Advertisement
Kevin Kane first met Tom Hooper in 1977 (when they were aged 13 and 11) afterKevin and Tom’s older brother Chris bonded over a mutual love of The Beatleswhen the two had entered junior high school in Kelowna, BC. Kane startedhanging out with the Hoopers in their basement for regular Friday night jamsessions, where they essentially learned to play their respective instrumentstogether.By 1983 - influenced in equal parts by the British Invasion of the 60s and the DIYattitudes and immediacy of punk and new wave - the trio took the name TheGrapes Of Wrath and began working on the songs that would make up theirdebut EP (1984) and first album (“September Bowl Of Green”) in 1985, releasedby the fledgling Vancouver indie Nettwerk Productions. The band were soonsigned by Capitol/EMI for the albums “Treehouse” (1987, with the breakoutsingles Peace Of Mind and Backward Town), “Now And Again” (1989, buildingon their successes with All The Things I Wasn’t and What Was Going ThroughMy Head), and “These Days” (1991, featuring the hits I Am Here and You May BeRight). Thanks in no small part to the support of MuchMusic, The Grapesenjoyed gold and platinum sales and sold out shows at home in Canada,extensive radio play, and toured Europe twice in support of albums that alsosaw release in Japan, Australia, and South America. Then - with internationalsuccess looming and for reasons no one is entirely clear on - the banddisbanded in 1992.Tom and Kevin resurrected the Grapes in the late 90s, releasing the album “FieldTrip” (2000) on the Song Corp label, who folded immediately after it’s release.They came together again in the summer of 2009 for a series of acoustic duoshows around BC, celebrating their enduring friendship and the music they hadcreated together. The following year, an offer from a festival for a full bandreunion led to the return of drummer Chris, and the original three recorded “HighRoad” (2013 - named after the street the Hoopers lived on when they firststarted playing together as kids), their first album of new material in almost 22years. They have been gigging regularly ever since and are arguably the longest-running and still-active “original lineup” in rock.Now - and as they had done briefly in 2009 - Tom and Kevin will once again hitthe road as a duo to perform The Grapes’ music in an intimate and unpluggedsetting - telling the stories behind the songs and putting the focus on theharmonies and melodies of their timeless music.
Advertisement
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
795 Dundas St, London, ON N5W 2Z6, Canada
Tickets
