Archived (83)
Johnnie Dee and Derry Grehan, the principal and founding members of Honeymoon Suite, met when introduced by manager Stephen Prendergast in 1982. Deciding to work together, they formed Honeymoon Suite with Grehan’s former Steve Blimkie And The Reason’ band-mate Dave Betts on drums, plus an anonymous keyboard player and bassist.
In 1983 they decided to enter the Homegrown Contest put on yearly by Toronto’s Q107-FM radio station so Prendergast approached his friend and producer Tom Treumuth to produce a song for them. Based on the buying public’s response, “New Girl Now” won the contest and Bob Roper at WEA Canada was so impressed with the song and response that he signed the band right away.
Personnel conflicts eventually arose and the keyboardist was replaced with Toronto bred Ray Coburn. Although a session player named Brian Brackstone played bass on the album, the band soon found themselves a permanent bassist named Gary Lalonde. Originally scheduled for release on Valentine’s Day, the milestone first album was released in June of 1984.
Throughout 1983 and 1984 Honeymoon Suite toured Canada and the US, consistently headlining club gigs and opening for such acts as Billy Idol, April Wine, Laura Branigan, Jethro Tull, The Kinks, and Bryan Adams. In 1984 the band was nominated for the ‘Most Promising Group’ Juno Award but did not win.
Propelled by the success of more singles from the album, 1985 saw the band begin to headline gigs throughout Ontario and the rest of Canada. A highlight was the presentation of an award at the 1985 Junos. By this time the first album had achieved platinum sales status. Almost 22 years later the album has now sold over 400,000 units in Canada alone.
Honeymoon Suite’s second album was released on Valentine’s Day 1986. ‘The Big Prize’ featured a rare appearance by Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson. It went platinum in Canada almost immediately and started selling steadily in the US. Tours in the States that year included opening stints for Heart, .38 Special, ZZ Top, Journey, Starship, and Saga. The band also headlined a sold-out show at the Kingswood Music Theatre just north of Toronto. Ray Coburn left and was replaced by Toronto whiz-kid keyboardist Rob Preuss (formerly of the Spoons). 1986 also saw the band win a gold award for ‘Best Live Act’ at the World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo, the ‘Group Of The Year’ Juno and headline more dates in both Canada and some northern States.
For album number three, the band went to Los Angeles in the winter of 1987 to record with Ted Templeman (Little Feat, The Doobie Brothers, Van Halen), and while there Dee was hit by a car at L.A.X. airport breaking his leg in several places and requiring surgery for a ten inch pin to help the leg heal properly. While recovering in hospital, Doobie Brother Michael McDonald was brought in to help out with the recording sessions; he wrote lyrics and sang back up on one song. The results of all the hard work was ‘Racing After Midnight’, a slightly harder-edged more guitar oriented album that spawned a European tour with Status Quo and a headlining tour of Canada.
Problems then surfaced with long-time management company Head Office and after the group left the fold, keyboardist Ray Coburn returned to the band in time for WEA to release a ‘best-of’ compilation in 1989. Betts and Lalonde then took their leave and Coburn, Dee and Grehan began writing together again.
The trio returned to the studio in 1990 to craft ‘Monsters Under The Bed’ with Paul Northfield producing. The album featured Steve Webster (from Billy Idol’s band) on bass and Jorn Anderson on drums. Singles like “Say You Don’t Know Me” and “The Road” did well in Canada. Some US success did come their way as songs got placed on TV’s ‘Miami Vice’ and two movie soundtracks, ‘Lethal Weapon II’ and ‘One Crazy Summer’.
Andy Kim is a dreamer. At the age of 12, Andy had a vision for what he would become. It is still the child within Andy that leads him along today.
Having scraped together 40 bucks, and much against the better wishes of his parents, Andy boarded a bus from Montreal to New York City. Andy was only in New York City for a couple of days, but he accomplished his goal.
He just walked into the Brill building, into the offices of Leiber and Stoller, and asked to speak to Jeff Barry. He was given 5 minutes. Jeff liked what he heard, and Andy's musical career got its start.
Eventually, Jeff signed Andy to his Steed record label and he produced and co-wrote Andy's first top 20 hit, "How'd We Ever Get This Way?", which sold 800,000 copies.
