Gordie Lewis

Gord's Top 10 Canadian Albums

For anyone who might be interested the following was my contribution to Bob Mersereau's book "Top 100 Canadian Albums of All Time".

 

 

10 Favorite Canadian Albums by Gord Lewis

NEIL YOUNG AND CRAZY HORSE-Ragged Glory

APRIL WINE-Electric Jewels

BLACKIE AND THE RODEO KINGS-Bark

DOUG AND THE SLUGS-Popaganda

HUGH DILLON REDEMPTION CHOIR-The High Cost Of Low Living

ART BERGMANN-What Fresh Hell Is This?

KING BISCUIT BOY-Gooduns

SLOAN-One Chord To Another

THE TRAGICALLY HIP-World Container

RAY MATERICK-Neon Rain

THE CASBAH July 21, 2007

Would like to say thank you to all the long time Hamilton friends who came to our show on Saturday. These are the people that have seen us from day one and know the band inside out, warts and all. Like the comedian Billy Connolly says," the toughest performances are for close friends and family, they are not so easily impressed". Thanks for the support.

Gordie

FRANKIE VENOM

Always liked this picture of Frank from a show at the Underground last year. At 50, I don't think I could even sit like this anymore let alone play the harmonica as well. It just wouldn't occur to me to try. Photo by Janice Bielski.

head monkee ... head west ... anthemic moment

MICKEY DOLENZ

Went to see MIckey Dolenz of The Monkees at Copps after our show at the Burlington Sound of Music Festival. I first wanted to be in a band when I saw the Beatles cartoons in the early 60's. When The Monkees aired on TV in 66-67 that cemented it for me. I was about 10 years old but knew that's what I wanted to do. I didn't just want to be a guitarist, I had to be a guitarist in a band. And it had to be with people I liked. The first single I bought with my own money was "A Little Bit of Me, A Little Bit of You" b/w "Girl I Knew Somewhere". If you listen to the intro's to Picture My Face and Let's Shake you can hear the influence of the former. I bought it at Ollie's Lunch on the corner of King and Macklin on my way home from Christ the King grade school at lunch hour. It was a restaurant that had a rack of 45's for sale. I wanted to meet Mickey, but wasn't able to. Hopefully there will be another time.



HEAD GO WEST

Our western swing went great. Some really cool clubs especially The Starlite in Edmonton. Probably one of the best in Canada. Great stage, P.A. and lights. A gentleman named Simon Gunn helped me organize the tour. I wanted to go out west for awhile, but it's tough to find agents interested in you in this country unless your Nickleback. For the longest time I said to myself "if only Simon Gunn was around". It's funny because Simon got a hold of me through this blog, so I have The Spec to thank. We recorded the show in Victoria which turned out very well. I didn't want to come home.



CANADA DAY

When we were booked to play for the Doc's on Ice show, we were requested to sing O Canada. Something we never had done before. When I was doing research on our national anthem I was surprised to learn that the lyrics that we sing today were taken from a poem by Robert Weir, who happened to be born in Hamilton. It was written in 1908 and its amended first verse was accepted in 1980 as the official anthem. The following is the original poem by Robert Weir (1856-1926).
O Canada! Our home and native land!
True patriot love thou dost in us command.
We see thee rising fair, dear land,
The True North, strong and free;
And stand on guard, O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.

Refrain
O Canada! O Canada!
O Canada! We stand on guard for thee.
O Canada! We stand on guard for thee.

O Canada! Where pines and maples grow.
Great prairies spread and lordly rivers flow.
How dear to us thy broad domain,
From East to Western Sea,
Thou land of hope for all who toil!
Thou True North, strong and free!

Refrain
O Canada! O Canada! etc.

O Canada! Beneath thy shining skies
May stalwart sons and gentle maidens rise,
To keep thee steadfast through the years
From East to Western Sea,
Our own beloved native land!
Our True North, strong and free!

Refrain
O Canada! O Canada! etc.

Ruler supreme, who hearest humble prayer,
Hold our dominion within thy loving care;
Help us to find, O God, in thee
A lasting, rich reward,
As waiting for the Better Day,
We ever stand on guard.

Refrain
O Canada! O Canada! etc.

head serviette

Here is a link to an interview I did with Nardwuar, the human serviette. Vancouver May 12, 2007 http://nardwuar.com/

MICK RONSON

Have been listening to David Bowie's Alladin Sane in my car lately.  The song "Panic in Detroit" and the guitar solo of Mick Ronson reminded me of where I got the idea of ending a song with a guitar solo, most notably on the Teenage Head song "Infected" from Frantic City.  I first heard Mick Ronson on "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars."  falling in love with his guitar playing, especially the simplicity of it.  Later on I learned he was a formally trained musician, which made me admire his minimalist approach even more.  I was very disappointed when Bowie parted with the Spiders, Mick Ronson, Tevor Bolder and Woody Woodmansey.  The final chord progression of Infected is actually very similar to Panic in Detroit, more or less in a minor key.  Infected ends with a D to E to F# minor.  When we recorded the solo, Stacey Heydon our producer, decided to speed the tape up, so that I would actually be playing in G minor.  This left me with the option of leaving the G string open, which helped in tone and feedback.  The majority of the solo is improvised, but I recall Stacey helping me with the beginning organization and developing the dynamics.  Greg Roberts, the engineer came up with the idea of fading out on the last chord.

Gord

1ST PUNK CONCERT IN CANADA?

1ST PUNK CONCERT IN CANADA?
 
This show, presented by The Ontario College of Art in February 1977 made me decide Toronto was were we had to go to find a scene that Teenage Head would fit in.  These bands were playing original music which was unheard of at the time.  We eventually played the Colonial Underground downtown Toronto in April of the same year.  The Viletones had opened up the club first.  It was definitely DIY.
 
Gord

HOCKEY DAY IN CANADA

THE LITTLE RINK
This is a photo that my grandfather took around 1966 or 67. I was the goalie for the "Canadiens". We played on the little rink at Coronation Park. The ice surface was the perfect size, the corners were square, and it didn't matter if there was a snow storm, we still played. I loved it. Happy Hockey Day in Canada and thanks for the memory Grandpa ... Gordie

Head influence

Robert Calvert and Hawkwind
 
I recently purchased the CD versions of two albums that had an immeasurable influence on the sound of Teenage Head.  "Space Ritual", a double live recording by Hawkwind (1973), and "Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters" by Robert Calvert (1974).
www.aural-innovations.com/robertcalvert/
www.hawkwind.com 

the head of venom

ARTHUR (ART) USHERSON
 
Art Usherson is the photographer who took the black and white photos for the Teenage Head C.D.  We used a close-up of Frankies head, from one of his group photo's for the picture sleeve of our first single, Picture My Face b/w You're Tearin' My Apart.  Picture sleeve's for 45's was a new concept at the time, as well as an added expense.  The record company wasn't interested, so we made them ourselves.  I'm not sure how many sleeves we made.  Merry Christmas.
 
Gordie