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Often confused with a band from New York with the same name, Urgent was formed in Toronto during the hey-day of heavy metal’s hairdays. The group’s origins began when drummer Kim Hunt left Zon (also formerly of Island and Bond) in ’82, and hooked up with Doug Baynham and guitarist Wayne Siberry. With Baynham handling …
Born Paul Valdemar Horsdal in Ottawa in 1945, Valdy was already adept at both the guitar and the piano when he moved to Montreal in 1964 with barely two nickels to rub together. He joined the London Town Criers in 1964, a popular up and coming folk group that toured from Montreal to Regina, and …
Edmonton’s Victory Group was formed in 1981 by the guitar-core One Horse Blue alumni Ian Oscar, Winston Quelch, and Bob Burghardt. With Burghardt also handling keyboards, they rounded out the group with bassist David Heidt and drummer William Bobinski. With Oscar doing most of the lead vocals, they began touring the local circuit while writing …
With a singer that billed himself as “Nazi Dog” (real name Steven Leckie), The Viletones led the insurgent punk scene in the mid ’70s with furious music, trashed clubs, self inflicted violence, and a change in the way things were done. Formed in Toronto in 1977 by Leckie, Jackie Death (aka Jack Tasse) on bass, …
/div> The Village S.T.O.P. began as a specialty in the Hamiton area garage genre in the mid ’60s by guitarist Paul Marcoux and brothers Nick and Steve Urech on bass and guitar. They added Jim Hall on drums and the lads soon went from playing the YWCA on Saturday nights to the local high school …
Unquestionably the hardest act to ever hail from Quebec, Voivod was formed in Jonquiere in 1982 by frontman Denis Belanger, Jean-Yves Theriault on bass, guitarist Denis D’Amour, and drummer Michel Langevin. Drawing equal influences from the heyday of the new wave of British metal and hardcore punk scenes, they began writing their own material, often …
After two albums – one each with Family Tree and Roxy and moderate success with each, California-born Bob Segarini formed The Wackers with fellow Roxy member Randy Bishop and Bill ‘Kootch’ Trochim, whom he’d played with in Family Tree. Rounding out the cast were Michael Stull and Spencer Earnshaw. They landed a deal with Elektra …
After Stallion Thumrock had run its short course by the mid ’70s, BC natives Brett (also ex of The Electric Prunes) and younger brother Joel Wade, wandered around on the west coast circuit and played as a duo. After hooking up with Doug Louie and Pacific West Productions, they eventually signed a deal with Epic …
Wade Brown memorial Synonymous with the Maritimes blues, Wade Brown was born in Nova Scotia and already had a reputation for his passionate guitar playing, having already spent some time with The Magic Bubble to start the ’70s when he joined The Dutch Mason Blues Band. At the time Mason was folding the tent on …
Born Rossignuoli Rossi in Naples, Italy in 1948, Walter Rossi and his family moved to Montreal when he was a child, and grew up listening to his mother sing and admired his carpenter father’s guitar playing in his spare time. Walter didn’t pick up the guitar until after finishing grade school, but soon began spending …