Andy had a number of other top 20 hits at that time, including the top 5 Baby I Love You, which earned Andy his first gold record selling more than 1.5 million copies.
That same year, he co-wrote "Sugar, Sugar" for fictional popsters The Archies. The song was No. 1 for four weeks and became Billboard's Record of the Year and the biggest-selling record of the year. Ike and Tina Turner covered the song, so did Wilson Pickett. And so did Bob Marley. All of this, in the year of Woodstock.
In 1970, the very first JUNO Award ever given out was to Andy for Male Vocalist of the Year.
In 1974, Andy wrote a new song called "Rock Me Gently" and absolutely no one wanted to produce it. Andy loved the song, and he wouldn't take no for an answer. He formed his own record company, called !CE, and produced the record on his own. When it was released, "Rock Me Gently" went straight to #1 on the Billboard charts and it remained on the charts for a staggering 4 months. This second #1 Billboard song added to Andy's international success.
Suddenly, again, he was a star. He met Elvis. He hung out with Phil Spector. John Lennon handed him his gold record.
In 2004, Andy's collaboration with Ed Robertson of The Barenaked Ladies' "I Forgot To Mention" gave him another Top 10, and Andy was voted by Canadian Music Week as the Best Solo Indie Artist of the Year.
2015 saw It's Decided, a brand-new record produced by Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene on the Arts & Crafts label, home to artists such as Feist, Chilly Gonzales, The Stills, and Stars. The fans of those bands took notice. It was highly praised and talked about in Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Uncut Magazine. David Letterman was flushed with gratitude and fandom when Andy sang on his show.
A true Canadian son, Andy has recently been awarded the country's top industry honours including the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame and a star on Canada's Walk Of Fame. Andy is a member of Songwriters Hall of Fame, was inducted into Billboard's Hit Parade Hall of Fame, and in 2017, For the 2nd time in their 70-year history, SOCAN honoured Andy with their Cultural Impact Award. Over his epic career, Andy has sold over 30 million records, and has over half a billion streams on Spotify and YouTube.
2019 Andy Kim inducted into Canadian Music Hall Of Fame (The Juno Hall of Fame).
And for now, Andy just keeps writing and performing his songs, because that's all he's ever dreamed of doing.
As Kevin Drew says, this is "Andy's heartfelt want to still make it even though many would say his history is enough." Gentle and enigmatic, ageless and ecstatic. "Andy Kim always looks to transcend and find the honesty in what he does and does with others."
"Andy Kim is a true Canadian Legend...
It was such a pleasure to write and produce a song with Andy Kim. He believes in the power of music, he loves songs, and he is SO rock and Roll. Beyond the massive hits, and the multi-decade career, there is a wonderful man who I'm proud to call my friend." - Ed Robertson, Barenaked Ladies
"Whenever I hear an Andy Kim song I can't help but be transported back in time. So many of my childhood memories are hinged upon these classic pop songs such as "Sugar, Sugar". "It feels like some kind of surreal dream to be able to call him a friend.
Ron Sexsmith
Quick Facts
- Canadian born
- 2 #1 Billboard... Sugar, Sugar & Rock Me Gently
- 9 top 40 records Billboard
- Over 30,000,000 sold
- Juno Award, Songwriters Hall of Fame,
- Billboard Hit Parade Hall of Fame,
- Canadian Industry Hall Of Fame,
- For the 2nd time in their 70 year history SOCAN Honored Andy Kim with their CULTURAL IMPACT AWARD,
- Dec.1 2018 Andy Kim was inducted into Canada's Walk Of Fame
- 2019 Canadian Music Hall of Fame (Juno Award)
- The Andy Kim Christmas is in it's 15th year raising over $1,000,000 for Toronto Charities.
Thomas began his amazing journey as a homeless street kid and developed into one of the most recognizable voices in music, to date selling over 40 million records. In 1996 he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and in 2007 his jazz/rock composition “Spinning Wheel” was enshrined in the Songwriter’s Hall Of Fame. In 2010 David received his star on Canada’s Walk Of Fame.
