Admittedly I am a late BADFINGER fan. I did not grow up while the band was active, but only got in to them casually years ago with a ‘Best of Badfinger‘ CD. I was so oblivious that some 20+ years ago I contacted Bob Jackson and sent him questions pertaining to his time with the David Byron Band in the early 80, (I am a huge Uriah Heep fan), and the Badfinger connection didn’t dawn on me at the time! Years later, and after the Best of CD, I started picking up Badfinger albums; I liked them, but when I picked up Wish You Were Here, and put it on – I was hooked! The previous hits were good, but this whole album I loved. In 2019 I had tickets to see Uriah Heep in Ohio for 3 nights in a row, but instead, the day before I came down with a virus and was put in the hospital for nearly a week. So, I had my wife bring in my laptop so I could write, and for a few days I researched further and wrote a retrospective on Badfinger. After that I picked up more CDs, reissues….and the 2 CD version of Head First. The songs on that 2 CD release were not the intended properly mixed album, but I enjoyed the songs! So, back to the album….
Head First was to be the follow up to the I’ll fated Wish You Were Here. A strange time for the band. Remember, back in those days many bands were expected to come up with new albums every 8 months or so, and many classic albums were recorded remarkably in short periods of time (the first Black Sabbath album for example). So, while Badfinger’s manager was stealing the band’s money from Warners, the band were thrown into a mess, with their central figure – Pete Ham, leaving. Bob Jackson (a keyboard player) was auditioned and joined. Pete Ham returned, and briefly there was a 5-man line-up. At the end of a UK tour Joey Molland left, and Badfinger was back to being a 4 piece. During this time Warners pulled Wish You Were Here from the shelves and filed lawsuit against the band (and manager) for missing money. The band’s manager (who took the money), hurried Badfinger back to the studio to record a follow up, which the band did in less than 2 weeks. But the lawsuit brought the band to a halt. In all this Pete Ham saw no way out and hung himself. The band was effectively done. Sure, there were Badfinger albums released in 1977 and 81, with a couple of originals, but it wasn’t even close without Pete Ham. Tom Evans would also kill himself. In 2000 Head First was released as a 1 and 2 CD set, featuring the songs recorded during that brief 2-week period. Since then, reissues and Pete Ham archives tapes have been released, as well as more recently a collection of Tom Evans demos.
A few months ago came the surprise news that an official version of Head First was to be released (on vinyl and CD). And well, although I’ve had access to listen to this online (to review) I really prefer a physical copy of an album to get into, and this was one I’ve been very excited to receive since it’s announcement, as I’m sure many longtime Badfinger fans have been as well. So, first off is the packaging…Head First comes in a glorious gatefold cover featuring the shot of the lion roaring on the front and the apartment pic on the back, with the track listing. The inner gatefold includes bandmember photos along with track by track performance credits on one side, and more photos of bandmembers along with pics of various correspondence, contracts, and letters pertaining to Head First. Inside (aside from the LP), there’s a 12-page colored booklet with lyrics, more photos, and more credits pertaining to this release. So, the packaging alone is first class, and one can enjoy this album old school – while looking through the jacket, booklet and reading the lyrics.
The album itself contains the same songs, albeit not exactly in the same order, as the 2000 CD release. But here, you get a proper mix, amazing sound. Maybe it’s me, but Head First, like Wish You Were Here, sound like they were ahead of their time in many ways, and for me, well beyond the band’s previous albums, like it’s hard to believe this was all recorded over 50 years ago. But Head First is the final missing piece of the Badfinger puzzle. The songs here, recorded quickly are all impressive, varied, with all 4 members contributing to the writing and lead vocals. The lead off track “Lay Me Down” is upbeat, catchy, with great harmonies throughout, a fantastic production, written and sang by Pete Ham. This (to me) would’ve been an obvious hit single! (And lo and behold this one was issued as the first video / single from this release!). Tom Evans contributed 2 cuts to what became side 1 – the more pop driven “Hey Mr Manager” and the rocking “Rock ‘N’ Roll Contract”: both songs dealing with the band’s situation at the time – “Hey Mr Manager” taking aim at the band’s corrupt manager Stan Polley. (Then) new guy Bob Jackson contributed perhaps the heaviest and most progressive tune here with “Turn Around”, featuring his lead vocals, and a cool mix of guitar and Hammond organ (if anyone’s heard the Indian Summer album from ’71, it is a heavier album, featuring plenty of Hammond organ and Bob’s vocals, a noteworthy comparison, but “Turn Around” is one of my favorites here). The first side also includes Mike Gibbins acoustic ballad “Back Again”, another gem, highlighted by the band’s harmonies, synths, and a harmonica solo from Pete Ham.
Side 2 opens with a classic Pete Ham song, “Keep Believing”, kind of a mid-tempo, almost ballad tune, with piano and slide guitar. I’ve read Ham wrote the song as a message to departed band member Joey Molland. “Moonshine” is another on the lighter side, and one of 2 that features Evans and Jackson sharing lead vocals; the other being “Passed Fast”. Both are enjoyable and memorable tunes. the latter co-written by Evans, Gibbins, and Jackson with Evans & Jackson sharing lead vocals, while the former is co-written by Evans & Jackson, and it’s another standout on here. “Rockin’ Machine” is another Mike Gibbins number that is very different, kind of a country-ish styled singalong/pub feel to it. The album ends with a re-edited mix of Pete Ham’s short instrumental “Saville Row”, which has added synths from Bob Jackson.
Overall, just a thoroughly excellent release, in so many ways. A must for any Badfinger fan (obviously), but also highly recommended to fans of classic rock. Bob Jackson deserves a lot of credit (and thanks) for his efforts to get this album done and out properly, after so many years. Well worth it!
BLUE OYSTER CULT sets the bar for how legacy bands celebrate anniversaries, release archived material, and put on important shows.
Third Night Live features the band (in it’s current line-up – Donald Roeser, Eric Bloom, Richie Castellano, Danny Miranda, and Jules Radino) performing the best (arguably) BOC album – Secret Treaties – in full, along with 2 other LPs’ worth of BOC deep cuts & classics. Those first 3 BOC albums sound pretty primitively recorded, so these live recordings offer a modern contrast, with most of the same voices. Albert Bouchard (original drummer, who also wrote and sang) is a special guest here, as is former member Kasim Sulton (on a few tracks), and keyboard player Andy Ascolese (The Band Geeks). Would’ve been nice if they’d included Joe Bouchard (original bass player), and co-writer of the epic “Astronomy”, but we can’t expect everything, I guess.
I like having things in ‘sets’ (I have all 3 Nights on vinyl) and Third Night Live completes a historical set of albums. Each of these albums’ cover art, brilliantly created by Stan W Decker (who’s done a number of recent BOC covers, as well as the stunning cover for Jon Anderson & The Band Geeks) pays homage to the original covers and stick to a neat pattern – same band name lettering, artwork in frame, dark covers, so they visibly look perfect together. LPs are in a simple straight sleeve, no gatefolds, and no inserts.
The extra material, beyond the album being played in full, offers up a few gems, and a few repeats night to night (the ‘must play’ hits, and a couple from the band’s last new recording – The Symbol Remains. But there plenty of welcomed inclusions for big BOC fans, with Third Night Live including favorites – “Black Blade” (from Cultosaurus Erectus), “Shooting Shark” (from Revolution By Night), “I Love The Night” (Spectres), and “Joan Crawford” (Fire Of Unknown Origin). It also includes “The Alchemist”, from The Symbol Remains, actually performed the previous night, but held over to be included here. A couple of other Symbol Remains cuts might’ve been cool, with 2 more of the same here that featured on the First Night, but oh well. This whole set is damn near perfect, from the added song choices, performances, recordings, and packaging, making these 3 releases ‘must haves’ for BOC fans.
Not sure what else (if any) the band might be doing as far as album anniversary shows go, but to me Spectres – in full would be the next obvious one (their 5th studio album, with so many classics!), and maybe Fire Of Unknown Origin (their highest charting album in the US & Canada).
Formed by guitarist/singer/songwriter Alan Ross, this band released 2 albums in the mid ’70s. Alan Ross was best known for playing on a few John Entwistle albums and had recorded with the band RO RO – which also included bass player Warwick Rose. ROSS also included keyboard player Bob Jackson (ex-Indian Summer), bassist Steve Emery (ex-Legs), and percussion player Reuben White and drummer Tony Fernandez. Released in early 1974 featured cover art by Patrick Woodroffe, who would later do covers for Judas Priest, The Strawbs, Budgie and others.
