Big Sugar

So last Friday I saw Grady at The Pyramid, which was awesome, of course.  Before the show, Gordie Johnson was doing a guitar clinic at Long & McQuade which I went and checked out.  It was great to see him up close with just an acoustic guitar, answering fans questions and performing a variety of songs.  Since I've already written about Grady (click here), this edition of Jaremy on Music will be about his older, more widely known band, Big Sugar.

Most Canadian music fans have at least heard OF Big Sugar.  They are a blues/rock/reggae band that recieved a decent amount of exposure during their original run, from 1991-2004.  They had a few songs in regular rotation on the radio and Much Music, but the ones that stick out in my mind from when I was a youngster just discovering good music are Diggin' A Hole, Dear Mr. Fantasy (which I spent a long time loving, unaware of the fact that it was actually a Traffic song), Turn The Lights Out, Nicotina (She's All That) and The Scene.  The group has released 5 studio albums.

One of the things that I find impressive about Big Sugar is their versatility.  Gordie Johnson's guitar style is quite heavy, yet also bluesy, multi-instrumentalist Kelly Hoppe (aka Mr. Chill) brings influence from old school R'n'B and since 1994, their bassist has been Garry Lowe, who grew up in Kingston, Jamaica and brings a heavy reggae presence to the group.  Multiple drummers have worked their way in and out of Big Sugar, and in 1999 a rhythm guitarist named Mojah joined the band.

Earlier in 2010, Gordie Johnson announced that Big Sugar had reunited (though he continues to play with Grady, as well as produce a massive list of bands, including The Trews, Gov't Mule and Taj Mahal).  I'm hoping they make a stop in Winnipeg, since the last time they came through town I was about 10-years-old.

I met Gordie after his clinic at L & M and arranged to do an interview that I had planned to post on here and play on my radio show (warning, shameless self-promotion: Behind the Beat, Wednesdays, 8pm on 92.9 Kick FM) but unfortunately never ended up meeting up with him after the show. I've been kicking myself for not trying harder to do that. I do, however, have to write a review of the Grady show for my Journalism class, which I will probably post on here once it's done, so keep an eye out for that.

Now you internet people didn't think I was going to end this post without a couple of videos, did you?

My personal favourite Big Sugar song, Empty Head, live in 1996.


The Scene, live in 1998, before it was released as a single. I love the Tarzan holler that someone in the audience does right before they start playing.


Gordie Johnson performing an acoustic version of All Hell For A Basement during one of his clinics at a Long & McQuade in Edmonton in 2007. He looks a little different than in the first video, eh?