The musical inspiration: Flag on my Backpack

So, I discussed before in a video blog about music being an inspiration for Flag on my Backpack.  So far, each chapter of the series has had a song title as the name.  Each, I named just because it happened to be the song that was playing at the time when I wrote it.  Here’s a description of each of those artists.

Neil Young – Born in Toronto, Ontario, Young is well known in music.  Both as a singer songwriter and as a producer.  Since a boy, Young was always fascinated with music, drawn toward rock and roll, rockabilly and rhythm and blues.  When he was 12, his parents divorced and he moved with his mother back to Winnipeg, Manitoba.  His first band was called the Squires, and while in Fort William (now a part of Thunder Bay, Ontario) Young first met Stephen Stills.  Young would go onto a strong career with the likes of Crosby, Stills and Nash, and Crazyhorse.  His focus became political, as he would be seen as a champion of civil rights.  Through the many awards he has received, Juno and Grammy nominations and wins, he also holds two honourary doctorates and was awarded the Order of Manitoba and is an officer of the Order of Canada.

Nickelback – The band formed with brothers Chad and Mike Kroeger in Hanna, Alberta.  The name came from Mike’s job at Starbucks where he’d give change back by saying “Here’s your nickel back.”  Nickelback has had a large mainstream success, and have had singles that have achieved certified gold in both Canada and the United States.  Nickelback calls Vancouver, British Columbia home.

Rush – Rush is the premiere Canadian arena rock band.  With Geddy Lee on vocals, bass and keyboard, Neil Peart on drums and Alex Lifeson on guitar, the band has been together for over thirty years.  Winning numerous Juno awards, Rush was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994.  They are known more for their live performances than their albums, but it is those performances that propel sales.  The band continue to tour, as they are on the last leg of the Clockwork Angels and Time Machine tour.  On June 25, 2010, Rush received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Three Days Grace – This Norwood, Ontario band formed in 1992 under the name Groundswell.  After a breakup in 1997, they reformed later that year under their current name.  To date, they have released three studio albums.  2003′s Three Days Grace and 2006′s One-X have been both certified platinum and double platinum in the United States and Canada respectively.  Their present album, Life Starts Now, was released in April, 2009.

Helix – A Canadian rock/metal band that formed in 1974, they are known for the arena rock hit Rock You.  The band continues to record, and has even been mentioned in the television series, The Trailer Park Boys.

Melissa Auf der Maur – Auf der Maur is a Canadian rock musician and professional photographer from Montreal, Quebec.  She has been the bassist for Courtney Love’s Hole and with the Smashing Pumpkins.  Her second solo album was released in March, 2010.  Auf der Maur’s last name refers to (as has been commented) a Swiss river translated to On The Wall.  She holds both Canadian and American citizenship as her father was Canadian and her mother born in the U.S.  She holds a photography major from Concordia University.  Auf der Maur is also active in the social awareness of the environment, and advocated for Doctor David Suzuki during the CBC Television series the Greatest Canadian.

The Guess Who – The Guess Who, from Winnipeg, Manitoba, are best known for their hit American Woman.  Having been together for over thirty-five years, the band’s two best known members are Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman.  Cummings would go onto a successful solo career and Bachman would front the band Bachman-Turner Overdrive, recording the unforgettable Takin’ Care of Business.  Recently, after disputes by both Cummings and Bachman were set aside, the two have reunited with The Guess Who, performing across Canada and the U.S.

Image via Wikipedia

Billy Talent – This Mississauga, Ontario band has won several awards, as they have six awards from 25 nominations for the MuchMusic Awards and six awards from 12 nominations for Juno awards.  The band has released four albums and is currently on tour for Billy Talent III.

Luba – Luba Kowalchyk is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and recording artist from Montreal, Quebec.  Her best known work came from the 1980′s where she had such hits as Let It Go, Everytime I see Your Picture, Givin’ Away A Miracle and the Percy Sledge cover When A Man Loves a Woman.  She has received a Juno for Female Vocalist of the year.  She continues to record to this day, and remains one of the more popular Canadian female artists even though she has never charted in the United States.