Ross featured 10 cuts, all written by Alan Ross, but the lead off track (and single) “Alright By Me” was a co-write with Emery & Jackson. For the most part Ross is a good set of rock with influences of R&B and funk, with Ross’ guitar playing being the main draw, along with the band’s vocal harmonies. Ross wrote plenty of different and excellent tunes, despite not having any hits here, Ross is a more obscure 70s album worth checking out. Highlights include “You’re Looking Down A Road”, “Wherever You Go” and “Help Me Understand”, which features some cool interplay between guitar and organ, a good jam. There’s also a few acoustic tracks and ballads, notably “Caroline” (this would’ve made a fine single, but was used as the B-side), “Blackbird” (which had previously been recorded & released with ‘Ro Ro’), and “Leave it All Behind You”, which ends the record.
Ross released a 2nd album later the same year, The Pit And The Pendulum, and undertook 3 US tours, their biggest as openers to Eric Clapton. Bob Jackson left the band during the band’s last US tour, which (I think) effectively ended the band. He would join Badfinger soon after. Neither Ross album is easily available on CD, and would be an interesting package for some label to consider, especially with some of the excellent live material online (Don Kirschner’s Rock Concert, 1975, see below). Alan Ross would go on to record as a solo artist, and with the band ‘STARS’ (which also included the late Ric Parnell, on drums). Sadly Alan passed away in 2019. But both Ross albums are well worth hearing, especially the first one (IMO), and the live performance shows they were even better as a live band. Check them out. I’ve also added a few articles and links below to find more on this band, and Alan Ross.
ROSS ROSS RSO SUPER 2394 127 ‘Funky’ is how composer/singer/guitarist Alan Ross describes his music and funky it is, due in no small measure to the percussion work of Tony Fernandez and Reuben White. Instrumentally this debut album has a blues -jazz influenced drive which is particularly noticeable on the up -tempo tracks such as Help Me Understand, I Need Your Love and Wherever You Go. However, the tracks do seem samey and although the guitar and keyboards complement each other the solos sound repetitive and frankly uninspired – seems I’ve heard it all before. As a lyricist Ross doesn’t seem to have a lot to say and the vocal delivery sounds thin and stereotyped. The lyrics tend to be superfluous, except perhaps as a basic framework for the backing by which they’re mostly obscured. The most striking feature of this album is the sleeve design which contains enough erotic symbolism to justify reproduction in Men House or Pent Only (or whatever it’s called). Either you love it or you hate it – unlike the disc which really doesn’t register either way. D.R (Beat Instrumental, 06-74)
Back in 2014 APRIL WINE founder Myles Goodwyn expressed his desire to retire from playing live with the band, but it would be over 8 years, in December of 2022 that Marc Parent was announced, having been chosen by Myles, to take over the band’s lead vocal and guitar duties (alongside Brian Greenway). Parent debuted with the band last April. Sadly Myles Goodwyn passed away December 3 of 2023. But choosing Parent was so that the songs (mostly written by Goodwyn) would carry on to be enjoyed by fans. April Wine has had a busy year playing live, and 2025 looks to busier and very interesting, with festival shows, as well as a UK tour as openers for Uriah Heep, followed by a Canadian tour opening for Randy Bachman’s BTO. In this interview Marc discussed his past, previous bands, influences, how he came to join April Wine, how things are working in the band, highlights, and a few surprises.
*Check out the links at the bottom of the page for more info, tour dates, etc…
Can you tell me a bit about your earlier stuff, your musical influences and some of the stuff you grew up on listening to?
I’m a total classic rock guy. first album I ever got; I traded a buddy of mine for a Playboy magazine. It was the first Boston album. He wanted the Playboy and I wanted his Boston album. So, we swapped.
So, I’m pretty much a classic rock guy; grew up listening to that and a lot of progressive rock and I got into, after Kiss, Styx and Boston, I got into Genesis and Gentle Giant and Yes.
And I was also studying to be a jazz guitar player, so I was interested in Pat Metheny, Larry Carlton, Lee Rittenour and Wes Montgomery and all those guitar gods.
In your early days what was the scene up there? Did you play in a lot of cover bands or beforehand, in the 80s and 90s?
No, actually, the first band I ever played in was like an original band out of high school. We were called ‘Sigma’. And, the first gig I ever did I was 17 years old and we were doing originals. We had an electric violinist, we had a girl on bass, we had a sax player, we did original tunes. At that point I had a music teacher, his name was Regean Gauvreau and he was very influential because he had a big band and he would work; every weekend he would book his big band at the Chateau Laurier Hotel, in Ottawa or at the Congress Center or he would do these corporate events, and he would hire me as the guitar player in this big band. So, I had to be able to read music and I had to wear a suit, and he really taught me a lot about the business of being a professional musician. This would be, like, early 80s.
So, then I was studying to be more like a jazz guitar player, and I ended up – my neighbor was going out with a bass player in a band called ‘Eight Seconds’ in Ottawa. And she would listen to me practice, in my bedroom and she said ‘You gotta come see my boyfriend’s band’. So I went to see Eight Seconds play and I said to myself ‘I could do better than that guitar player’. You know, just as a typical 20-year-old, watching the guy play with my arms crossed in front of the stage kind of deal. And, it’s very weird, at the same time I was working in a music store in Aylmer, Quebec, my hometown; and this guy walked in and gave me some business cards and said ‘I just opened up a local recording studio and if you know any musicians who want to do demos, I would appreciate it if you would hand them my card’. And I said ‘well, I’m a guitar player and I’ve never really recorded in the studio’; he said ‘well, come on over and you can play guitar on a couple of my songs’. I did that and at the same time, Eight Seconds were recording demos at his studio. And they, at the same time, decided they wanted to trade up, or change guitar players. So, this gentleman, Manfred Leidecker, said ‘well, listen to this kid I just recorded him’. And they gave me an audition and I got the gig with Eight Seconds. The band that my neighbor took me to go see, maybe a month before. Next thing I knew I was in that band, and I was 23 years old. And the first gig I ever did with them was opening up for ‘Luba’ at the Ottawa Congress Center. And they scored a number one hit in Canada with “Kiss You When It’s Dangerous”. We opened up for David Bowie and Wang Chung and Paul Young and we did a North American tour. The next thing I knew I was living the dream. From ’85 to ’87, it was unbelievable!
And how many albums did you guys do? Just a couple or…?
I was on Ottawa Rima, which is a self-produced first album. Then that generated the interest of Rupert Hine and Polygram Records. So, then we did Almacantar, which had the “Kiss You When It’s Dangerous” hit on it. And, and then they did a great album. I got the boot in ’87 and they decided to go without a guitar player. It was very support oriented, in those years. And they did another album, which is in my opinion, was their best album, which is called Big Houses. And they produced that one at Le Studio, in Morin Heights. I was not on that one, Bill Beaudoin played the guitar on that one. That was in 1990.
Were you a writer?
Yeah, I wrote some stuff on Almacantar. Not complete songs, but melodies and, certain choruses and stuff like that. I was just getting my feet wet, as the singer, guitar player, writer. That was basically my first attempt was with Eight Seconds.
Was there any other recording bands or did you, like, locally throughout the years before April Wine came along?
After Eight Seconds, I moved to Montreal in ’87 and did a bachelor’s degree in music at Concordia University, And realized that the scene in Montreal, there was a strong blues scene. A lot of clubs had bands that played blues. Three sets, four sets a night, four – 45-minute sets. So, I put together a band that still exists to this day. It’s called Wang Dang Doodle. I put that band together in 1989. And just learned the craft of playing live and singing and fronting a band, in the clubs in Quebec and Ontario. And I still play with that band once a month, just because it’s fun.
And playing the Quebec blues circuit, I met Richard Lanthier, who was playing bass in that same circuit. And I hired Richard a few times to play in my band. And he hired me to play with Carl Tremblay’s band. We basically knew each other. When Myles Goodwyn’s health issues got a little worse about eight years ago, Richard recommended me. And I auditioned for Myles on the phone. He liked what he heard and offered me the gig. And I, you know, I just had my first child, and I had a pretty good day job. Unfortunately, I had to refuse. So, I actually said no to April Wine eight years ago. And I couldn’t believe it. I was telling all my friends; I can’t believe I just said no to April Wine.
And they kept going. Myles hung in there for another eight years. Luckily for me, they didn’t find a replacement for Myles. And then Myles’ issue post-COVID, became worse. And then he said, ‘how about that Marc guy that we auditioned eight years ago?’ At that point my girls were more grown up. And I had returned to being a full-time musician. So, the timing was just right. I didn’t say no the second time around.
That’s interesting, because I remember that post going up years ago that he wanted to step back. And people flooded the April Wine groups with names and stuff and suggestions. And then there was nothing said for years.