His 1968 debut album with Blood Sweat & Tears sold 10 million copies worldwide. The self-titled record topped the Billboard album chart for seven weeks, and charted for a staggering 109 weeks. It won an unprecedented five Grammy awards, including Album Of The Year and Best Performance By A Male Vocalist. It featured three hit singles, “You Made Me So Very Happy” “And When I Die”,” and “Spinning Wheel” as well as an irresistible rendition of Billie Holiday’s “God Bless The Child” that became a signature song for David. A 1969 summary in the Los Angeles Times proclaimed that “Blood Sweat & Tears just may be the most important pop music group of the decade”.
He was born David Henry Thomsett in Surrey, England, on Sept, 13, 1941. His father Fred Thomsett, was a Canadian soldier, his mother Freda, a British music student. After the war, the family settled in Willowdale, a suburb of Toronto. From the beginning David and his father had a troubled relationship. By the time David was fourteen he left home, sleeping in parked cars and abandoned buildings, stealing food and clothing to survive. A tough, angry street kid with a hair-trigger temper, it wasn’t long before he ran afoul of the law and was arrested several times for vagrancy, petty theft and street brawls. He spent his teen years bouncing in and out of various jails and reformatories.
David inheirited a love for music from his mother and when a battered old guitar came into his possession, left behind by an outgoing inmate, he began to teach himself to play. Before long he was singing and playing at jailhouse concerts and for the first time in his life, he found acceptance. Now he had a dream and his life had direction… he put the reformatory years behind him and he never looked back.
When he was released in 1962, he gravitated to the Yonge Street “strip” in Toronto. “The “strip” was a bawdy six block long stretch of bars and strip joints populated by a rough crowd of hustlers and hookers, catering to a rowdy clientelle of steelworkers, truckers and miners, in town for the weekend, looking to blow off steam along with their pay cheques. Rhythm & Blues, migrating up from Detroit and Chicago was the music of choice on the strip and Arkansas rockabilly Rompin Ronnie Hawkins, with his band “The Hawks” reigned supreme. Hawkins recognized the formidable talent of the young singer and took him under his wing. It wasn’t long before he was fronting his own bands. The first was called “David Clayton-Thomas and The Fabulous Shays.” By this time David had changed his name to put some distance between his new life and his troubled teenage years.
In 1964 David and The Shays recorded a smoky, funky rendition of John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom.” It was only a regional hit but it had a vocal that stopped you in your tracks. This led to the Shays going to New York to appear on NBC-TV’s “Hullabaloo” at the invitation of its host, fellow Canadian Paul Anka. David fell in love with New York City. “We had three days there, and I spent every spare moment in Greenwich Village,” he recalls. “I saw the young Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Havens, Carole King and James Taylor. “I went back to Toronto but life wasn’t ever the same.”
Abandoning the bars on the strip, David began performing on Yorkville Village’s bustling coffeehouse scene, His bar band soon drifted away, there was no money on Yorkville, but David hung in, playing solo, soaking up influences from the great bluesmen, John Lee Hooker, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee, Joe Williams and Lonnie Johnson. He immersed himself in the local jazz & blues scene, attracted by the superb musicianship of Lenny Breau, Oscar Peterson and Moe Koffman, jazz players of dizzying technical prowess.
David made his mark more forcibly with his next band, The Bossmen… one of the first rock bands anywhere to incorporate jazz musicians. In 1966, he wrote the explosive anti-war song “Brainwashed” a jazz piano/rock guitar roar of fear and refusal, tougher than any rock recording you can name from the era. It rocketed to number one nationally and dominated the Canadian charts for an amazing sixteen straight weeks.
One night in 1966 after “sitting in” with blues singer John Lee Hooker in Yorkville, David left with him for New York. Hooker soon departed for Europe and David stayed on in New York City. “I survived by playing basket houses” performers were given a few minutes of stage time and then passed the basket.
Folk singer Judy Collins heard David one night at a club uptown and told her friend, drummer Bobby Colomby about him. Bobby’s band, Blood Sweat & Tears, torn apart by infighting, had broken up four months after releasing its debut Columbia album, “Child Is Father To The Man” and the band was being written off by everybody. Bobby invited David to help rebuild his shattered band. “We never heard anyone sing like that” Colomby recalls. They took the reformed group into the Café Au Go Go in the Village. Six weeks later, there were lines of people around the block, waiting to get into a club which only seated about 200 people.