Tragically Hip – From Kingston, Ontario, The Hip, as they are known, are the quintesential Canadian Rock band.  They have released 12 studio albums, 2 live albums and have received numerous Canadian Music awards including 14 Junos.  The Hip’s lyrical work is drawn from events in Canadian history, such as Fifty Mission Cap which details the life and death of Toronto Maple Leaf Bill Barilko, and Wheatkings which is about the story of David Milgard, where for the first time the city of Saskatoon is dubbed “The Paris of the Prairies”, and 38 Years Old which explores the affect of a family and a community after a vicious rape and murder nearly tears them apart.  The ablum Day For Night, released in 1994, has been certified 6x platinum in Canada.  The Hip are also responsible for Another Roadside Attraction, a series of tours across Canada that began in 1992.

Image via Wikipedia

Tom Cochrane and Red Rider – Cochrane was born in Lynne Lake, Manitoba and moved to Achton, Ontario and later Etobicoke at a young age.  Musician and humanitarian, Cochrane is best known for his song Life Is A Highway.  He toured across Canada in the 70′s in coffee houses before moving to Los Angeles where he wrote the theme music for the movie My Pleasure Is My Business.  Unable to find work, he moved back to Toronto, where he drove cab and worked on a Caribean Cruise line.  In 1978, Cochrane met Red Rider at El Mocambo Tavern in Toronto, where he became their lead singer.  He soon became a household name in Canada, and in 1991 began a successful solo career.  Cochrane lives in Toronto where he is an avid golfer, pilot and hockey buff.  In April of 2008, Cochrane was invested as an Officer of the Order of Canada.  He is also an honourary Colonel of the Canadian Air Force’s 409 Nighthawks Tactical Fighter Squadron.  As a part of his investiture weekend in 2008, he experience his second flight in a CF-18.

The Real McKenzies – A scottish themed Celtic/Punk band that calls Vancouver, British Columbia home, the band began in 1992.  Writing original material, they also resurrect traditional Scottish songs, giving them a punk influence.  They have shared stage with Flogging Molly, The Misfits, and Metallica.  They tour extensively, which included a 23 country tour in a van.

Image via Wikipedia

Gowan – Lawrence Gowan is a Scottish born Canadian musician best known for his hits Strange Animal and Criminal Mind.  At the age of 19, Gowan earned an ARCT in classical piano performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Ontario.  Upon graduation he enjoyed modest success with the band Rhinegold.  His first solo album was in 1992 and featured Kim Mitchell and Max Webster.  Gowan has since become the lead singer for the band Styx, where they perform Criminal Mind during live performances.  Gowan has been nominated for 11 Juno awards, winning in 1985 for Best Album and Best Album Graphics.  In 1998, Gowan receive the National Achievement Award from the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN).

April Wine – Formed in 1969, they chose the name simply because the band members thought the two words sounded good together.  Hailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia, April Wine has been a mainstay in the Canadian rock scene, having released 29 albums (live, studio and compilation) and two videos.  April Wine has never won a Juno, but has been nominated 11 times.  Myles Goodwin was awarded the lifetime achievement award at the East Coast Music Awards, and April Wine was inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame and awarded with the CMW Lifetime Achievement Award.  In 2008 they were inducted into the East Coast Music Hall of Fame and in 2010 inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.  They continue to record and tour today.

Honeymoon Suite – Formed in 1982 in Niagra Falls, Ontario, they took their name from the unofficial honeymoon capital of the world for their hometown.  The band kept together until 1991 when Gary Lalonde and Dave Betts left.  In 2007, they announced the original classic lineup returned where they continue to tour Canada and select Northeastern U.S. cities.  Their second album, The Big Prize, saw their greatest success.  Feel It Again reached top 40 status in the States.  Bad Attitude was featured in the television series Miami Vice.  What Does It Take reached #52, strong on its appearance in the John Cusack film One Crazy Summer.