I think a couple of guys, Myles was very, very picky in what he wanted. And I think he put a couple of guys through the ringer there, they auditioned for him, and I think it was pretty tough. I was just in the right place at the right time. Like, lucky for me, he didn’t find his guy. You know, and he liked, and he liked me. So, my voice naturally sounds like his. I don’t try to imitate Myles when I sing. I just respect the melody of the song as close as I can to the record. And I just put my own energy into it, my own vocal style. And I respect Myles’ vocal style. I try to be as close to the original as possible. But I don’t imitate. I’m not an impersonator. I don’t do that.
And he had a pretty recognizable, distinctive voice.
Absolutely! All the great singers do.
Do you remember what you were required to learn to audition with?
Well, I did “Roller” and “Gypsy Queen” for him, on the phone eight years ago. And then this time around, when I got the call the second time, I took out my iPhone and an acoustic guitar, and I just did a rough demo. And I sent it to him, and I said ‘listen, this is as rough as it gets’. It’s my friggin’ phone and an acoustic guitar. Nothing else. ‘And if you like the tone of the voice and you like what you hear, then maybe we’re onto something here.’
And he was listening to it in his studio and a friend of his called him on the phone and he asks his friend ‘What do you think of this?’, and his friend says ‘Well, what? That’s just you singing and playing guitar’. And Myles said ‘Okay. That’s the guy!’ And so, whoever that guy is, I have no idea who that guy is, but that guy got me the gig.
That’s funny.
The guy thought it was Myles.
I’ve watched the live clips on YouTube and obviously nobody can sound like Myles, but you’re close enough that the sound, the songs aren’t losing anything, you know?
Yeah. It’s all about the song, right!? It’s all about the memories that we, that the songs evoke in us. So, my, my job is to serve the song and make sure that when you come see the show, you hear that song the way you remember it and you get all those nice, warm, fuzzy feelings that you had when you were 16 years old. You know what I mean!? That’s my job.
I think for Canadians; I think April Wine is a special band because guys in our age group kind of grew up with them and they had so many hits, so many radio hits. We know all those songs, so just still getting to hear them is great.
I think so too. That’s my approach. When you come and hear the show, you want to hear the song, then we are, our mantra is to play the song as close as possible to the record. That’s what we said we were going to do and that’s what we’re doing and making sure you have a really good time. Yeah. So, you come out, you hear the songs as you remember them, you have tons of energy on stage – Brian Greenway is 72 years old, he’s still kicking ass. And Richard Lanthier and Roy Nichol have been there for like 12 and 14 years. They’re a powerhouse rhythm section. We’re a really tight band. And we’ve got great songs, great hits to play. It’s fun for us too!
It’s a huge catalog. I’m curious how familiar were you with the entire catalog before all this?
Oh, not that familiar. I was familiar with the same songs you were familiar with. I grew up listening to April Wine on the radio. So, I mean, at one point I’d learned maybe 30 songs, and then Brian comes up with the list, he says ‘Okay, here’s seven more songs, these are the American hits’. And I go ‘Excuse me?’ He goes ‘Yeah, these songs were big in the States.’ I go ‘Oh my God.’
I have the entire catalog, so like I’ve followed them since the early 80s, there’s so much to it, right? You have kind of have three phases of the band, the early band until the mid 70s, and then when Brian joined, and then the post reunion stuff. So, how much of that catalog do you guys play? Do you change it up a lot, or are you, is there a set list that you gotta keep to?
When we’re headlining, we have an hour and a half Canadian set, we have an American set, which has different songs, not all different, but there’s a few more American hit songs that are in there that are not in the Canadian set.
We have an opening act set, so, you know, we’re going to England and we’re going to be playing pretty much just the hits, because we have 45 minutes. And then we’re doing the Bachman Turner Overdrive tour in April, I believe that’s a 45 or a 60-minute set, so, again, and that’s a Canadian tour, so that’ll be just the hits, because that’s what people want to hear.
And even though I say just the hits, there’s a couple of deep tracks in there as well. Just so, you know, for the connoisseurs, there are some deep tracks in there as well. But when you have 45 minutes and you have as many hits as April Wine has, you got to pick and choose. It’s a good problem to have.
Now that you’ve been in the band for a while, have you had a chance to go back through the catalog, and listen to everything and kind of put in ideas that may be things you want to try or things that aren’t in the setlist?
Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Brian came up with a bunch of songs the other day and sometimes he brings out tunes and I go ‘Man, I haven’t heard that one yet!’ It’s such a huge catalog. I’ll go back and listen to the albums, listen to a bunch of stuff and I’ll come up with a suggestion, and he might say ‘That one didn’t really stick with the public…’, and he knows; he’s been there since ’77, so he knows what was popular, and what wasn’t.
When Myles was still with you guys, you guys had gone into the studio at one point. Was there anything finished or kind of any plans to finish any of that stuff?
I had the honor of writing a song with Myles. He had this song lying around and he and I worked on it and then when he did his last show in Nova Scotia, he brought the guys in and they recorded it and I put some vocals on it, played some guitar. So, there’s a song out there. It’ll probably end up on a live album.
There’s a live recording of Myles’ last show. So that’s in the works right now. I can’t say more because I don’t know where we’re at in that process. Where the powers that be are at in the process. But I’m pretty sure that we’re going to have a bonus track on that album and it’ll be, you know, Myles’ last song.
And you’re on it!?
Yeah.
Have you done any recordings with you in the band? Taped any live shows or anything or any live video professionally that can be used for promotion or for release?
If you go on the website, there’s a video that hits you as soon as you open the website. That’s a promo video that was professionally done. They just took a clip of “Roller” and put it on there as an audio track. So that video, we’re really proud of it. It gives you an idea of the energy of the show live. But there’s no audio yet. There’s no audio that I know of anyways, no professional live recording.
I think that would be a cool idea kind of to reintroduce the band that this is what we sound like now.
Totally agree. I think that even when Myles’ last live show, you could have a package in there where there’s some live songs of us now, so you get a bit of everything. I think that’s what they’re working on. Maybe that’s why it’s not out yet.
Has there been any discussion of eventually recording some new material?
Well, that’s a tricky situation because I think Myles was the main songwriter and Kim, who is Myles’ widow, her job is to really preserve Myles’ legacy.
So, to bring out new songs, they would have to be things that Myles has had a hand in. And he’s got a bunch of snippets on his phone. So, I think one of these days we’re going to have to go through all those snippets and see if there’s good ideas in there, which I’m sure there are, that we could potentially turn into songs.
The other option is, I know when the Thin Lizzy guys wanted to record without Phil Lynott, they ended up finding a new name. Not that you guys need to find a new name, but even… alter the name a bit or ‘featuring’…. But it’d be cool to hear the band, something live and in the studio, as is.
I totally agree.
We’ll have to see. Right now, there’s a lot happening right now just for us, playing live. So, it’d be nice. We’re going to be touring a lot, so it’d be nice to set something up where we could record the shows. We always want to be better musicians. We always want to get better and make the show better. So, there’s nothing like recording video and audio to listen to yourself and to watch yourself. That’s the best way to critique and get better.
It’s interesting because Myles, for years, was very dead set against people recording at shows and taking pictures. So there was a scarcity of stuff out there for a long time.
I think he was a little… I didn’t know the man as well as the other guys. I didn’t get to spend much time with him, unfortunately. But I think he was a little resistant of the new technology until he wrapped his head around it, then he really embraced it. You know!? Even just GPS. I mean, he still liked using maps until he understood it more and then he loved it. Maybe that’s why he didn’t like people taking pictures and shooting video because he was afraid, they would use it in a context that he didn’t approve of.
Do you have any favorite albums in the catalog now that you’ve gone through it all?
Harder, Faster – for sure. Live stuff is always great. There’s great energy. I love the ’81 show in London, they’re really firing on all cylinders. There’s so much out there. Now that I get to sing it, it’s like I like them all. I like them all and I hear them in a different way now.
Do you have any other plans to do anything… Recording-wise – outside of the band?
I had to keep busy during COVID. So, I did like 50 videos of other people’s material. It’s started out as just an I-Phone and a guitar and ended up being productions that would take 3-4 months. it was really fun. So, I’m always interested in recording and getting back to that. I’m always coming up with ideas and putting them on my phone. I just have to take the time to elaborate on them, writing songs. Now that I’m going to be touring a bit more, I have 2 young daughters, so me to take time off, I have to spend as much time with them as I can, so right now I’m more in to ‘papa’ mode because I know I’m going to be leaving soon. So, I’m taking care of my daughters, and spending as much as time as I can with them before I take off.
To answer your question, there’s always songs in my head, and I’m always interested in recording and putting ideas down. I can’t wait to get back to that. I was really into it during COVID when I had more time on my hands. But now, it’s really fun to concentrate on making the April Wine show as good as possible and making it the best people have ever seen. April Wine were a powerhouse in the 70s when there were 5 people in it, and a lot of people were blown away by that show, and our idea is to bring it in to today and still give it that great energy, playing those great songs.
