Emerson Drive

Emerson Drive
Emerson Drive, 2010
Background information
Also known as	12 Gauge
Origin	Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
Genres	Country
Years active	1995–present
Labels	12 Gauge DreamWorks Nashville Midas/Valory Open Road Amdian Music Co. Nine North QuarterBack The Talent Associates Big Star Recordings
Website	www.emersondrive.com
Members	Brad Mates Danick Dupelle Mike Melancon Dale Wallace
Past members	Pat Allingham Chris Hartman Jeff Loberg Dan Binns David Switzer Remi Barre Derrick Kuzemchuk Dan Bauman Patrick Bourque David Pichette

Emerson Drive is a Canadian country music band consisting of Brad Mates (lead vocals), Danick Dupelle (guitars and backing vocals), Mike Melancon (drums), and Dale Wallace (keyboards and backing vocals).

Early on, the band found minor success in Canada, releasing two albums under the name of 12 Gauge. The first album, Open Season, was a product of winning a local "Battle of the Bands" contest. They then charted two singles on the Canadian country charts and a music video on CMT. By 1999, they changed the name to Emerson Drive, and moved to Nashville, Tennessee to find a major label record deal. Emerson Drive recorded two albums on the DreamWorks Records label, and charted several hits on both the U.S. and Canadian country music charts. After DreamWorks' collapse in 2005, Emerson Drive signed to Midas Records Nashville, where they resumed their streak of hit singles, including their first Number One single in "Moments". In summer 2008, Midas Records closed their country division. Emerson Drive then signed with The Valory Music Co. and the CD which Emerson Drive had been working on, Believe, became a co-partnership with Midas Records, who kept ownership of the CD while The Valory Music Co. was in charge of promotion and distribution of Emerson Drive and Believe.

Emerson Drive was formed under the name of 12 Gauge in February 1995 when Brad Mates entered a talent contest at his local high school in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Through the contest, Mates met fiddler Pat Allingham and keyboardist Chris Hartman. Mates, Hartman, and Allingham decided to form a band with guitarists Dan Binns and David Switzer, bass guitarist Jeff Loberg, and drummer Remi Barre. The band started practicing in Mates' basement and entering singing contests. In 1996, the group entered a local "Battle of the Bands" contest and won the opportunity to write and record an EP titled Open Season.