History
Big Sugar originally consisted of Johnson, bassist Terry Wilkins, and drummer Al Cross. The three musicians had already played together for several years as a supporting band for Molly Johnson's jazz performances, and as an informal jam band with members of the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir. When Molly Johnson returned to rock music with Infidels, she helped her former bandmates secure a record deal, leading to the eponymous debut album released in 1991 on Hypnotic Records.
Success
Wilkins left the band in 1993. Big Sugar recorded the album Five Hundred Pounds with the help of guest musicians, including harmonica and tenor saxophonist Kelly Hoppe, aka Mr. Chill. Hoppe and Johnson were longtime friends from the same home town; Hoppe had given Johnson his first gig as a guitarist. He brought a blues and old-school R'n'B influence into the band's sound and later added keyboards and Melodica. He became a regular member of the band in September 1994; while bassist Garry Lowe had joined the band that July.
Lowe moved to Toronto in the mid-1970s from Kingston, Jamaica, became a bass player for touring reggae recording artists, and was a founding member of "Culture Shock", a popular Toronto reggae band. Johnson had long admired Lowe; his was the bass sound that Johnson had been looking for. Johnson told The Globe & Mail, "His bass sound became how I envisioned Big Sugar's sound--a blend of blues and rock anchored by his reggae groove."[3] Johnson told Artsfile Ottawa of their unique musical language, "...so much of our connection was unspoken. We didn't work things through musically. If I played a little something, he would play a little something back. It was a very symbiotic relationship.".[4]
In 1993, Big Sugar released the album Five Hundred Pounds,[5] which had little publicity or radio airplay but sold 10,000 copies in Canada on the strength of their live shows. In 1995, Johnson also recorded an album under the name Don't Talk Dance,[6] with Tyler Stewart of Barenaked Ladies and Chris Brown of the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir.
In 1995, Big Sugar released two EPs; Dear M.F.(which featured a cover version of Traffic's "Dear Mr. Fantasy") and Ride Like Hell. Drummer Stich Wynston, who had taken over from Al Cross, was replaced by Walter "Crash" Morgan. During a show in Iowa, Morgan suffered a heart attack and died on stage. Tyler Stewart flew in to help finish the tour, followed by Tony Rabalao. Lowe's musical partner Tony 'Raffa' White was enlisted for recording and other live performances, becoming Johnson's favorite studio drummer and appearing on many Big Sugar albums. Former Odds member Paul Brennan subsequently joined as the band's new drummer, playing on one of their most commercially successful albums, 1996's Hemi-Vision.[7] In May 1997, Brennan left the band; Al Cross returned in 1998.
A French version of Hemi-Vision's single "Opem Up Baby" was recorded, titled "Ouvres-Toi Bébé", for radio stations in Quebec.[8] The song gained widespread airplay in the province, and for their next album, 1998's platinum-selling Heated, the band recorded a French version of each single they released; the French songs were collected on the 1999 EP Chauffe à bloc. Also that year, Johnson and Hoppe began to perform acoustic shows as a duo, billed as "Big Sugar Acoustic--Two Fools on Stools".
In 1999, Big Sugar added a new rhythm guitarist, Lloyd 'Mojah' Benn. In February that year they opened for The Rolling Stones at the Air Canada Centre,[9] and in July, performed at Woodstock 1999.
In 2000, the band released a dub album, Extra Long Life, under the stage name AlKaline, which toured as an eight-piece band, complete with horn section. In 2001, Big Sugar released Brothers and Sisters, Are You Ready?; a complete track-for-track French version, Brothers and Sisters, Êtes Vous Ready?, was released the same year. The English album concluded with a blistering rendition of "O Canada" that became their signature version and was included on the 2017 Universal Music box set Canada 150: A Celebration of Music,[10] released as part of the 150th anniversary of Canada.