Has there been any talk over time about adding a 3rd guitarist back?
At first, Myles’ idea was to do exactly that. And what happened was, logistically, nowadays it costs so much to be on the road, so expensive to fly to a gig, and fly equipment around, stuff like that. So, it just turned out that was easier logistically for 4 guys (instead of 5) in terms of transportation, in terms of everybody flying out of Montreal. Gary Borden, who is Sass Jordan’s guitar player, had the gig, and at the last minute we had to pull the plug on Gary, unfortunately. And it had nothing to do with him or his playing, anything like that – he’s great! It’s just that it didn’t make sense to bring in a guy from Niagara Falls compared to guys flying out of Montreal. So that’s why it’s a 4 piece, because it’s just too damn expensive to be on the road today, and bring a show to people, and keep shows at a reasonable price. So, maybe one day we’ll get back to that idea of the 5 piece like the early 80s.
That’d be cool! have you had a chance to meet any of the band alumni, like Gary Moffett, Jerry Mercer, and some of those guys?
Well not Gary Moffett, not yet – but I can’t wait! But Jerry Mercer came and kicked our ass in Montreal. He’s 84 years old. Have you seen the video of him playing with us? (Yes). And he said ‘I want to play “Roller”‘, and I thought ‘oh boy it’s going to be like geriatric Roller tempo or something. and Holy Shit (!), man, he came out and kicked our ass! Wow! i want to be like Jerry Mercer at 84, I want to have that energy. He was just amazing!
I saw them in ’84 on the farewell tour, and then a number times in the ’90s when they came back. And Jerry’s solo was always a highlight of the show. It wasn’t like any other drum solo (where you might run to the bathroom), it was pretty intense, and you stuck around and watched it.
Well, if you’re a drum solo fan, you’re going to love Roy Nichols’ solo, it’s really cool; it’s very original. It’s one of the highlights of the show. There might not be time for it when we’re the opening act, but when we’re the headliner we have a drum solo and a bass solo, and we stretch out a little more, which is fun.
Roy sings as well!?
Oh, Roy’s a great singer, a great producer. He’s got his own studio. He’s a super-talented guy!
I’ve seen clips of him online doing Journey.
Yeah, he’s got a Journey tribute band. And Richard Lanthier has a Harmonium tribute band, and a Deep Purple tribute band. I had a Steely Dan tribute band before getting this gig. As musicians we have to have a lot of projects on the go to stay busy; and that’s the nature of the beast (haha).
Do you listen to a lot of music, whether on Spotify or buy anything?
I tend to listen to a lot of blues-oriented stuff, a lot of new stuff – Spotify’s throwing stuff at me all the time. I have all kinds of different tastes – Kasey Musgraves, and I like Blackberry Smoke, and Joe Bonamassa’s band with Glenn Hughes (Black Country Communion). I like Slash’s stuff. I like all kinds of new stuff too. Kasey Musgraves is a great singer-songwriter, who I listen to all the time with my daughters. And my daughters like all kinds of new stuff, so they’re keeping me hip to newer stuff. (lol) And every so often I’ll get sick of it and say ‘OK, sit down, these are The Beatles, these are the Stones, and this is Led Zeppelin.’
Did you have a big record collection, growing up?
Yeah. I had a good vinyl collection, and then it turned into cassettes, because we would do these cassette recording blitzes because we could listen to cassettes in our cars. We would get together on Sundays and spend the whole day just recording albums on to cassettes.
American artist LON GODDARD drew a number of album covers in the 70s and 80s,, one of which was the lone LP by the BYRON BAND ‘On The Rocks’, from 1981. this was the band lead by original URIAH HEEP singer David Byron (RIP) and featured a young guitarist and co-writer – Robin George (RIP), as well as former BADFINGER keyboard player Bob Jackson, bassist Roger Flavell (ex CHRISTIE), drummer John Shearer (Steve Hackett), and (sax player) Mel Collins . The album’s cover features a drawing of David, and came with a posted that featured a drawing of the band. On The Rocks didn’t fare so well, nor was it given a North American release. It is much loved by many fans of David Byron and robin George, however. The album has most recently been reissued as ‘On The Rocks…Again‘ via Cherry Red Records, as part of a 3 CD package, and featuring Goddard’s artwork again. Below Lon Goddard details his early days relocating to England, creating album covers, working at the record Mirror, and designing the Byron Band album cover.
How did you get in to a career as an illustrator and wind up in the UK for a good part of your career (Influences, jobs that took you there….)
• Left States at 17 in 1966, with a guitar on a whim, to accompany high school pal who had arranged a Drama course at Manchester University as a visiting student, intended to remain only for that summer and search for Donovan records. His music primarily inspired me to learn folk finger-picking Met him several times much later). Also enrolled in Manchester University studying English & American Literature. We hopped over to Paris for a month before school opening, as pal had been an exchange student and maintained friends in France.
Returning, became bored with University and hitched to London, went to address of Roy Harper, given to me by busker in Paris who said Harper put people up. He was right. Stayed, became friends with Roy, who first took me to Cousins, drew SOPHISTICATED BEGGAR art (always fair at cartoon caricature, via posters, helped many high school candidates achieve student offices) and played 2nd guitar on OCTOBER 12th and GOLDFISH. Picked up by Judith Piepe (who had helped Paul Simon kick-start) at Cousins, dossed at her Shadwell flat, but though she was very helpful, disagreed with her suggested plans for me to run a new folk club being started by a gay priest in St Martin’s In the Crypt. Instead, saw Melody Maker had cartoonist (the great Scots artist Jimmy Thompson, whom I later met) and took caricatures round to NME, RM, FAB 208, etc.. Record Mirror’s Peter Jones hired me as weekly cartoonist, followed by staff position as layout man (mentored by Norman Jopling), then became staff writer. With art examples, Peter and Norman accompanied me to the Home Office, where I was granted permanent Residency in UK. Denied dual citizenship by USA.
After 7-years, left RM in ’72 after being recommended for CBS Press Office by departing PR Mike O’Mahoney. From ’66 through to ’77, was RM staffer, Head of Press for CBS Records, editor of DISC, Head of Press for Phonogram Records.
When heady days of pop music began to wane, took previous cartoons round to art agents and was accepted by Andrew Archer Associates, becoming a commercial illustrator. Left Archer’s for Folio Artists & Illustrators Agents, remained there till stupidly emigrating to Aussie in ’83. After a year Down Under and failed attempts at residency, wondered where the Hell I was, returned to USA. Had been gone 25-years.
You worked at Record Mirror for some years. What all did that entail?
• Interviewing music artists, drawing artists, laying out pages, babying weekly paper through printers in Banbury, attending endless stream of concerts domestic and abroad, receptions, gatherings, etc.. An endless party.
How to you come to the task of creating the cover art for The Byron Band LP in 1981? (Connections at Creole, David Byron, etc…).
• Interviewed Byron for RM. He asked me to do the ROCKS cover art.
I still have the LP. Frankly, I thought it was a pretty good concept done very crudely by me.
Were you familiar with and/or have any past assignments involving David Byron (with Uriah Heep)?
• Only through RM interviews.
How did you approach the cover for On The Rocks? Was there any/much input from David, the band or management? Any inspirations?
• Figured ON THE ROCKS suggested ice, so submitted the idea of ‘freezing’ the band. Byron liked it. Sketched ideas, he watched and had input as ideas became visible. We set up a studio photo shoot (probablywith either John McKenzie or Alan Messer (from official RM photographer Dezo Hoffmann’s office), posed band in required positions, created airbrush illustrations at home art studio in St. Margarets.
Were you privy to hear the music ahead of time or hang with the band members while creating the cover-art or was it more so done with the help of photos to go from?
• Yes. In many cases, including this one, audio previews provided valuable mental pictures & ideas. However, as a music journalist, I had also accumulated extensive knowledge of most bands and singers, plus a giant record collection.
What exactly is happening on the front cover (with David appearing to punch through glass)?
• Busting through a freezer chamber window with his fist.
What was your art technique in creating the covers + poster (how was this all put on to canvas or paper?)
• Referenced metallic textures, sketched metal sections to LP size enlarged for later reduction to achieve finer detail; best to always work larger), posed band and Byron in photog’s studio, at home utilized projector to size photos of Byron & band into sketches on illustrator art board, rendered with inks by hand brush and airbrush.
Recall the poster that was included?
Yes indeed, the centerfold. The idea was to put them on ice. I was not good enough at airbrushing to achieve that effect.
You’ve done a number of other covers. What would be your favorite or most recognizable covers? (Roy Harper, Hoyt Axton, Hard Meat, Musical Youth)
• Roy’s was the most memorable, becoming surprisingly iconic. I’m very proud of its place in history and it was his first. Getting a deal with a small company (Strike Records), he had asked me to draw him for the cover, having seen other sketches. Rendered on paper on his floor, where I slept with four or five other dossers, I was lucky he was pleased with it. Also did art for releases by The Dubliners, Cat Stevens, The Coasters, Killing Joke (second favorite)… maybe more.
