It’s been 32 (!) years since iconic Vancouver trio The Grapes of Wrath made their way to Halifax, and we are thrilled all three original members will be back in town on their 40th Anniversary Tour to play a third show – an acoustic/electric matinée – at The Carleton on Sunday, August 18th. Doors open for brunch at noon for this seated event with show time at 1:00 PM. Tickets – while they last – are $50 + HST. We’re making history here folks!
Any fan of Canadian music from the later 80s/early 90s is likely familiar with the Juno-nominated and multi-platinum-selling band The Grapes of Wrath. Their 60s-inspired pop-rock was a constant on radio and MuchMusic, with hit singles such as “All The Things I Wasn’t”, “I Am Here”, “Peace Of Mind”, “You May Be Right”, “What Was Going Through My Head”, “Backward Town”, and more. In April of 1983, after putting together a one-off show as cover band Honda Civic, the trio decided to work together musically again. From the Hooper family garage they began rehearsals and gained enough confidence to open for acts in Seattle and Vancouver as the newly christened Grapes Of Wrath (from the classic movie of the same name).
In late summer of 1985, Nettwerk released the first album ‘September Bowl Of Green’, which dented college and alternative radio. Their first two videos “Misunderstanding” and “A Dream (About You)” were heavily rotated by MuchMusic. This attention led to several record contract offers, with the band ultimately signing a world-wide deal with Capitol-EMI Records. They returned to the studio in May 1986 to remix “Misunderstanding” and “Love Comes Around” with Tom Cochrane, now a fellow label-mate and continued playing live, including a high profile show at the 2nd Annual Independent Music Festival and Expo ’86 in Vancouver.
Cochrane was sufficiently impressed enough to produce the band’s sophomore effort ‘Treehouse’ which was released in October 1987, resulting in their first gold album for sales in Canada and yielding a minor hit with the single “Peace of Mind” and fan favourite, “Backward Town”. The band embarked on an extensive 3 month, 69 date tour of the U.S.
Third album Now and Again, was the band’s big breakthrough. The top 40 singles “All The Things I Wasn’t” and “What Was Going Through My Head” received extensive video play and along with Juno Award nominations, propelled the album to platinum status and soon the band went from playing bars to theatres and touring Europe, opening for Lloyd Cole.
Englishman John Leckie (XTC/Stone Roses/Posies) helmed ‘These Days’ which was recorded from December 1990 to January 1991 at Vancouver’s Mushroom Studios. In February 1991, the band travelled to London and spent 3 weeks mixing at Abbey Road studios. The Album spawned the hit singles “I Am Here” (#8, #27 on Billboard Modern Rock Tracks in the U.S.) and “You May Be Right” (#7), again selling platinum and allowing the band to again tour Canada, the U.S. and Europe.
Musical and personal differences brought about the band’s demise in 1992 with the departure of Kevin Kane. The Grapes Of Wrath’s final show was Halloween 1992 in Vancouver.
In the summer of 2010, after 18 years, the original founding members (Chris and Tom Hooper and Kevin Kane) joined together to play the Surrey B.C. Fusion Festival. Due to the show’s success, the band once again began touring Canada and subsequently signed with Aporia Records to put together a new album. ‘High Road’, recorded in the spring of 2012 with co-producer Darryl Neudorf (Neko Case, Blue Rodeo), was released on March 19th, 2013. The first new single, “Good to See You,” reached the Top 40 on Canada’s Active Rock and Alternative Rock charts. In the meantime, EMI-Canada released the album ‘Singles’ in October 2012, featuring each of the 15 radio singles from GOW’s catalog, as well as two new songs.