April Wine

So, I thought this would be the show that would set it all straight about April Wine. Well... it was... and it wasn't. Here's why. I'll back up and tell you that way back just after the first time I shot them in 92, my buddy's band opened for them in Prince George, B.C. My buddy said front man Myles Goodwyn was a fuckin dick. I said NO WAY. He SEEMS like a good guy. Well, my buddy said, Myles was the biggest asshole he ever opened for. My buddy's band was the house band, a crowd favorite, and they were stifled to no end, no good lighting, no good sound, Myles didn't even want to acknowledge the opening act let alone hang out with them at all... blah blah blah. I asked about the rest of April Wine, not ALL of them could be total dicks now could they? NO, just Myles, he calls all the shots. Well from MY experience, Myles was a bit of a dick. Two songs into the set he sees me and refuses to let me shoot the band. Not just him. The whole fuckin band. The rest of the band woulda been more than happy to let me shoot em. I know cuz I would get their attention and point at my camera and they'd shrug or point at Myles and give you that look like, if HE didn't mind, it would be alright with ME. Hmmmmm... why was he like that? I woulda thought a blessed Canadian like Myles woulda been a good dude...

I mean after years and years of turning out cool tunes, being in the spotlight, still being somewhat in demand, how could ya possibly be a dick? He should be happy just to be ALIVE. What could possibly make a front man lose his coolness and turn into a complete assfuck? I'll tell ya what, cuz I'm the only asshole who WILL tell ya. LOOKS. I mean Myles LOOKS like an OLD dried up dick. So, he ACTS like an old dried up dick. I don't give a fuck what anyone says, I was MORE than willing to give the old dried up dick a chance. But lets face it. He aint aging gracefully at all. I mean he looks like a foreskin with ears. Fuckin all wrinkled and decrepit. I wouldn't want my fuckin picture taken either. Music aside, rest of the band aside, history aside. I am and always will be a fan of April Wine's music. But Myles made me shake my head and wonder why. Get over yourself buddy. So yer an ugly bastard, you NEVER were THAT good lookin anyway. Let a fan take some pics. Myself, I wouldn't have picked the shitty shots to put on the site. I'd have made the old guy look as good as I could. If he was a thoughtful grateful dude. If he let me shoot. Unfortunately I couldn't shoot more shots, so he's stuck with the few photos I got. And just cuz he was a DICK, I'm gonna show you the WORST shots I got!!!

I was gonna just stand there in the front row and sulk like a fuckin two year old but after a few tunes I found myself totally into the music. Like I said, I've been a big fan for YEARS, since as far back as I can recall. I remember when I was in grade 3, we were visiting my Grandparents and my Uncle had an April Wine album and he told me these guys were WAY better than KISS (which was just impossible at the time) and was playing these tunes for me that I still remember today. I just couldn't stay mad for long. I mean they got some great fuckin songs. Oowatanite, Roller, Say Hello, Coulda Been A Lady, just to name a few. Very few. There's MUCH more that I could throw at ya. I'm having a fuckin mental block right now and can't think of what they are. But there are a shitload of awesome tunes that April Wine can dig out at any given moment and treat you with.

And they play em good and tight. Myles' voice is still dead on. Gotta hand him that. He's still right nimble in the fingers too. Jerry Mercer, the 65 year old drummer was fuckin SMOKIN. Took him a couple songs to get going but he did a great solo which got the crowd right into it. Jim Clench, the bass player sang a few tunes ending the show with Oowatanite, arguably April Wine's best song ever. I REALLY got the impression that Jim is a fuckin good shit. Same with Jerry and guitarist Brian Greenway, who by the green way was hot as fuck tearing through Club Denim's walls with that sweet Les Paul of his. So my feeble little brain is STILL in turmoil over this whole thing. Do I say what I really wanna say and let it all pour out whether it sounds bad or not? Or do I lie and tell you what the band would love to hear?

Well, if you've been to my site and read ANYTHING I've ever written, you'd come to the conclusion that I don't give a fuck. I say what I fuckin mean and I don't give a rats ass who's FEELINGS are gonna be hurt by it cuz if I give someone a bad fuckin review and drag 'em through the mud a bit, it's cuz THEY DID SOMETHING to DESERVE it. I don't just attack some poor bastard out of the blue cuz he's UGLY. Fuck, if that's how I operated, most of the bands on this site would have HORRIBLE reviews. Hell, I'd have to do a shitty ass review about ME cuz I'm one o' the ugliest fucks yer ever gonna meet!!! I better stop now. I'm getting out of control again. In a nutshell I'll just say this: April Wine's music is really, really good. Check em out before they die. That said, April Wine's front man needs to lighten the fuck up. That's it, that's all.

London, Ontario - Rock in the Park - Summer '92

It was fun watching April Wine play for free at the park that summer. I don't even hardly remember it but one thing I do know is that every song they played was so popular everyone sang along to almost all of them.

That's all I've got to say about that.

April Wine Official Web Site

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