Aside from the album covers, what else has your career entailed, and what are you up to these days?
• As a professional illustrator, I worked mostly for advertising agencies, through my agents FOLIO. Usually given a brief, the pay amount and a schedule, I turned out a great deal of work over those years. I was represented at Folio (still in business) by Richard (Dick) Jordan, with whom I am still in touch and saw only last year in Wales. Dick and I both moved from Andrew Archer to Folio and remained there for many years. He was also the manager and booker for Klook’s Kleek, so Dick had a strong musical background
These days, at age 77, I am a musician. Turned full circle from listening to folk records back in my hometown of Elk Grove, Californi(just south of Sacramento) and trying to figure out how they did finger-picking, to finally putting that ability to use. I have about a dozen gigs per month as a guitarist/vocalist.
JAZZ SABBATH has just issued their 3rd LP – The 1968 Tapes. This 8 Black Sabbath classics (including 1 ‘bonus’ track.) The LP’s back cover tells the story of the band’s hard luck of having their jazz songs stolen and made famous by a certain heavy rock band from Birmingham. Jazz Sabbath is lead by Milton Keanes (aka Adam Wakeman), who was kind enough to answer my questions about the band, the albums, and a bit more of his time outside of JS, working with Black Sabbath, Ozzy, and more recently touring the USA with Uriah Heep.
Can you tell a bit about your musical upbringing/influences, and how you got into jazz?I was taught piano from the age of 8 and took the 8 classical grades which was a great bedrock for technique and musical theory. The first artist I got really into was Jazz Blues pianist Dr. John who is still one of my favourite artists. I used to like Jazz but never really wanted to play it. I was more into rock as a kid, so it was Van Halen and bands like that that I loved.
How did the whole idea/concept (along with back story) for Jazz Sabbath come about?
I was in a hotel bar in Berlin on a Black Sabbath tour and I started playing some of the Black Sabbath set on the piano at the request of one of Ozzy’s security guards who was the only other person in the bar. From there, I went to my room and started thinking about creating the disillusioned Jazz pianist called Milton Keanes who thinks he wrote all the songs made famous by Black Sabbath. I love the mix of a comedic backstory with good music.
How have you gone about choosing the Sabbath songs for each Jazz Sabbath album, including the ‘1968 Tapes’?
I just played a few songs and whichever ones initially seemed to work, I then developed from there. Some seem to work easier than others so for example, Into the Void I knew straight away how I wanted the main theme to sound and then the solo sections I just went off on a tangent.
Can you give us an idea of how you translate a classic heavy Black Sabbath song into a jazz number, minus vocals ?
I take either the guitar part or vocal melody and adapt that rhythmically and melodically to how I think it should sound in my style of jazz/blues. I try to make it as interesting and challenging to play, which means when we come to play it live, it’s always a challenge!
What have been some you most interesting and/or challenging moments on these Jazz Sabbath records?
One of the most interesting parts has always been choosing the musicians and instruments for the solo spots within songs. The 1968 Tapes was the first time I got 2 different solos in the same track – so one release has a trumpet solo and the Record Store Day release has a Sax solo.
Might Jazz Sabbath attempt any tracks beyond the band’s 70s era w/ Ozzy,?
Not at the moment. I feel I know the Ozzy Era so well because of all the shows I have played with that original line up of Black Sabbath over the years so I feel it comes from a genuine place. I won’t say never, but it’s not something I’m planning. How are the audience’s that come to see the band – do you find there are a lot of Sabbath fans curious to hear those songs done so differently, OR do you get jazz fans who aren’t familiar with Black Sabbath?
Its a real mix and generally, it’s only a handful of hardcore metal fans. Mostly it’s music lovers who like Sabbath amongst other bands and Jazz fans that are curious. There are always people who have not been that aware of the Sabbath catalogue.
Might we see you guys in Canada sometime in the future?
Yes most definitely… Watch this space as we’re working with promoters at the moment. How has the feedback been from the Black Sabbath guys? Any of them particularly fond of what Jazz Sabbath is doing or anyone making any song suggestions?
They have all been very supportive with their comments. I certainly wouldn’t have pursued this if any of them were unhappy with it, or didn’t find the comedic back story amusing. Fortunately, they all have a great sense of humor and after 20 odd years, I’m very fortunate to still be good friends with all of the guys. I’m extremely fond of all of them.
You’ve worked with Ozzy and Sabbath for years. Can you give me any favorite tracks you’ve recorded on, or any favorite classic Ozzy / Sabbath songs to perform live?
There’s so many great songs from Ozzy & Black Sabbath’s catalogue. Live favourites for me are Mr. Crowley, Perry Mason and Into The Void. From a recording perspective, co-writing the Scream album with Ozzy was a real highlight for me. The opening track Let it Die was a real favourite.
You toured the US in the spring, playing with Uriah Heep. Can you tell me how that tour came about for you? And if you can talk a bit about the time taken and learning Heep’s setlist?
I got a call from Russ Gilbrook the drummer from Heep and although I had met them all once before, Russ I had met a few times over the years. He told me that they needed someone to cover the US leg of their tour and it fitted perfectly in between 2 other tours so I jumped at the chance. I was learning the songs whilst on a different tour so it was just grabbing a few hours here and there on a tour bus or in a hotel room. These days, the luxury of learning songs in my studio seem to be long gone as I’m on the road so much. Were you familiar with Heep (or their catalogue) prior to the tour? Any favorite tracks to perform?
I wasn’t that familiar with their entire catalogue but I knew a couple of tunes. “July Morning” was a favourite to play as was “Grazed by Heaven”. I really liked playing “Hail the Sunrise” from their new album too.
Did you enjoy the tour and might we see you on stage with Heep during their farewell tour?
I loved the tour. great music and great people. For me that’s the combination, especially when you have to spend so much time together. I don’t see me joining them on the farewell tour as Phil only needed cover for the 6 week US tour. I will try and go see a show though if our paths cross!
What sort of music do you listen to, either at home or on the road? Any favorite older artists you’re into or more current favorites?
It’s hard to relax with music if I’m honest because I’m around it with work all day long and when I’m not playing, I’m either learning songs for the next tour or arranging strings for projects, in the studio writing or recording. When I do get a chance to listen to something, it’s normally whatever is on the radio, be it pop music, classical music or some good old AC/DC. If I had to turn something on, I’d probably go rock first – back to my childhood and Guns N Roses, Led Zep, that sort of stuff.
With the upcoming release of BADFINGER’s ‘lost’ final album, titled Head First, I thought it interesting with at least a few other bands who released albums by the same title. Well, BADFINGER’s Head First is not a totally ‘lost’ album, it was initially released in 2000 CD only format (1 & 2 disc versions).
So, let’s look into 3 fine albums that share the same title and an odd connection or 2 .
THE BABYS – 1978
This English AOR band, featuring singer John Waite, released their 3rd album on Chrysalis, in December. (Heep’s Fallen Angel was released on Chrysalis a few months prior). It featured the hits “Every Time I Think Of You” (co-written by and featuring ex Doors bassist Jack Conrad), and the standout driving “Head First”, which presumably the album took it’s title from. The band at the time also included guitarist Wally Stocker (who later played with Rod Stewart) and drummer Tony Brock (ex Strider). As the band had parted ways with their keyboard player prior to (or during) this recording, session players were used as well, including John Sinclair (ex Heavy Metal Kids), on a couple of tracks. Sinclair would go on to join Uriah Heep a few years later, and Jonathan Cain (pre Journey) would join The Babys before their next album.
URIAH HEEP – 1983
Released in the spring of 1983, this would be Heep’s 2nd album with their revitalized line up that recorded the successful Abominog a year before. The band featured new singer Peter Goalby, bass player Bob Daisley, and new keyboard player John Sinclair (along with founder Mick Box, and drummer Lee Kerslake)! It featured the singles “Stay On Top” and “Lonely Nights” (Bryan Adams) – both covers. It also featured the fan favorite “The Other Side Of Midnight”. The title, according to Daisley was inspired by either the Jeff Beck track “Head For Backstage Pass”, and or a line or t-shirt with a similar phrase by the Faces,
*Interesting to note that American band THE LIZARDS, released an album of covers in 2008, titled Ar-che-ol-o-gy, which featured excellent versions of The Babys’ “Head First” and Uriah Heep’s “The Wizard”.
