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After Orphan ran its course in the mid 1980s, following a transformation from The Pumps, Winnipeg native Chris Burke-Gaffney tried a couple of other projects to end the decade, then hooked up with former Pumps drummer Terry Norman Taylor to form Dead Beat Honeymooners. While writing some material, they auditioned some players and rounded out …
From the dusty trails of southern Saskatchewan come one of the sleekest machines you’ll have heard in awhile – full-throttle but ready to shift gears on the drop of a cowboy hat. With driving, infectious hillbilly jive catching on first around their hometown of Regina, before long in the early ’00s The Dead South was …
Originally formed in Vancouver in the late 90’s, the band started out when singer Dallas Smith and guitarist Jeremy Hora teamed up with Dave Benedict on bass and drummer Danny Craig. They burst through the glass ceiling practically overnight after Nickelback‘s frontman Chad Kroeger ‘discovered’ them while playing in a Vancouver bar. Their debut disc …
The DeFranco Family was Canada’s answer to The Osmonds, The Cowsills, and The Jackson 5. They were as synonymous with pop culture history as the 3 S’s (slinky, spirograph, and silly putty). If you had a lite brite, someone in your family probably had a DeFranco pin-up poster, customized bell bottoms, and their records. They …
Montreal natives Gerard van Herk (vocals/guitar) and Tony Dewald (drums) met at a party in the beginning of the ’80s, and formed Deja Voodoo. Their entertainment tastes were similar, and soon they were mixing horror theatrics with a mix of stripped down rockabilly and country. In fact, van Herk played only four strings, and Dewald’s …
Ironic to most is how vibrant the music scene was in Winnipeg in the 1960s. Garage bands sprung up on every street, some achieving nominal success, yet more than most. A select few would become the roots of some of Canada’s most endearing groups. This was the case with The Deverons, not to be confused …
Dewey Martin memorial Courtesy of Nick Warburton Born Walter Milton Dwayne Midkiff in Chesterville, Ontario on Sept 30, 1940, Dewey Martin’s post-Buffalo Springfield career has never received the attention bestowed to his fellow cohorts Steven Stills, Neil Young and Richie Furay. Like his erstwhile colleague, bass player Bruce Palmer, Martin struggled to maintain a profile …
In 1953, Dave Somerville was working as a sound engineer for the CBC in Toronto, when he noticed four men practicing in the hallway practising for “Pick The Stars”, a local talent show. After exchanging pleasantries, he offered to be their manager. This group was composed of Stan Fisher, Ted Kowalski, Phil Levitt, and Bill …
Canada’s first lady of smooth jazz, Diana Jean Krall was born in Nanaimo, BC in 1964. She grew up with her father playing the piano and her mother singing in local choirs, and she was tinkling the ivories herself by age 4, and singing and playing in restaurants by 15. She earned a scholarship and …
Dianne Brooks memorial Originally from New Jersey, Gwendolyn Dianne Brooks was part of the church choir at the age of three, and grew up performing at various talent shows. As a teen in the mid ’50s, she joined The Three Playmates, who released four singles on the Savoy label and enjoyed a minor hit “Sugah …