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Formed in Toronto in ’77 at the peak of the punk revolution, The Poles were founded by vocalist Michaele Jordana, Douglas Pringle (ex of Syrinx) on keyboards. The band’s name stems from an Arctic Pole trip the two had just returned from, and the original lineup was rounded out by Michael McLuhan on bass, and …
It’s ironic that the group that epitomized Canada’s flowers and beads scene almost didn’t happen, as it was always expected Terry Jacks would follow in his family’s footsteps and get into some form of construction or architecture field. But while studying at UBC, he sidelined part-time with The Chessmen, who laid claim to a string …
Possibly the most influential Canadian pop-blues act, but undeniably the most commercially successful, is Vancouver’s Powder Blues. Formed in 1978 when guitarist Tom Lavin left Prism (after having spent time in Denise McCann‘s band, the group was a virtual who’s who of the Canadian blues & rock fusion. The original group’s core was rounded out …
Throughout the 1970s, Dan Lowe had established himself as one of the Canada’s most well travelled musicians, having served as guitarist and main inspiration for one single with The Shades of Blonde and one album and a string of singles with 49th Parallel during the ’60s. He formed Painter, which produced one album, and then …
Formed in Vancouver, Ptarmigan’s roots date back to late 1970 when singer Glen Dias was introduced to guitarist James Lithgow by mutual friend Michael Bieling one night after one of his shows. Dias and Lithgow began writing songs and decided to round out a performing band with Bieling on board on congas, then soon added …
Formed in Toronto in 1980 by Montreal-born singer Graeme Williamson, and guitarists Neil Chapman and Tony Duggan-Smith, The Pukka Orchestra took their name from a Hindu term meaning “first rate” or “genuine,” after Duggan-Smith’s mother complained he wasn’t pursuing a ‘real’ musical career. For the next year and a half they made themselves a permanent …
Taking their name from a random pick in a Winnipeg phone book, The Pumps formed in early 1978 and centred around friends Chris Burke-Gaffney on vocals and bass, lead guitarist Lou Petrovich, and drummer Terry Norman Taylor. Within a few months, Brent Diamond joined on keyboards. The four of them, sans Petrovich, actually had roots …
St. Albert, Alberta native Moe Berg learned guitar at an early age, emulating some of his idols regardless of style, such as Beck, Van Halen, Hendrix and Winter. He was still in his teens while going through his first bands – Modern Minds (whose only record finally saw the light of day in 2009 as …
The core of Queen City Kids began even before the boys were in high school, emerging from Regina in the early 1970s by schoolfriends Alex Chuaqui on vocals and guitars, Jeffrey Germain on drums, and John Donnelly on bass. All of them were enrolled in music lessons at early ages, albeit sometimes following less than …
One of Canada’s most prolific entries in the Christian rock scene, Quickflight began in the late ’70s around Kelowna natives keyboardist Ric deGroot and guitarists Pete Cordalis and Mike King, Doug Giesbrecht on bass, and drummer Gary Hendricks. They played the BC interior and graduated to the Vancouver scene while writing some material, when Bob …