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BIO
In the Halifax, Nova Scotia suburb of
Waverly, Goodwyn was playing in a group called Woody's Termites. His
next door neighbor, Jimmy Henman convinced him to join a group composed
of himself and his cousins, Ritchie and David Henman. Jimmy and Goodwyn
had previously played together in several bands including East Gate
Sanctuary while David and Ritchie played in the Lower Sackville group,
Prism (not to be confused with the famous Vancouver group of the same
name). The name April Wine was coined by David for no apparent reason.
During the recording of the second album 'On Record', big changes were
developing as vocalist/bassist Jim Henman suddenly returned to college,
leaving Goodwyn to lead the band both musically and vocally. Jim Clench
was brought in to fill Henman's shoes on bass. Goodwyn and Clench soon
became allies for a shift in musical direction and internal struggles
with the Henmans led to the brothers leaving the act to form
Montreal-based band Silver and, later, The Dudes with Bob Segarini.
Veteran Mashmakhan drummer Jerry Mercer was added after a stint with Roy
Buchanan and guitarist Gary Moffet came from Pops Merrily. Typical
artistic differences splintered the group and
despite Clench's significant vocal and writing contributions, he left to
join BTO for several albums and tours. Steve Lang (The Cheeque,
Devotion, Mashmakhan) was his replacement. As part of a drive to make
April Wine tougher sounding, guitarist Brian Greenway, also of Cheeque,
Mashmakhan and The Dudes was summoned by his old bandmates to quit his
forklift job and join April Wine for the 'First Glance' LP. All along
the way April Wine became an institutional Canadian stadium rock act
with Top-40 hit after Top-40 hit. After their successive run, the
industry began shifting with techno-pop of the '80's and April Wine
found themselves a hard rock act with a dwindling audience. Their
farewell tour was in 1984 for the 'Animal Grace' album and it was
successful enough to spawn another in a long line of live albums. Goodwyn
put April Wine to bed for a long rest with an eye to working on a solo
career. However, April Wine still contractually owed Capitol Records one
more album. Greenway joined Goodwyn in Nassau, along with Montreal
session musicians Barbe, Pellerin and Simon, to record what was supposed
to be the band's final album - 'Walking Through Fire'. While living in
the Caribbean, Goodwyn released a solo album to middling reviews and
zero sales. Soon, a serious discussion to revive April Wine followed.
Goodwyn returned to Montreal in preparation for the recording of a
second solo album, but interest was steamrolling for an April Wine
reunion. Greenway, also licking the wounds of an aborted solo career is
the first to sign on. Mercer leaves The Buzz Band and also returns but
Moffet is fully committed to his production company (including producing
the See Spot Run hit album 'Weightless') and his spot is filled by local
guitarist Steve Segal. After years away from April Wine, Jim Clench
returned from Calgary to Montreal to fill in the bass slot. The bend
would sign a new record deal with FRE Entertainment and released two
albums of mostly new compositions - 'Attitude' (1993) and 'Frigate'
(1994) The Last Decade:
The studio album, “Back To The Mansion” released in 2001
was April Wine's 15th studio album and first new release since 1994, and
featured original members Myles Goodwyn (vocals, guitars and keyboards),
Brian Greenway (guitars, vocals), Jim Clench (bass, background vocals),
and Jerry Mercer (drums).
“April Wine Live 2003” was released in spring of 2003
and featured the band’s live stage show. It was recorded in Kitchener
Ontario. It also featured Carl Dixon on keyboard, vocals and guitar who
had joined the band for 3 tours.
June of 2004 saw April Wine travel to Sweden to be part
of “Sweden Rock 2004” They shared the stage with HEART, FOGHAT, UFO and
many others.
In 2006 April Wine celebrated their 37th anniversary
together with the release of their 16th studio album, “Roughly Speaking”.
(Released November 21st 2006)
Jim Clench left the band in January of 2007. He was
replaced by Breen LeBoeuf, a talented Bassist and Singer, and a longtime
friend of Jerry and Brian. Breen brings the experience of his many years
as a member of the legendary Quebec rock band “Offenbach” with him to
April Wine. The fans accepted Breen right from the first show at Higher
Ground in Burlington, Vermont in February of 2007.
In November 2008, April Wine signed with ARM
Entertainment of St. Paul, MN as the April Wine’s agency in the USA. Roger
Anderson and his company have been booking many shows for the band in the
USA to the delight of American fans. S.L. Feldman & Associates continues
to represent April Wine in Canada.
Late 2008 also saw the departure of Jerry Mercer from
the band. About to turn 70 years of age in April of 2009, Jerry decided to
retire. Jerry had been the driving drumming force of April Wine for 35
years!
Blair Mackay joined April Wine as the new drummer in
January 2009. Blair has a Master of Music degree in performance, and like
Breen, was accepted by the fans right from the first show, coincidentally
at Higher Ground in Vermont.
In March of 2009, April Wine was inducted into the
Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame during Canadian Music Week in
Toronto. They also received The Lifetime Achievement Award for being part
of Canadian Music History for 40 years.
On April 18th of 2010 at the Juno Awards, April Wine
will be inducted in to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
2010 sees the band continue their hectic pace touring
both the United States and Canada to acclaimed reviews. They continue to
satisfy fans with a live mix of straight ahead rock n' roll and power
ballads, an April Wine mainstay.
In 2010, April Wine enters into their 40th year as a
band ... quite an accomplishment for any rock n' roll band!
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