Big Sugar

Big Sugar is a band formed in Toronto in 1988 by Gordie Johnson, the band's lead singer, lead guitarist and main songwriter. Between 1996 and 2016, Big Sugar was among the top 25 best-selling Canadian bands in Canada. They are still active today, releasing new music, vinyl re-releases and touring. Big Sugar originally consisted of Johnson, bassist Terry Wilkins, and drummer Al Cross. The three musicians had already played together for several years as a supporting band for Molly Johnson's jazz performances, and as an informal jam band with members of the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir. When Molly Johnson returned to rock music with Infidels, she helped her former bandmates secure a record deal, leading to the eponymous debut album released in 1991 on Hypnotic Records. Wilkins left the band in 1993. Big Sugar recorded the album Five Hundred Pounds with the help of guest musicians, including harmonica and tenor saxophonist Kelly Hoppe, a.k.a. Mr. Chill. Hoppe and Johnson were longtime friends from the same home town; Hoppe had given Johnson his first gig as a guitarist. He brought a blues and old-school R'n'B influence into the band's sound and later added keyboards and melodica. He became a regular member of the band in September 1994, while bassist Garry Lowe had joined the band that July. Lowe moved to Toronto in the mid-1970s from Kingston, Jamaica, became a bass player for touring reggae recording artists, and was a founding member of Culture Shock, a popular Toronto reggae band. Johnson had long admired Lowe; his was the bass sound that Johnson had been looking for. Johnson told The Globe & Mail, "His bass sound became how I envisioned Big Sugar's sound—a blend of blues and rock anchored by his reggae groove." Johnson told Artsfile Ottawa of their unique musical language, "...so much of our connection was unspoken. We didn't work things through musically. If I played a little something, he would play a little something back. It was a very symbiotic relationship." In 1993, Big Sugar released the album Five Hundred Pounds, which had little publicity or radio airplay but sold 10,000 copies in Canada on the strength of their live shows. In 1995, Johnson also recorded an album under the name Don't Talk Dance, with Tyler Stewart of Barenaked Ladies and Chris Brown of the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir. In 1994 they appeared in the drama film The Circle Game, portraying the blues band of which the film's lead character was a member, and performing several numbers in that context. In 1995, Big Sugar released two EPs, Dear M.F. (which featured a cover version of Traffic's "Dear Mr. Fantasy") and Ride Like Hell. Drummer Stich Wynston, who had taken over from Al Cross, was replaced by Walter "Crash" Morgan. During a show in Iowa, Morgan suffered a heart attack and died on stage. Tyler Stewart flew in to help finish the tour, followed by Tony Rabalao. Lowe's musical partner Tony 'Raffa' White was enlisted for recording and other live performances, becoming Johnson's favorite studio drummer and appearing on many Big Sugar albums. Former Odds member Paul Brennan subsequently joined as the band's new drummer, playing on one of their most commercially successful albums, 1996's Hemi-Vision. Brennan left the band in May 1997 leading to Al Cross' return. A French version of Hemi-Vision's single "Opem Up Baby" was recorded, titled "Ouvres-Toi Bébé", for radio stations in Quebec. The song gained widespread airplay in the province, and for their next album, 1998's platinum-selling Heated, the band recorded a French version of each single they released; the French songs were collected on the 1999 EP Chauffe à bloc. Also that year, Johnson and Hoppe began to perform acoustic shows as a duo, billed as "Big Sugar Acoustic—Two Fools on Stools". In 1999, Big Sugar added a new rhythm guitarist, Lloyd 'Mojah' Benn. In February that year they opened for The Rolling Stones at the Air Canada Centre, and in July, performed at Woodstock 1999. In 2000, the band released a dub album, Extra Long Life, under the stage name AlKaline, which toured as an eight-piece band, complete with horn section. In 2001, Big Sugar released Brothers and Sisters, Are You Ready?; a complete track-for-track French version, Brothers and Sisters, Êtes Vous Ready?, was released the same year. The English album concluded with a blistering rendition of "O Canada" that became their signature version and was included on the 2017 Universal Music box set Canada 150: A Celebration of Music, released as part of the 150th anniversary of Canada. The two-CD compilation Hit & Run, that included a special edition, limited-run live concert performance disc, was released in 2003. The live performance disc, Run, sold out on release day, with the two-disc set becoming a collector's item. After a farewell national tour for Big Sugar, Johnson moved to Austin, Texas, where, in 2003, he had co-founded the band Grady with "Whipper" Chris Layton (Double Trouble) on drums and Big Ben Richardson on bass. Described as 'cowboy metal', Grady recordings included some alternate versions of Big Sugar songs and was signed to the Jello Biafra label Alternative Tentacles as well as the Norwegian metal label Voices of Wonder. After 3 Grady albums and many tours, Johnson was stricken with carpal tunnel syndrome and had surgery, being warned by doctors he might not be able to play guitar again. While recovering he taught himself to play triple neck steel guitar. Pairing that with Moog bass pedals, Johnson formed the duo Sit Down, Servant!!, first with drummer Stephane Beaudin, who was replaced by Brannen Temple. Sit Down, Servant!! toured the world, opening for Joe Satriani and George Thorogood. Kelly Hoppe formed Mr. Chill and The Witnesses, a roots music group. Mojah and Garry Lowe formed the reggae band Truth and Rights Revue, releasing one album. In recent years Johnson has also formed the group Snakes of Central Texas with bassist Bobby "Rock" Landgraf (Corrosion of Conformity) (Down (band)), which is still active when Johnson is not on tour. Big Sugar reunited at the Telus World Ski & Snowboard Festival in Whistler, B.C. on April 23, 2010, with tour dates through that summer. In June 2011, they released the album Revolution Per Minute, which included keyboard player and rapper DJ Friendlyness. Revolution Per Minute was released on CD and vinyl, with the vinyl album containing Alkaline dub remixes and bonus songs. This album contained the number one radio hit "Roads Ahead". In 2012, Big Sugar released Eliminate Ya! Live!, a double CD/DVD set that included a new single covering Al Tuck's "Eliminate Ya!", recorded at the Burton Cummings Theatre in Winnipeg, Canada.> In 2012, the band welcomed special guest reggae legend Willi Williams on their national tour. In 2014, Big Sugar released the album Yard Style, which contains unplugged versions of nine of their original songs, plus four previously unreleased songs. The album was recorded live off the floor with the large group of musicians, most on hand drums, sitting in a circle 'yard style'. This release was followed by a three-month national theatre tour with the ensemble of musicians from the studio recording, resulting in 10–12 musicians on stage nightly. In June 2014, Raffa died of cancer. Their next studio album, Calling All The Youth, was released in 2015 and distributed by eOne Records. The next two years were spent touring, including Big Sugar European tours, the North American acoustic tour, and summer festival dates. In 2015, Johnson's wife, Alex Johnson, Big Sugar's manager since the '90s, joined the band on percussion, keyboards and backing vocals. In May 2017, Hoppe retired from touring and the band. DJ Friendlyness left to focus on his band, The Human Rights. This created the opportunity for Austin-based Rey Arteaga, master of Afro-Cuban Congas, to join Big Sugar, which had become a percussion-heavy, guitar-based band as it no longer had keyboards, harmonica or horns. On July 7, 2018,