BADFINGER – 1975, 2000, 2024
What was to be BADFINGER’S 7th album, and 3rd for Warner Bros turned into a disaster at the time, as legal issues with Warners saw the album shelved at the time, the suicide of Pete Ham, and essentially the band ending (sure, there were other versions of the band in late 70s & early 80s, but, meh….). Anyway, initially recorded as the follow up to Wish You Were Here (the band’s best IMO), this album was recorded quickly during uncertain times as legal issues saw Wish You Were Here pulled from the shelves, and Warners refusing to release this one. A few tracks appeared on a Badfinger compilation from Rhino in 1990, and the album was released in 2000 on CD. That release was based on a rough mix made at the time 74, by the engineer Phil McDonald. Badfinger’s Head First is now set to get a proper release – properly mixed and overseen by Bob Jackson – who had replaced Joey Molland prior to the recordings. Bob joined original members Pete Ham, Tommy Evans, and Mike Gibbons. The title for this Bacfinger album, came about during the 3 weeks the band had to record, according to Bob Jackson in Dan Matovina’s book ‘The Tragic Story of Badfnger‘ – “…The idea came from Tommy. He wanted the cover to be a lion roaring. The idea was the situation we were in, how we were diving in, ‘head first.” Jackson would go on to record and play with The Dodgers (1978-79) and then The Byron Band (1980-82). the latter led by original Uriah Heep Singer David Byron. Bob also features on the Cherry Red Records new release of The Byron Band ‘On The Rocks…Again‘.
And for the curious….
GERONIMO – 1982
OK, I don’t have this one, nor do i know if it’s connected, But I am extremely interested to hear it. It was issued through a small indie label in Nashville (Brylen), and there seems to be very few copies of this online (cheap) or much info about it. The track listing includes a few familiar titles, which I understand are covers – “Shoot Shoot” (UFO), “Lady Of The 80s” (Loverboy), and “Never Been Any Reason” (Head East). There is also a track titled “Head First” (wonder if this is a Babys’ cover or an original!?) Can’t find credits or anything on Youtube, so if anyone has this – please drop me some info!
With the latest release of classic Black Sabbath tunes from JAZZ SABBATH, and one earlier this year from ZAKK SABBATH, I thought I’d take a look (list) those acts out there who are paying homage to Sabbath’s music, while doing something different with it, and releasing albums. I don’t have everything here, but I recently picked up the latest Jazz Sabbath on vinyl, and hope to find a few on this list that I am missing. If there are any glaring omissions (Sabbath cover bands that actually record and do something different!), please leave it in the comments!
JAZZ SABBATH
Featuring keyboard player Adam Wakeman, who has toured with both Black Sabbath & Ozzy, and who’s father played on Sabbath & Ozzty recordings. This is Sabbath done jazz style. No vocals, no heavy guitars. Quite interesting. Jazz Sabbath have just released their 3rd album of Sabbath songs redone in jazz style, The 1968 Tapes. www.jazzsabbath.net
ZAKK SABBATH
Lead by Ozzy’s longtime guitar player Zakk Wylde, Zakk Sabbath has 2 albums out, totaling 3 LPs – covering Sabbath’s first 3 albums. Zakk tries to stay faithful to the heavy Sabbath sound and does a decent job on vocals as well. www.zakksabbath.bandcamp.com
BROWN SABBATH
Brown Sabbath (aka Brownout), from Texas have released a couple of albums of Sabbath material done in latin / funk style. This stuff has to be heard. Excellent vocals, complete with horns and whatever else, giving the Sabbath classics a whole new feel. Haven’t seen any updates on these guys for a while. They have recorded their own material under the name ‘Brownout.’ https://www.brownoutmusic.com/brown-sabbath
MAC SABBATH
A US parody band, these guys dress up as McDonald’s characters, and re-write the lyrics to fast food agenda. Funny, yet very dark and very heavy. They have one album out – DriveThru Metal (2021). www.officialmacsabbath.com
BLACK SABBITCH
An all-female band playing the Sabbath classics. They’ve released 1 – 3 track ep (sold at shows and online, presumably), which is taken from the band’s upcoming full album. www.blacksabbitch.com
HAND OF DOOM
Lead by former Hole & Smashing Pumpkins bass player (and Canadian) Melissa Auf der Maur, who is the singer here. Hand Of Doom existed for a few years (2000-2003) and released 1 album Live In Los Angeles (’02). Sounds good, an interesting spin on things, and one I need to find.
HIRSH GARDNER is best known as the drummer for American AOR band NEW ENGLAND, who burst on to the rock scene in the late ’70s, releasing their classic AOR debut album in ’79. That album, co-produced by Paul Stanley and Mike Stone featured the hit “Don’t Ever Wanna Lose Ya”, as well as favorites “Alone Tonight” and “Nothing To Fear”. New England released 2 further albums – Explorer Suite (1980) and Walking Wild (81), before splitting up. Hirsh Gardner moved on to produce other artists and has just released his third solo album Third Time’s A Charm (Deko ent.), which features a mix of Hirsh’s new songs and revisits of some classic New England songs. An excellent disc of hard-rock and AOR, and a ‘must’ for any fans of New England. In our conversation a few weeks back Hirsh talks about the making of his new album, and a bit about his past, influences, and old days in Toronto, as the first thing i learned was Hirsh was born in Ontario, and grew up in the Toronto scene of the late ’60s, before moving to the US for school in 1969.
I’m just a little north of Boston. Boston has been my basic hometown for many, many years. I came here in 1969 from Toronto.
You must have caught a good part of the Toronto scene back then!?
Oh man, big time. Basically, when I was in high school, I used to sneak out at night and go down to Yorkville and just hang out in all the clubs – The Purple Onion, the Minor Bird, the Riverboat, the Avenue Road Club, all those guys are peers of mine. All the musicians, Luke and The Apostles, Mandala, Edward Bear.
I was born in 1969, but through all the Canadian groups that I’m on on Facebook, I’ve heard all these names.
Yeah, I mean Crowbar – Sonnie Bernardi and I basically grew up together. We played hockey, and on Sunday afternoons, his parents ran the coat check down at the Concord Tavern.
So, Sonnie and I would just say, we both became drummers and Sonnie and I would go down on the Sunday afternoon matinee at the Concord and we’d see everybody play down there. That was amazing. It was a great time to be a rock and roll musician in Toronto.
Were you born in Toronto?
I was born in Toronto, yeah, and went to school there and then in ’69 decided to go to Berklee College of Music in Boston. So that’s what brought me down here.
So, Third Time’s A Charm is half new songs and half New England songs that you’ve redone.The new songs, which very much fit the mold of New England, got a little bit more bite and the drums sound great on this album. I’m wondering how you came about to do this like half and half type thing.
Yeah, it’s a great question and it’s one that a lot of people are getting inquisitive. So I had between 9 and 11 songs that were completely done. And a few years back New England was doing a gig in LA and Jimmy Waldo and I arrived at the rehearsal studio slash recording studio first. So we set up the drums and set up Jimmy’s keyboards and just to try things out; we figured ‘well, let’s run down a couple songs’.
So obviously, “Don’t Ever Wanna Lose Ya” was our biggest hit song, so we decided to record the keyboard tracks and the drum tracks just to see how everything sounded. It was nothing that we were planning on releasing. And then in the last year or so, year and a half, as I was recording the new album, I came across the old files of the drum tracks and the keyboards and I listened to it in my studio and I’m going ‘holy shit, this sounds amazing!’ So, what I did is I grabbed my guitar, and I played a little bit of the guitar tracks. Of course, I was nowhere near as good as John Fannon, but I was able to outline the song with the guitar, put a little bass on it and then I just decided to sing the lead vocal and put in all the background vocals and it just started to sound so amazing.
And I’ve heard a lot of covers of the song, “Don’t Ever Wanna Lose Ya”, over the years. I mean, BRONZ, a band from England did it and a band called HOUSTON did it. It just seemed to me that nobody really did this song the justice that I think it deserved. I mean, the song definitely deserves to be hard again because it’s such a classic song and judging from the responses that I’m getting on social media, most people agree with that. So as I was recording the new album and the nine to 11 songs, I sent the version of “Don’t Ever Wanna Lose Ya” to Chris Laney. Chris Laney is the co-producer on the album. Chris is also the guitar player, keyboard player for the band PRETTY MAIDS, and I’ve been a huge fan of theirs for years. Chris and I hooked up a few years back and became fast friends. So, Chris laid down all the guitar tracks, and ff course, he erased all mine because they sucked (lol). And when I got the song back, it just sounded incredible. Chris did such an amazing job. So, I thought at that point, let’s take four or five more New England songs, especially the songs that I’m either singing lead on or songs that I wrote in New England, or co-wrote in New England.
