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Generally regarded as pioneers in Canadian industrial rock, Skinny Puppy centred around cEvin Key (real name Kevin Crompton) while he was still in Images In Vogue. Although originally intended to be little more than a side project that was different from the new wave/synth pop sound his current band was doing. Along with vocalist Nivek …
As the 1980s were drawing to a close, childhood friends singer Andy Maize and guitarist Josh Finlayson saw their duo act West Montrose, which had done the Toronto area bar circuit for a couple of years, was running its course. They’d both been in their own groups prior to that – Maize in Direktive 17 …
Skylark was Vancouver’s entry into Canada’s foray into the multi-vocalist, pop/soul era, and was filled with some of the west coast’s most seasoned musicians. They were formed in 1971 when vocalist BJ Cook (ex Soul Brothers, New Breed, Apaches) and her husband, piano/keyboardist David Foster, grew tired of the limitations of playing in Ronnie Hawkins‘ …
Toronto’s Slik Toxik formed from the ashes of Virgin Angel in the late ’80s. After toiling on the scene for a few years (which included a name change to Portrait), frontman Nick Walsh, guitarists Kevin Gale and Rob Bruce, Frank Currell on bass, and drummer Alex Munro decided to start fresh again. They changed their …
The Smalls were formed when Doug Bevans and Corb Lund got together while attending Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton. Bevans was enrolled in graphic design, while Lund was studying music. With both on guitars, the group soon evolved and by 1991 Lund moved over to bass, with fellow students Mike Caldwell on vocals and drummer …
Not to be confused with the Dutch band of the same name a few years later, Smyle was formed in the late ’60s by Burlington, Ontario friends Ron Denmans and Ray Durritt on guitars, bassist Peter Rihbany, and a drummer simply going by the name of Mel. They hooked up with manager Herb Lock, and …
Not to be confused with a group from Detroit around the same time, Southbound Freeway’s name stems from Highway 2 that connects Edmonton to Calgary (re-dubbed in the early ’00s as the QE2, after the British Queen paid her subjects a visit.) Formed in 1966, their roots stemmed from the remnants of several earlier groups …
John Mann memorial One of the West Coast’s most prolific folk/rock groups, Spirit of the West’s roots began in Vancouver in 1983 as a trio consisting of guitarist/singer John Mann, Geoffrey Kelly on guitar and flute, and James Knutson. Going by the name Eavesdropper, they scored some early gigs around the area for the likes …
Riding the crest of the Canadian new wave movement in the early 1980s, The Spoons came from Burlington, Ontario. The original group was formed in ’79 while they attended Aldershot High School by singer/guitarist Gordon Deppe, bassist Sandy Horne, and Brett Wickens on keyboards, adding friend Peter Shepherd on drums shortly thereafter. Paul Abrahams agreed …
Once The Electric Prunes were history, Brett Wade, a UBC School of Music grad, moved back to Vancouver from Los Angeles in early 1970. He teamed up with fellow guitarist and friend Garry Bell, and that May, placed an ad in the local newspaper looking to form a new band. Answering it was Basil Watson, …