At 74, the founder of the most Montreal of Nova Scotian bands tells why he chose to let the band continue without him.
In 1970, April Wine mailed a demo to Terry Flood and Donald K. Donald, who had set up the Aquarius label in Montreal. A submission to which the record company offers a sympathetic, albeit negative, response with a polite phrase like: “If you ever pass by, come say hi. »
That was all it took for brothers David and Ritchie Henman, who founded April Wine in 1969 with their cousin Jim and friend Myles Goodwyn, to leave Nova Scotia. “And it was when we arrived in Montreal in April that we realized that we had misunderstood the exchange with Aquarius,” recalls Myles Goodwyn, contacted at his home in Halifax. “We were young and confused and we understood that they were offering to sign with them. »
Fruitful confusion: impressed by their visitors, who agree to perform in front of them, Flood and Donald unearth opportunities for April Wine to play all over Quebec and the Maritimes, then hand them a real contract, which will lead to September 1971 at the launch of the first of the band’s 16 albums.
A few months later, on February 18, 1972, April Wine officiated in the first part of Stevie Wonder, in the enclosure of the old Forum.
During our sound check, we were playing one of our songs and suddenly I started hearing piano. But we don’t have a pianist in the band! It was Stevie Wonder who was sitting at his piano and jamming with us.
Myles Goodwyn
In Big Bird’s bar
Despite its deep Nova Scotian roots, April Wine will remain forever associated with Montreal. It’s not innocent if, on the back cover of The Nature of the Beast (1981), Myles Goodwyn wears a Montreal Canadiens jersey, a team with which he had the opportunity to make many friendships, with Larry Robinson, in particular.
“Myles is extremely gifted in his field and we ourselves had a rather talented team, so there was mutual admiration between us,” explained the former star defenseman for the Canadiens, reached by telephone on Tuesday. “I’ve always been impressed by good singers. »
When they left the West Island to settle in Saint-Lazare, Larry Robinson and his teammate Steve Shutt teamed up with friends and became owners of Fox’s Run, a drinking establishment located at the gates from the town of Hudson, where Goodwyn resided before returning to his home province seven years ago.
“It really was a dive bar, there weren’t more than 60, 70 people who could get in,” number 19 recalls. even to play. »
April Wine without Myles
Active from 1969 to 1986, then from 1988 to today, April Wine has embodied the best of Canadian-style radio rock, thanks to a sound oscillating between the soft rock of ballads floating in the honey and the double (or triple) attack. guitarism inseparable from certain classics of CHOM-FM’s programming, such as Oowatanite Or Sign of the Gypsy Queen.
PHOTO PAUL MCKINNON, ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
Myles Goodwyn, in 2005, surrounded by drummer Jerry Mercer and the late bassist Jim Clench
A classic that Myles Goodwyn will perform for the last time this Thursday evening at the Rath Eastlink Community Center in Truro, Nova Scotia, during his April Wine farewell show.
Although he officially remains a member of the group, and does not rule out the possibility of a new album, the 74-year-old songwriter can no longer take the irritants associated with air travel, which prevent diabetes from being well controlled.
But, unusual decision: rather than simply putting the key under the door, the leader will have participated in the choice of his replacement, Marc Parent. April Wine thus joins an unusual category of formations that survived the departure of all their founding members, including Blood, Sweat & Tears, Quiet Riot and Thin Lizzy. Guitarist Brian Greenway, a faithful accomplice of Goodwyn since 1977, will now embody the guarantee of authenticity of the group, which already has a dozen shows on its agenda until the end of 2023.
In Rock N’ Roll Is a Vicious Game, Myles Goodwyn laments that so many rock giants have failed to avoid the black hole of excess. “But in my case, rock’n’roll was more generous than vicious,” he says. Often, I think of all these excellent musicians who have never been able to earn a living and it makes me realize how lucky I am. My mother died when I was 11 and music immediately became my refuge. I will never give it up. »
sticks against a guitar
PHOTO ROBERT NADON, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Larry Robinson, in May 1978
Myles Goodwyn isn’t the only great Canadian rocker that Larry Robinson has crossed paths with. Big Bird and Shutty reunite in Atlanta the night before a game against the Flames, drinking beers in Rush’s motorhome (according to cross-search by The Press, that was in 1975). They were invited to attend the show by Geddy Lee, who attended the same Toronto high school as Steve Shutt. “And since I knew the guys all played hockey, I offered to trade Alex Lifeson two dozen of my Koho sticks for a Gibson acoustic guitar. And he accepted! Does Mr. Robinson scratch it? “No, I tried, but I have too big hands. I gave it to my brother-in-law. »