In his 1974 autobiography, “Clive: Inside the Record Business”, Clive Davis, then president of Columbia Records, described his initial impression of hearing David Clayton-Thomas at the Café Au Go Go: “He was staggering… a powerfully built singer who exuded an enormous earthy confidence. He jumped right out at you. I went with a small group of people, and we were electrified. He seemed so genuine, so in command of the lyric… a perfect combination of fire and emotion to go with the band’s somewhat cerebral appeal. I knew he would be a strong, strong figure.”
With David largely dominating the creative output, BS&T continued with a string of hit albums, including “Blood Sweat & Tears 3” which featuring such highpoints as David’s “Lucretia MacEvil,” and Carole King’s “Hi-De-Ho,” and “BS&T 4” which yielded another Clayton-Thomas penned hit single, “Go Down Gamblin’.” Blood Sweat & Tears’ “Greatest Hits” album has to date chalked up over seven million copies in worldwide sales.
BS&T headlined at major venues around the world… Royal Albert Hall, The Metropolitan Opera, The Hollywood Bowl, Madison Square Garden and Caesar’s Palace, as well as the Newport Jazz Festival and Woodstock. It was the first contemporary band to break through the Iron Curtain with its historic 1970 tour of Eastern Europe.
In the early years David lived on the road, traveling all over Europe, Australia, Asia, South America, the US and Canada with BS&T. But the constant touring began to take it’s toll… David left the band in 1972, exhausted by life on the road. By the mid-70’s the founding members began to drift away to start families and pursue their own musical ambitions. One by one they were replaced by such notable jazz players as Joe Henderson, Jaco Pastorius and Mike Stern.
His departure left a gaping hole in the group, which fumbled through personnel changes. The fans simply would not accept a BS&T without David Clayton-Thomas.
“No matter how interesting we tried to make the music, audiences still wanted to hear David Clayton-Thomas” BS&T guitarist Steve Katz told Downbeat Magazine at the time.
After a three year hiatus he returned and the band came storming back to the concert stages of the world. Headlining international jazz festivals, concert halls and casino show rooms with David and a line-up of top-notch New York City session musicians. He was the only one left from the glory years, but it was David Clayton-Thomas that the fans came to see, and he continued to tour successfully under the BS&T name until 2004.
Today, living back in Toronto, his boyhood turf and the place where he still feels most at home, David has launched a 10 piece band under his own name.
Through the years, he has lost none of the attributes that have made him one of the greatest vocalists of his generation. That unmistakable voice now soaring and sunny, now a dark, somber shade of blue. He still just sings the hell out of a song.
“People like me don’t retire,” says David with his face in a wide grin around those storied, steel-blue eyes.”This is what I was put here to do”. With the BS&T years now behind him, look for an outpouring of new music from this gifted and fiercely creative artist.
Larry LeBlanc
Megan Laurence and Lucas Haneman have been performing together for almost 4 years, bringing their own blend of unique song writing, intricate vocal harmonies, and a little something new to the blues genre. Together they recently won the Ottawa Blues Society's 2019 Road to Memphis competition, and will be competing in the "International Blues Challenge" in January 2020. Formed out of their main band, The Lucas Haneman Express, this duo was created as a way for the band to continue gaining exposure, while fitting within the constraints of more intimate venues and festivals. As an acoustic duo, Laurence and Haneman have been captivating crowds all around Ontario and Quebec, down in the United States and also over in London, England. The Lucas Haneman Express has opened for Robert Cray, Dave Matthews Band, John Butler Trio, the Downchild Blues Band and many others. They play both traditional and modern blues, with an acoustic edge and tight vocal harmonies, that earned them a nomination for a Maple Blues Award in 2018 for Best New Artist.
Laurence and Haneman recently recorded an acoustic duo album with Grammy award winning producer Rob Fraboni (The Stones/Clapton) and are currently in the works to finish and release these recordings later in 2019. Between Megan Laurence's angelic vocal delivery, Lucas haneman's extraordinary guitar prowess, and the electrifying presence that both bring to the stage as well as their song writing, this is a live show not to be missed!
