging out together afterwards. Dowell adds, “I think the reason the chemistry is successful is that we all have similar goals, but don't butt into each other's personal lives any more than necessary!”

Considering the incredible impact Dowell's vocals have had in forging the band's distinctive sound and live performance energy, it's funny to think that Altered State's founders Bharadwaj and Doyle were initially resistant to the notion of having a “chick singer.” The two started jamming with another drummer while attending the University of Saskatchewan (Bharadwaj was a chemical engineering major), then got more serious about music when they graduated and decided to make an album.

“We'd hear Lorna tearing it up at open jams in some of the local clubs, and always loved her voice, but just didn't think about her as part of our original concept of Altered State,” Bharadwaj says. “Both Jim and I tried singing lead and we eventually realized it wasn't working. We felt that in order to stand out, we needed a special instrument and even put an ad in the local music shops to look for a lead singer. Then one day, we just asked Lorna if she wanted to join, and thankfully, she said yes.”

She adds, “I really never perceived myself as having a career in music, but I'm a person who likes to try everything, and the challenge of being a lead singer was really exciting to me. I've always been drawn to harder rock because I liked movement, and I really felt at home onstage. When I'm up there, I move around a lot to get out my stress and I also have to be aware of Biman, because he's usually bouncing around on stage playing guitar. I want to do everything but think about depressing things around me. We started out in local clubs doing covers, then started writing original material. It's been great playing for Canadian audiences, but we can't wait to get out there and play for people who don't know us yet and see what they think.”