Then I decided to do “She’s Gonna Tear You Apart”, which was on the third New England album. I sent that basic track to Chris and he just recorded some more amazing guitar tracks and then “Hello, Hello, Hello” was next, which I think that was our second hit single. And then, I don’t know if you know, Ron Bumblefoot Tahl; Ron’s an amazing, amazing guitar player and a pretty good friend of mine. I found out that Ron was a big New England fan from way back when, so we hooked up, he’s actually playing on my second album, and I sent him “Nothing To Fear” because I knew he loved New England songs and he could play anything. So, I asked him if he would record all the guitar tracks for “Nothing To Fear”. So, what you’re listening to on the new album is Ron Bumblefoot Tahl on guitar, Jimmy Waldo on keys, Gary Shea on bass, and me on drums and vocals. That song turned out amazingly well. And then, (of course) I wanted to get all the guys in New England on one of the songs, so “Holding Out On Me” was a great choice because that’s definitely a diehard heavy metal AC/DC type of song, I had John Fannon play guitar on that, Jimmy Waldo on keys, Gary Shea on bass, and I have a guest drummer on that, Allan Sorensen. Allan is the drummer in Pretty Maids. I asked Chris Laney if Alan would be interested, and he loved it. Listen to the drums on that song, they are just stellar!
How much of the album does Chris Laney play on?
Well, he’s playing on, he’s playing on “Faith In Your Heart”, which is one of the originals, “Angel In The Sky”, which is a co-write with me and Chris. And he’s playing on “Never Gonna Lose You, “Tear You Apart”, and I think that’s it. He contributed a lot of guitar and he’s just such a talented young man. He really is great.
The original songs you wrote, have they been songs that you’ve written in recent years or things you’ve kind of had over the years?
No, I think most of them are pretty new. I’m looking at my song list here, “Lover’s Lullaby” was written in the last few years and “Reach Out For Love” is the most current song. Maybe “Faith In Your Heart” has been around for about four years. “Angel In The Sky” was a co-write with Chris Laney, so most of these are pretty new. Yeah. I’d say within the last year to two years at the most.
Wasteland For Broken Hearts was your first solo album. How did that do? I’m just looking into this stuff the last couple weeks now.
Yeah. I mean, all the albums that I’ve put out, definitely have some rabid fans out there. So Wasteland was released worldwide, on MTM in Europe.
Yeah, I think the first album. Yeah, I don’t know where I dropped out, but Wasteland For Broken Hearts was the first solo album that I did. Yeah.
And that was released worldwide on MTM Records in Europe and Marquee Avalon in Japan. And of course, it was released on GB Music, which was our own label here in the States. Still getting great response from a lot of the songs on that album from folks on social media, which is pretty cool.
How does it compare to your new album? Is it still in that same mold, that AOR hard rock?
I think that the best way to describe my music is it’s definitely AOR. But one of the things that I love doing is I love mixing it up. On the first album, you’ve got even a ballad that’s in acappella, which is just all voices. And then you’ve got some, just piano and voice. And you’ve got some hard rock stuff.
I like to put a diversity in there. I mean, a lot of albums that I listen to, a lot of heavy metal,… It starts with heavy metal and it ends with heavy metal, which is fine. I prefer to mix it up a little bit and show people a little bit of a different taste on my songwriting abilities. And that seems to have been working for me, so I’ll keep doing that.
From the first New England album, and the second, you guys had a very hard rock – AOR sound, very catchy, very memorable. What influenced you guys and influenced you as far as where you went?
Well, New England’s influences go back to, you know, the melodic prog bands – YES, King Crimson, and then later on, 10CC, Electric Light Orchestra, The Beatles, of course, were a huge influence on all of us, especially with the vocal harmonies and things that you hear. The first New England album, you’ve got a lot of those influences that come through. And even the name of the band. You know, we get a lot of flack for, we came out after Boston. Boston came out in 77, we came out in 79. And people go ‘Oh, they’re just copying Boston!’ And that wasn’t the case at all. Essentially, the name New England, was because (number one), we’re from the area, but we thought we were writing a new English style of music, because those were all our influences. So ‘New England’, that’s what it meant to us. It wasn’t necessarily, because of the area that we lived in, but partially. But there’s a new English sound by an American band. That’s sort of stuck.
Do you consider yourself more of a singer or drummer, or do you like adding the singing, or is that kind of a, something you’d rather somebody else do, or?
Well, that’s a good question. I definitely consider myself a singer now. And, I’m actually playing less drums now than I was even two or three years ago, but… I guess I would say that vocally is kind of where I’m at right now, because I’m always writing, and if I’m coming up with lyrics and melodies, you know, I’ve got to put them down. So, I’ve worked with vocals now more than I have before, and it seems to be working out okay.
The first New England album did well; you had the hit off it, and it’s kind of easily found, and the second one, but the third one never got released up here. What was going on at that point that you guys didn’t have more of a deal?
I think Elektra Records, they had the second album, which is Explorer Suite, and the third album, Walking Wild. And, I’ll be quite honest with you, they just blew it. They just completely blew it for the band. The head of A&R in that record company was pretty lame. And they really didn’t do anything to help us out, and they didn’t distribute it properly. And I think that that was part of the reason that the band met it’s demise, is that it just didn’t get any support from the record company. And years and years later, here we are, I just saw a poll of the top 50 AOR bands ever, and New England was voted number 14! It’s like, okay, if the independent people are telling us that that’s what they thought of the band – unfortunately, the record company didn’t really log on to that program back in the early 80s.
That’s the one album I’ve never seen up here. The third album is a bit of a mystery. Who produced that one?
That was produced by Todd Rundgren, believe it or not. And Todd did an amazing job. I mean, some of the songs on that album are just incredible. “Love is Up In The Air”, “L-5”; there’s “She’s Gonna Tear You Apart”, which is the song I covered on my album. Todd did a great job. It’s unfortunate the record company and the head of the A&R department didn’t do their job.
The first two albums were co-produced with Mike Stone. How did you like working with him? He had a long history, worked with a lot of big bands.
Mike was unbelievable! Rest in peace, Mike Stone. He was a wonderful human being. He was a funny guy. He was great to be in the studio with. But yeah, he produced QUEEN right before he came and produced our band. The vocals, the sounds that he got from us were just amazing. He got great drum sounds.
This is a pretty cool story. So, we were recording, I believe it was at Cherokee or the Record Plant in LA. And, Geoff Workman was in the studio next to us producing the 1979 JOURNEY album (ed: with roy Thomas Baker). Well, I guess…they were just marveling at the sounds that Mike was getting. and low and behold, they hired Mike to record their next album based on what they’d heard from the New England album. And they asked us to go on tour with them. So, I can’t say enough about Mike Stone and his production abilities. I had always been interested in production and, recorded and was producing for many years after New England broke up. And a lot of the things that I do in the studio are just direct copies of what Mike did because it works.
Are you planning on doing any live shows either doing your own thing to promote this album or is there more New England shows in the works?
Well, I think that in the future, there’s a possibility that we’ll be doing live shows. A lot of the live stuff that I have been doing has basically been with myself, my guitar player Joe Filoni and my keyboard player David Sumner. We’ll actually go out as a trio and crank it up just like a regular rock band without drums and bass. And we’ll do like a 45 to an hour set of all of these songs with just the three of us. Because it’s really difficult these days getting a band together, getting people off the road. And everybody’s in a tribute band, so it’s difficult putting five people or six people together in the same room and rehearsing for six months and then going out on the road. So, we have our trio, which we do and I’m looking forward to doing some gigs in the future with that as well.
I know you did stuff with Warrior with Vinnie Vincent and the other New England guys. There’s that three CD set coming out on Cherry Red of all the recordings. I imagine you’re on that.
Well, I play on all of that stuff. I really didn’t have anything to do with the release of that and, I’ve disavowed myself from being involved with that particular record for a bunch of personal reasons. But all the stuff that’s on there is stuff that I played on and, I’ll tell you what man, WARRIOR was an incredible band and it’s just too bad that it didn’t work out. Vinnie got the offer to join KISS right when we were in the middle of recording all those songs and, obviously he’d be dumb not to take that offer. So, our band Warrior just broke up, and I came back to Boston and Jimmy Waldo and Gary Shea stayed out in L.A. So, that was that story. But yeah, it was fun listening to some of those songs and I’m glad that any fans that are out there of New England and Vinnie’s get a chance to hear this new music – or Old music, as it were.
Going back, who were some of your favorite songwriters, and what were some of your favorite albums growing up?
Obviously The Beatles. They were just such a huge influence on all of us. I think I learned Rubber Soul , it was, I think the first album that I ever bought. And of course I’d been listening to records long, long, long before that. My aunt was a huge Swing era fan so she turned me on to all of these – Duke Ellington, Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa…So I had a huge record collection of all the Swing era guys and then … I just became a huge Beatles fan. Songwriters(?)…a lot of people ask me, ‘who influenced you on drums?’ and ‘who’s your favorite songwriter? I’ll listen to anything that is quality production and quality songwriting. I don’t care if it’s Taylor Swift or if it’s Chris Laney from Pretty Maids. I love those guys, and I love their songs. So that’s kind of where I’m at with that. I really don’t focus on any individual, particular person for drums or for songwriting. I hope that answers the question but that’s kind of where I’m at. I’ll listen to anything at all that’s out there that has a great hook and quality songwriting.
