Weekend Ride

KICK AXE! Grant’s Rock Warehaus tackles one of the best Canadian bands with whom you’re not familiar enough! All albums ranked!

This weekend on Grant’s Rock Warehaus, we tackled a band that needs and deserves more attention:  Canada’s Kick Axe!

“Nobody’s talking about Kick Axe!” said Grant.  We aim to change that with this show.  Please give it a watch!  What are your favourite Kick Axe songs?

This show almost didn’t happen.  I wanted an expert on Kick Axe, so I asked Derek Williamson of Thunder Bay Ontario, who saw Kick Axe live back in the day and also interviewed the guitarist Larry Gillstrom.  He stonewalled me three times, so we decided to do it without him.

Show notes are below, if you want the Cole’s Notes version, but you’ll have to watch the video to get our album rankings.

Formed 1976, Regina Saskatchewan as “Hobbit”.

Original lineup:

  • Victor Langen, bass, vocals
  • Gary Langen, drums
  • Larry Gilstrom, guitar

Ray Harvey added on guitar.

Moved to Vancouver BC, Gary Langen leaves band replaced by Brian Gillstrom, Charles McNary hired as vocalist.

1981 – Playboy Street Rock – live track called “Reality is the Nightmare”.

1981 – Weekend Ride / One More Time (Harvey on vocals).

Produced by Bill Henderson and Brian Too Loud McLeod of Chilliwack.

Wrote “Heavy Metal Shuffle” which opened Vices later on.  Attempted to record an album but never released it.

McNary replaced by George Criston, who brought in power, range and soul as well as a unique sound.

1984 – Signed to CBS in Canada, approached Spencer Proffer to produce because they wanted the same sound as Metal Health by Quiet Riot.  Proffer liked the band personally and thought highly of their musicianship.  Album Vices released on Pasha in the US.

Recorded existing material (2 songs re-written with Proffer) in Hollywood at S.I.R.  30 Days in the Hole – a cover, like Cum On Feel the Noize, but not intended to be a hit, just a showcase for their talents.  Released on the soundtrack to Up the Creek.

Ran into Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler – supposedly approached Criston to replace Ian Gillan in Black Sabbath.  Proffer was working with both bands.

Vices is their best album.  Proffer intended it to be a concept album about vices.  Not a bad song.  Bangin’ backing vocals.  Music video for On the Road to Rock made major impact in Canada, with the comedic video attracting attention.  The Vices mascot was one of my first “rock buttons”.

Vices did not perform to expectations, but Kick Axe wrote three songs for the next Black Sabbath album:  “Wild in the Streets”, “Hunger”, and “Piece of the Rock”, later recorded by W.A.S.P. and King Kobra.  Kick Axe did not want to lose Criston to Sabbath.  “Piece of the Rock” is one of the rarest Kick Axe tracks, only released on a 2005 issue of Rock the World.

1985 – Second album – Pasha wants band more streamlined for radio.  Brought in Pasha staffer Randy Bishop to help on lyrics.  Co-wrote 5 songs and co-produced Welcome to the Club.  Some of the heaviness is blunted, in favour of better song structure and melodies.  Recorded at Metalworks in Toronto.  Cover art by Hugh Syme, which the band never understood the meaning of.

Band brought in cover of Joe Cocker’s version of “With A Little Help From My Friends”.  Rik Emmett, Lee Aaron, Andy Curran, Alfie Zappacosta and more on backing vocals.  Very cool music video made of the recording session.

Pretty solid album, though not as banging throughout as the original.  The cover tune is completely different, but really excellent.

The band and Proffer blame lack of sales on parent label Epic.  No support.  Toured with Autograph, Krokus, Night Ranger, Helix and Triumph.

1986 – Ray Harvey returns home to deal with family matters.  Joins Rock & Hyde as touring guitarist (Bob Rock & Paul Hyde).

The Transformers soundtrack released.  Hunger, and Nothing’s Gonna Stand In Our Way released as Spectre General.  All done by Proffer, without knowledge of the band.  Due to pseudonym used, no benefit to band happened.

Still signed to CBS in Canada.  Next album picked up by Roadrunner in US.

Rock the World (initially “Fuck the World”) recorded as four piece.  Self-produced primarily by Larry due to lack of funds provided by CBS.  Recorded at Right Trak in Vancouver.  Also forced to mix the album themselves.  The cover tune this time is The Chain by Fleetwood Mac.

Band breaks up – sherrifs seize equipment due to unpaid debts.  Later immortalized in the song Rocking Daze on Kick Axe IV.

2002 – Kick Axe reunite with Gary Langen returning, this time on lead vocals.  George Criston remains active in country and more soulful music.  Has expressed no interest in returning to rock.  Has not participated with reissues.  Has worked as a guitar tech for Sarah McLachlan, Dido, Avril Lavigne, and k.d. lang.

2004 – Kick Axe IV self produced.  Best song Rockin Daze written by Brian Gillstrom.  Decent album but not memorable long-term except for Rockin Daze.  Gary Langen has a style of voice reminiscent of Phil Naro.

2008 – Gary Langen leaves band, replaced by Daniel Nargang.

2023 – Run to the Thunder, first new song in decades, to be followed by new album.

 

 

 

 

 

REVIEW: Kick Axe – “Weekend Ride” (1981 single) – Kick Axe series Part Two

Part Two of a series on classic KICK AXE!

KICK AXE – “Weekend Ride” / “One More Time” (1981 Swyne Song single)

When we last met Kick Axe, it was on the surprisingly great live track “Reality is the Nightmare“, from a very obscure compilation by Playboy magazine.  It seems the guys at Playboy thought they should get into the music business too.  They put out an album featuring recordings by unsigned bands, and among them was Kick Axe.  At roughly the same time the live track was recorded, Kick Axe were also working independently on a single.

This early Kick Axe lineup still featured Charles McNary on lead vocals, a capable singer.  The rest of the classic band was set:  Victor Langen (bass), brothers Larry (guitar) and Brian (drums) Gillstrom, and guitarist Raymond Harvey.  Recording in Vancouver, they managed to get the late Brian “Too Loud” MacLeod to co-produce, he of Headpins and Chilliwack fame.

“Weekend Ride” was the A-side, a slick track that already had the trademark Kick Axe rhythm.  It’s largely based on Victor Langen’s thrumming bass.  Solid chorus, interesting guitar hooks, and a screamin’ lead vocal — the essential stuff — are all present.  There’s even some wild, prototypical metal soloing.  The band were also fortunate enough to have capable backing vocalists, not fully exploited until their major label debut.  On “Weekend Ride”, you can hear the start of that.

The interesting thing is the B-side, “One More Time”, a song written by Ray Harvey.  This sounds like a different singer from the A-side, and it’s probably Harvey.  It also features extensive keyboard solos, something they never did again.  It sounds like a different band.  Suffice to say, Kick Axe pursued the sound of the A-side when they made an album.  “One More Time” sounds like a poor man’s Styx!

A few more years of hard work and a critical lineup change would prove to be the key for Kick Axe.  Spencer Proffer of Pasha records was about to change their fortunes in a big way.

If not for this small handful of early Kick Axe recordings, we’d have no record of what they sounded like before Spencer stepped in and added his own ingredients to the stew.  As it turns out, they were already good.  They didn’t need a big namer to write good songs.  They even had a good singer, before the lineup change that would bring George Criston’s golden pipes to the fore.  They were on their way…for a “Weekend Ride”.

3.5/5 stars