Gordie Lewis

singing for frankie

the line-up of singers for the Frankie tribute show on Saturday
 
 
LORI YATES - BRAND NEW CADILLAC/SOMETHING ON MY MIND/LITTLE SISTER
 
CHRIS HOUSTON - DISGUSTEEN
 
MIKE TREBILCOCK - LUCY POTATO/LET'S SHAKE/INFECTED
 
LARRY REECE - LITTLE BOXES
 
LASHA - SOME KINDA FUN
 
JIMMY VAPID - KISSIN THE CARPET
 
MATT ELLIS from ROCKET REDUCERS - TEARIN' ME APART
 
ALYSSA NICOLE from RACKULA - LETS GO TO HAWAII
 
BRAD GERMAIN - AINT GOT NO SENSE/TOP DOWN/WILD ONE
 
TIM GIBBONS - SOMETHING ELSE/TEENAGE BEER DRINKIN PARTY
 
GINGER ST. JAMES - HEARTBREAK HOTEL
 
PETE MacCAULEY - CURTAIN JUMPER/TAKE IT
 
GLEN THE HAMILTON KID - 20th FLIGHT ROCK
 
LOU - UNDERGROUND/WALKIN ALONE
 
JOHN LEWIS - GLASGOW'S CRYIN'
 
DAVE RAVE - PICTURE MY FACE/FULL TIME FOOL/YOU'RE THE ONE I'M CRAZY FOR.
 
LINDA DUEMO - FIRST TIME

Teenage Head for the ages

Gordie sez: 'the episode with Teenage Head is on Thursday!'

This Beat Goes On
Canadian Pop Music in the 1970s
(CBC main network, Sept. 3 at 9 p.m.)
(CBC Newsworld, Sept. 12 & Sept. 18 at 10 p.m.)

This Beat Goes On tells the story of Canadian music in the 1970s, a ground-breaking era of great sounds, from glam and progressive rock to punk and reggae. Set in the formative years of Canada’s music industry, This Beat Goes On offers a jukebox full of chart-topping songs from, from Gordon Lightfoot’s “Sundown” and Valdy's "Rock and Roll Song” to Trooper’s “Raise a Little Hell” and Max Webster's "Paradise Skies."
Mixing archival footage with candid interviews, the documentary features proven hitmakers like Anne Murray, Neil Young and The Guess Who as well as a wealth of new folksingers, blues artists and mullet-rockers. Solo artists like Joni Mitchell and progressive rockers Rush still rule, but it’s also a time of shaved heads and skinny ties, as punk and new wave artists like Teenage Head push their way into the spotlight. By the end of the decade, the Can-rock revolution has arrived.
From B.T.O. to D.O.A., This Beat Goes On presents the wealth of music that sprang from the Great White North during the explosive Seventies.

Rise Up
Canadian Pop Music in the 1980s
(CBC , Sept. 10 & Sept. 17 at 9 p.m.)
(CBC Newsworld, Sept. 19 & Sept. 26 at 10 p.m.)

Rise Up looks at the digital age of Canadian music in the 1980s, a visual era of big hair and shoulder pads, when music videos helped homegrown artists to take off internationally. America’s MTV and Canada’s MuchMusic provide launching pads for artists as varied as Triumph, Bruce Cockburn, Chilliwack, Jane Siberry, Men Without Hats and Bryan Adams.
            Blending illuminating interviews with thrilling concert footage and videos, including Rush’s “Tom Sawyer,” Glass Tiger's "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)," Blue Rodeo’s “Try” and k.d. lang’s “Hanky Panky,” Rise Up takes viewers on a thrilling ride into the decade’s pop stratosphere. Along with such telegenic performers as Gowan and Dalbello, the hit-filled documentary includes cult favorites like Slow, Handsome Ned and Mary Margaret O’Hara. By the end of the Eighties, Canadian music has exploded—both at home and abroad.
            From hip-hop pioneers like Maestro and Michie Mee to such pop superstars as Mitsou and Corey Hart, Rise Up charts the global rise of Canadian music with a treasure trove of classic hits and cult classics.

One of the perks ...

Photo: Gord, Marky Ramone and Emily, Gage Park, August 7, 2009

Over the last couple weeks I have had the pleasure of spending time with Marky Ramone, Chris Spedding, Glen Matlock and Robert Gordon on their visits to Hamilton. 

It's one of the perks of hanging around long enough.  I found these people to all be gentlemen, more than willing to tell their stories and give advice. 

They all have their own unique outlook on the music business, but the reason they are doing what they do is the music.  They are great with the fans and I think like myself have come to understand that the music they play makes people feel good.  They get out there and do it everyday. 

The time is fleeting with them but I enjoy every minute and try my best to retain any knowledge and memories I'm lucky enough to obtain.  I'm really looking forward to seeing and playing with Dennis Dunaway, Joe and Albert Bouchard again. 

All of these people had something to do with what I have become as a musician.

Raising a bevy for Frank

Hey Everybody, Gord Lewis here. I realize its been a long, long time since I've posted on this blog. I'd like to thank The Hamilton Spectator for being patient. It has been a very strange and trying year for me.

As a band, we were very appreciative to the great response we received from the release of our album Teenage Head with Marky Ramone in April, 2008, and we had a wonderful time playing across the country again to so many happy crowds in rooms, bars and at festivals. Teenage Head had never quit and we played gigs regularly, but to receive such large, warm, and enthusiastic greetings again wherever we were was so gratifying.

Tragically we lost Frankie Venom in the fall. As fans of the band may know, Frank Kerr was not only a band member to me, and co-founder of what critics and you guys have called one of the most influential bands Canada has produced, but he was my best friend, and I consider him family. His passing was, and still is, very emotional. The outpouring of support in the time since his passing has helped me, Steve, Jack, and Frank's family so much.

With the help of family, friends, musicians, and others, I am working to get to a place from which I can move on. I have a number of projects I am involved with: whether it be playing on a stage somewhere, recording, teaching, as well as working with my brothers in continuing efforts to establish a foundation to support Canadian musicians in need (something we will have announcements coming this summer).

I will be on this blog regularly now, and you can also check out www.teenagehead.ca for updates on what I am up to.

Thank you to all those who have supported me and the band for years, and to those who have reached out over these past months. I hope we all touch base soon.

Raising a bevy for Frank,
Gordie

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