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Following the demise of FJ & The Impressions at the end of the ’60s, Galt, Ontario natives keyboardist Ron Baumtrog and bassist Mike Gingrich were looking to head down a different musical path. Their old band was a covers band doing R&B, but when frontman Doug Stagg and drummer Jack Byrne came on board, Amish …
Simple, straight forward no nonsense heavy metal is possibly the most accurate description for Toronto’s Anvil. Formed around guitarists Steve ‘Lips’ Kudrow and drummer Robb Reiner in 1978, the original line-up also consisted of guitarist Dave Allison and Ian Dickson on bass. Originally called Lips, the band quickly became an underground favourite and a staple …
By 1973 The Original Caste had run its course and topped the charts with one of the most iconic contemporary songs of the era with “One Tin Soldier” (also featured on the movie “Billie Jack”). Calgary native Bruce Innes’ next project was dabbling more in his country roots with Appleshine, along with friend Harvey Sawatzky. …
Jim Clench memorial April Wine’s roots date back to the late Sixties. The first pairing of Myles Goodwyn with the Henmans was when he played in a Halifax band called Woody’s Termites with Jim. After the band’s breakup in ’68, they formed Squirrel with Gordie Meagher. Goodwyn then went on to form East Gate Sanctuary. …
In 1991, Kingston, Ontario natives Mike McCormick, John Whytock, Steve Wood, and Trevor Strong decided to form a musical comedy troupe in between college studies. With McCormick on bass, Whytock and Wood on guitars and Strong handling the drums, their frequent performances of songs and sketches at frat house parties led to gigs on campus …
Not to be confused with the 70’s British glam band of the same name, singer/guitarist Dean McTaggart emerged from high school in Toronto in the late 70’s with the usual dreams of superstardom. But he would leave the business all together while driving truck for a living before re-thinking things with highschool friend and drummer …
From the basis of a group of high school friends practicing in the basement on weekends, Waterloo, Ontario natives Rob Taylor (drums/vocals), Robi Banerji (guitars) and Jack Smith (bass and keyboards) formed their first band. They got serious once out of high school, and formed LOTH in 1980. Before long they’d changed their name to …
Born in 1975 in Creignish, Nova Scotia, Ashley Dwayne MacIsaac picked up his first fiddle before his first rattle. Raised on traditional Celtic and east coast playing, he grew up in a musical family that includes his sister Lisa, and cousins Alexis and Wendy MacIsaac and Natalie MacMaster. Like the rest of them, even as …
The brainchild of vocalist Myles Hunter and bassist Manfred Leidecker, they’d bounced around in different Ottawa bands for a couple of years and in 1976 were putting together a new band. They recruited guitarist friend Bob Deeks, who suggested adding Robert Holtz to handle drums. They were writing some material going somewhere in the new …
Animal Slaves was formed by singer/keyboardist Elizabeth Fischer and drummer Ross Hales in 1981. They made themselves regulars on the Vancouver scene while writing some original material, resulting in a number of tracks making various indie compilations. Some demos wound up as the self-financed cassette SECRET SHARPER in ’81 that they sold at shows, which …