Charlie the Kid’s high energy and upbeat style, along with youthful flavour and humour is what make him one of the GTA's most unique singer-songwriter’s. His style emulates the likes of 'Jason Mraz', 'Barenaked Ladies' and 'Bo Burham’.
He picked up the video game “Guitar Hero” at 11 and later moving on to a real thing, so this kid’s been performing for years. Currently playing over 100 shows a year, he keeps busy performing with local and touring bands around Toronto and Ontario. Gigs range from pubs and bars, to sidewalks and busking festivals, to venues around the city, and recently an audition on CTV’s hit show The Launch. Fun stuff!
Award-winning Canadian bluesman Steve Strongman is a versatile talent, and a restless one. By constantly pushing himself in new directions, he has kept himself vital. His talent is huge and impossible to miss, and it’s matched by his staggering musical ambition — as guitar-slinger, songwriter or vocalist. The same structures and progressions that animate blues and roots music can also choke the air out of it, smothering it in caricature and cliché. But Strongman is a subtle shape-shifter who manages to slip that trap without betraying the music he loves. Throughout, he never sounds an inauthentic note or loses touch with the essence of the blues. In the tradition of The Howlin’ Wolf Album and Muddy Waters’ After the Rain.
Modern and timeless, Strongman’s latest album No Time Like Now is a slab of reinvigorated 21stcentury blues. An intoxicating shot of raw electrified blues, the album captures the performer riding a surge of new energy. The album is a shout-out to a lifelong love of blues in all its shapes and shadings, from rough-hewn electric blues, blue-collar hollers and swampy stompers to soulful groovers and hushed, heartfelt ballads. More than anything, the album reconnects with the primal force and emotional clout of dirty blues. It’s a stunning rocker, and it’s a hell of a lot of fun.
Strongman’s impressive resume includes stints opening for guitar legends such as Johnny Winter, B.B. King and Buddy Guy. The performer’s breakthrough 2012 release A Natural Fact was hailed as a standout, earning Maple Blues Awards for Recording, Songwriter, and Guitarist Of The Year as well as a 2013 Juno Award for Blues Recording Of The Year. In 2014 he was thrice-nominated at the Maple Blues Awards (Guitar Player, Electric Act, and Entertainer of the Year) and in 2015 received a second Juno nod for Blues Album of the Year (for Let Me Prove It To You).
Now veterans of the Canadian Music Scene, River City Junction has had the honour of playing with some of Canada’s finest musicians. Juno & Maple Blues award winning artists such as Jerome Godboo, Eric Shenkman, Jerry Mercer, Steve Marriner & Matt Sobb, Al Wood, Murray Kinsley, Leigh-Ann Stanton, Rod Williams, Thomas Starwalker Clair, David Maracle, Greg Morency, Scott Price, Simon Meilleur & Robert Watt are but a few of the many talented people RCJ has had the good fortune to perform with.
They’ve also had the esteemed & rare pleasure of working & studying with legendary producer/engineer & former V.P. of Island Records Rob Fraboni. (Bob Dylan, The Band, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, Joe Cocker, Bonnie Raitt)
With two albums released & a newly founded record label / recording studio recently purchased named Tone King Records, they are working on re-releasing their first two albums as well as tracking the third & working on pre-production for the fourth. Also active on the studio side of things, they have recorded, mixed & mastered several albums for fellow musicians such as Josef Mieto’s “Bad Eyes”, Chasing Amber’s self titled debut & Blues & Company’s self titled EP. They are currently working on a release for Toronto Jazz band Snaggle & have several other projects lined up for the near future as well.
Formed in mid 2016, Dimestore Playboys are: Ian Cook (The Kingmakers) lead vocal, rhythm guitar; Ian Clark (The LowballBidders) lead guitar and vocals; Sean Burke (The Mud Boys) bass and vocals; and Matt Sobb (MonkeyJunk) on drums and vocals. The Playboys are sure to entertain, playing rockabilly, swing, blues, early country hits, with a smattering of well penned originals!