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–> Toronto’s Cats Can Fly were originally formed in 1982, your typical bar band covering whatever was hot on the pop and new wave charts at the time. The group consisted of David Ashley on lead vocals and bass, Mitchell James on guitars, drummer Eddie Zeeman and Peter Alexandre on keyboards. Few have tackled the …
Guy Lombardo memorial Born in London, Ont. in 1902, Gaetano Alberto Lombardo grew up in a musical household, and along with his brothers Carmen, Lebert, and Victor, learned to play instruments at an early age so they could accompany their father Gaetano Sr. in his band. They all were proficient at several instruments, and Guy’s …
Denny Doherty memorial Originally called The Colonials, The Halifax Three centred around highschool friends and guitarists Denny Doherty and Richard Byrne and drummer Pat LaCroix. By 1962 they’d established themselves as one of the most proficient and musically talented folk trios on the east coast, spinning traditional tunes with a Maritime flavour. They scored a …
Hammersmith was the direct descendent of Painter, a Calgary-based hard rock band that had relocated to Seattle and produced one album in ’74. Once Painter had played its last note in ’74, Doran Beattie on lead vocals, guitarist Dan Lowe, Royden Morice on bass and keyboards and drummer Herb Ego moved back to Calgary and …
Not to be confused with the electronic or the hip hop groups with the same name later, the roots of Toronto’s Hanover Fist reach back to 1982, when singer Frank Zirone’s band, Zero One, fell apart after one tour. “One of the reasons for the band’s failure to thrive was that we were just too …
Possibly the only band to name themselves after a Bugs Bunny episode, the story of Harem Scarem began in 1988 when Oshawa, Ont natives Harry Hess and Darren Smith left their previous band Blind Vengeance and moved to Toronto. Hair metal was the rage, and with Hess on vocals and Smith on drums, they teamed …
Harlequin’s roots began as a Winnipeg circuit band in early 1978. The band consisted of singer George Belanger, guitarist Glen Willows, Gary Golden on keyboards, drummer David Budzak and Ralph James on bass. Within a year they were doing regular gigs across mid and eastern Canada and were signed to Epic Records in 1979. Their …
Born in Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, Harold MacIntyre grew up with music in his household, and even as a young boy, was known around Cape Breton as a talented lad that loved to invorporate his Maritimes roots into country music. He moved to Toronto in 1967 in his early 20s, where he earned his stripes …
Born in 1975 in Huntsville, Ontario, Ryan Corrigan moved to Toronto to pursue music full time. He started using the name Hawksley Workman, and busked on the streets in between gigs around town. His inability to land a major record deal early on was coupled with the fact he preferred doing things his own way. …
Although she received the Order of Canada for her social activism in 2005, Heather Bishop’s music career began by taking piano lessons as a child, and later picking up the guitar and taking vocal lessons. The Regina native earned a BA in Music in 1969, and had also formed the all-girl dance group, Walpurgis Night. …