Joni Mitchell – Like Neil Young, Joni Mitchell is well known in the music and arts industries.  Born in Fort Macleod, Alberta, graduating from Aden Bowman Collegiate in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, she was best known as a songwriter first with such hits as Chelsea Morning, Both Sides Now and Woodstock.  She would later become as well known for her singing as well, with her most notable being Big Yellow Taxi and Free Man in Paris.  Mitchell’s father was a Royal Canadian Air Force officer, and the family moved to several bases during the war, finally settling in Saskatchewan after the war, first in Maidstone, then in North Battleford.  Her father finally took a job as a grocer in Saskatoon, which Mitchell refers to as her hometown.  She would later attend the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary for a year, during which time she made the acquaintance of another budding singer-songwriter, Harry Chapin.  Mitchell left for Toronto to become a folksinger.  She has won 9 Grammy’s and has been awarded several Canadian Awards, where she is considered a national treasure.  In 2002, she became only the third singer songwriter along with Gordon Lightfoot and Leonard Cohen to be awarded the Companion to the Order of Canada, Canada’s highest civilian honour.  Presently she is an artist, showcasing her work at several galleries.  Saskatoon’s Riverlanding project is looking to build an art gallery along the South Saskatchewan river with one wing of the gallery being dedicated to Mitchell.

Sarah McLachlan – Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, McLachlan is a singer songwriter known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range.  McLachlan was adopted as a child, and took voice lessons, along with studies in classical piano and guitar.  When she was 17, she fronted the short-lived rock band called The October Game.  Her high school year book predicted that Sarah was “destined to become a famous rock star.”  In 1996, frustrated with the fact concert promoters and radio stations refused to feature two female musicians back to back, she booked a successful tour for herself and Paula Cole.  One of their appearances in Halifax went by the name Lilith Fair, and included performances by McLachlan, Cole, Lisa Loeb and Michelle McAdorey, formerly of Crash Vegas.  The next year, McLachlan founded the Lilith Fair tour, taking Lilith from the medieval Jewish legend that Lilith was Adam’s first wife.  Subsequent Lilith Fair tours continued in 1998 and 1999 before being discontinued.  Co-founder Terry McBride announced that the all-female festival would make its return in Summer 2010.  McLachlan has been nominated for 21 Juno Awards, recieving 8.  She has won 3 Grammy Awards.  McLachlan has been extensively featured in the media including cover stories for Rolling Stone, Time Magazine, Entertainment Weekly and Flare, a Canadian fashion magazine.  She has also been recognized for her efforts to advance the careers of women in music, receiving the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Visionary Award in 1998.  In 1999, she was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada by then Governor General Adrienne Clarkson in recognition of her successful recording career, her role in Lilith Fair and the charitable donations she made to women’s shelters across Canada.  In 2001, she was inducted to the Order of British Columbia.

The Northern Pikes – Hailing from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, The Pikes, as they are affectionately called, were formed in 1984 under Merl Bryck, Jay Semko, Bryan Potvin and Glen Hollingshead.  Hollingshead left the band shortly after forming and was replaced by Don Schmidt.  Their first wide release album was Big Blue Sky which contained the hit Teenland, penned by Semko.  The band continued to record and tour together until 1993.  Semko went on to have a successful career as a composer, notably composing the music for the television series Due South.  In 1999, the band reunited, releasing a Greatest Hits album and two more studio albums.  Their 1990 album Snow In June became their biggest seller in Canada and the U.S. mostly on the success of the lead single She Ain’t Pretty.  The Pikes have been nominated for five Juno awards, but have never recorded a win.  The Northern Pikes continue to tour across Canada.

All information gathered from wikipedia.

Three more parts to go!  Hope everyone’s been enjoying it thus far.

August 22, 2010 | Categories: Flag on my Backpack, randomness | Tags: Burton Cummings, Canada, Lawrence Gowan, music, superhero, Tom Cochrane, Writing | Leave A Comment »