I was kind of looking for a few of your favorite albums growing up that kind of influenced where you ended up, that type of thing.
All the Deep Purple stuff. Ian Paice is one of my favorite drummers out there as well. Of course the Beatles. I remember watching the Ed Sullivan show when the Rolling Stones came on and played “Get Off My Cloud”, and I remember that drumbeat was so melodic, and Charlie Watts just killed it, because I was transfixed to the TV.
So those are some of the things that hit me early on that were influential. Electric Light Orchestra were amazing! I love the songs, I love the production. Todd Rundgren – the Something / Anything album was something that I lived with. Humble Pie, Steve Marriott, those were the bands that I listened to. A lot of the English rock bands…of course, King Crimson and YES, I mentioned those guys earlier. And Bill Bruford, listening to him play drums was a mindblower! Just amazing.
Have you kept up with any of the Canadian bands from way back?
Not really. I visit my sister up in Toronto every once in a while, and I think about 10-12+ years ago there was this incredible show that featured all the ‘early 60s-70s artists. It was down by the lake front, in some warehouse type of building. Crowbar played, I think The Paupers played, Stichin Time… That was when Domenic Troiano was still alive, he was there. Mike McKenna from Luke & The Apostles. Luke and The Apostles were probably one of my favorite all-time bands out of Toronto. I still keep in touch with Mike McKenna. He was sort of a mentor to my band in Toronto, which was called The Blues Faction. And we played the village, we played all over the place in ’66, ’67, ’68 – right in those glory days, back in Toronto.
Are you doing any more videos for the new album?
Well, we did one for “Don’t Ever Wanna Lose Ya”, I thought it turned out pretty darn good. And we’ve talked about doing a video for “Nothing To Fear”. I’m always doing a bit of video editing and throwing stuff up on my website (www.hirshgardner.com). Right now, there’s 3 or 4 videos up there, plus there’s a lot of blogging and other things, so check it out!
URIAH HEEP kick off their Magician’s Farewell’ Tour in the UK in February. Supporting Heep will be Canada’s APRIL WINE and US band TYKETTO. (*Added updated dates for Europe below).
As a fan of both Uriah Heep and April Wine, I see this as an exciting bill, and Hope that April Wine is on the tour when Heep comes to Canada and the US. Both bands, in very different incarnations each time shared the stage in the early 70s when April Wine opened for Uriah Heep in Ontario, in 1972 and then years later when it was the other way around for a few US shows.
I belong to a few groups online of band, and actually (but not unbelievably) see fans of one or the other who has little to know knowledge of the other band, so I wanted to give a wee bit of background, as well as the current line ups, and 5 recommended (starting point) albums from each….
Both bands formed in 69, but really got going in 1970. UH’s debut album came out in 1970, while AW’s came out in 71. While UH took a few albums before they had a hit single, AW had one (“Fast Train”) off their debut album and would continue to have hit singles off every subsequent album here in Canada, while UH didn’t rack up the hit singles, but became an international concert draw with a number of big selling albums from 72-75. AW pretty much stayed in Canada, with limited releases outside the country, before they had a big radio hit in the US in 78 (“Roller”) and went on to huge international success from then til about 82. While AW’s most successful period ended with the 3 guitar line up breaking up in 84, UH’s comeback lineup split in 85, with a new line up soon coming about. AW returned with a new line up in 92, and have carried on since, releasing 4 studio albums up until 2006, and continuing to tour, now as a 4-piece, with a few line-up changes along the way, most notably with singer/guitarist Marc Parent taking over for founder Myles Goodwyn in 2023 before Goodwyn passed away last year.
April Wine consists of Brian Greenway (since 1978’s First Glance album, when the band took off as a 3 guitar act). Richard Lanthier (bass, since 2011), Roy ‘Nip’ Nichols (drums, since 2012) and Marc Parent (lead vocals, guitar, hand picked by Myles Goodwyn).
When Uriah Heep added Phil Lanzon (keyboards, songwriter) in mid 1986, and Canadian singer Bernie Shaw (end of 86) the band found some long-term stability, and from 1988 ’til last year Heep has released 9 studio albums and numerous live albums. The band lead by founder Mick Box (guitar), Lanzon, Shaw, Russell Gilbrook (drums, since 2007) and Dave Rimmer (bass, since 2013).
For my fellow fans of each band I’ve selected 5 recommended studio albums + 1 live album – should you want to check out either band you’re not familiar with.
APRIL WINE
Stand Back
The band’s 1975 album that was full of hits, and arguably their most popular amongst longtime fans. “Oohwatanite”, “I Wouldn’t Want To Lose Your Love”, “Victim Of Love”, “Come Hear The Band”….There was 5 hit singles off this album, and every song is memorable.
Harder… Faster
It was a tough choice between this and the previous album First Glance, but this one features the hit “Say Hello”, as well as favorite AW rocker “I Like To Rock”, “Before The Dawn” (from by Brian Greenway), and the band’s killer rendition of King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man”.
Nature Of The Beast
The band’s biggest commercial success, and height of their popularity. From 1981, with “Just Between You And Me”, “All Over Town”, and their heavy remake of (and hit) Lorence Hud’s “Sign Of The Gypsy Queen”, and heavy album cuts like “Future Tense” and “Crash And Burn”. Much of this album featured in the live set for years, and a number from it still do.
Back To The Mansion
The overlooked gem in the AW catalogue. From 2001, BTTM saw the band recording as a 4 piece again, and taking a less heavier direction. But plenty of good songs here like ‘I’ll Give You That”, the ballad “Paradise”, Brian Greenway’s excellent “Holiday”, and an interesting version of Simon & Garfunkel’s “I Am A Rock”.
Greatest Hits Live 2003
Recorded on the BTTM tour, w/ Carl Dixon added for keyboard & guitar. Sure, One For The Road from 1984s Farewell tour sounds heavier and features the classic 5-man line up, but Greatest Hits Live 2003 (what a lame title) covers more hits, and is a bit more representative of what AW sounds like in later years. Features 21 live tunes, plus 2 studio cuts.
URIAH HEEP
Look At Yourself
Heep’s 3rd album and the one that got the ball rolling, defining their heavy prog sound, and loaded with classics like the title track, “July Morning”, “Shadows of Grief” and “Love Machine”. The last to feature founding bass player Paul Newton.
Demons And Wizards
The band’s commercial breakthrough and most successful album. Features 2 of Heep’s Best known tracks, the hit “Easy Livin”, and the single “The Wizard”, along with huge fan favorites “Circle Of Hands” and “Rainbow Demon”. The first to feature the ‘classic’ line-up of Mick Box, David Byron, Ken Hensley, Lee Kerslake and Gary Thain, as well as Roger Dean artwork.
Abominog
Fast forward 10 years, and the band’s brand new line-up, and new sound for the 80s. Abominog featured a more American sound (aka Foreigner) with new singer Peter Goalby, as well as the hit “That’s The Way That It Is”. Killer album, despite a lot of covers, but everything going together so well. Favorites be “Too Scared To Run”, “Sell Your Soul”, “Chasing Shadows”, and a cover of Russ Ballard’s “On The Rebound”. Also included bob Daisley (Rainbow, Ozzy) on bass, and keyboard player John Sinclair (Heavy Metal Kids).
Sea Of Light
After more line-up changes, a few bum record deals, and less than stellar releases Heep returned to their ’70s style in a way. The 3rd to feature Canadian singer Bernie Shaw and keyboard player Phil Lanzon (by now a major writer in Heep). Tho modern sounding, SOL featured more variety, a mix of acoustics, different keyboards, more progressive tracks, and a few big riff driven rockers. This album brought a lot of old Heep fans back with tracks like “Against The Odds”, “Logical Progression”, “Words In The Distance” and “Love In Silence”.
Chaos And Colors
Heep’s latest from 2023. The band has been on a roll since 2007 when drummer Russell Gilbrook joined (bassist Dave Rimmer a few years later). This is the band’s 5th studio album of new material since then, and arguably their best. More progressive, more varied, still heavy, with favorites like “Age Of Change”, “Hurricane”, “Golden Light”, the single “Save Me Tonight”, and epic “You’ll Never Be Alone”!
*Future Echoes Of The Past : Live
So many great UH live albums (like the classic Live: January, 1973)…but I’m going with this from 2000, from the band’s tour in support of 1998s Sonic Origami. A huge mix of classic Heep and gems from the band’s 2 latest at the time. Sounds amazing.
Outsider Rock 