Hit And Run: The Best Of Big Sugar
The two-CD compilation Hit & Run, that included a special edition, limited-run live concert performance disc, was released in 2003. The live performance disc, Run, sold out on release day, with the 2 disc set becoming a collector's item.
Hiatus
Johnson moved to Austin, Texas where, in 2003, he had co-founded the band Grady with "Whipper" Chris Layton on drums and Big Ben Richardson on bass. Described as 'cowboy metal', Grady recordings included some alternate versions of Big Sugar songs and was signed to the Jello Biafra label Alternative Tentacles as well as the Norwegian metal label Voices of Wonder. Stricken with Carpal tunnel syndrome Johnson had surgery not knowing if he would be able to play guitar again. While recovering he taught himself to play triple neck steel guitar. Pairing that with Moog bass pedals, Johnson formed the duo Sit Down, Servant!!, first with drummer Stephane Beaudin who was replaced by Brannen Temple. Sit Down, Servant!! toured the world, opening for Joe Satriani[11] and George Thorogood.[12] Kelly Hoppe formed Mr. Chill and The Witnesses, a roots music group. Mojah and Garry Lowe formed the reggae band Truth and Rights Revue, releasing one album. Johnson also formed the group Snakes of Central Texas which is still active when Johnson is not on tour.
Reunion
Big Sugar reunited at the Telus World Ski & Snowboard Festival in Whistler, B.C. on April 23, 2010,[13] with tour dates through that summer. In June 2011, they released the album Revolution Per Minute, which included keyboard player and rapper DJ Friendlyness. Revolution Per Minute was released on CD and vinyl, with the vinyl album containing Alkaline dub remixes and bonus songs.[14] This album contained the number one radio hit "Roads Ahead". In 2012, Big Sugar released Eliminate Ya! Live!, a double CD/DVD set that included a new single covering Al Tuck's "Eliminate Ya!", recorded at the Burton Cummings Theatre in Winnipeg, Canada.[15]
In 2012, the band welcomed special guest Reggae legend Willi Williams on their national tour.[16]
In 2014, Big Sugar released the album Yard Style which contains unplugged versions of nine of their original songs, plus four previously unreleased songs.[17] The entire album was recorded live off the floor with the large group of musicians, most on hand drums, sitting in a circle 'yard style'. This release was followed by a three-month national theatre tour with the ensemble of musicians from the studio recording, resulting in 10–12 musicians on stage nightly. In June 2014, Raffa died of cancer.[18]
Their next studio album Calling All The Youth,[19] was released in 2015 and distributed by eOne Records. The next two years were spent touring, including Big Sugar European tours,[20] the North American acoustic tour,[21] and summer festival dates.[22] In 2015, Johnson's wife, Alex Johnson, who had been Big Sugar's manager since the '90s, joined the band on percussion and backing vocals.
In May 2017, Hoppe retired from touring and the band. DJ Friendlyness left to focus on his band, The Human Rights. Austin-based Rey Arteaga, master of Afro-Cuban Congas, joined Big Sugar, which had become a percussion-heavy, guitar-based band as it no longer had keyboards, harmonica or horns. On July 7, 2018, Garry Lowe died of cancer.[23][24] Big Ben Richardson, Johnson's partner in Grady who played bass in Big Sugar briefly before Lowe joined the band, returned to the stage and Chris Colepaugh joined on drums.
On December 28, 2018, the date of Garry Lowe's birthday, Big Sugar played a tribute concert in Toronto of the Big Sugar song catalogue. Joining them were members of Barenaked Ladies, Bedouin Soundclash, Broken Social Scene, Sloan, Danko Jones, Dream Warriors, The Road Hammers, The Human Rights, I Mother Earth, The New Deal, Culture Shock, and Wide Mouth Mason, plus Tom Wilson, Isax Injah, Maestro Fresh Wes, Julian Taylor, Willi Williams, Errol Blackwood, Mojah Benn, Adrian Sheriff Miller, and Leroy Sibbles.[25]
In 2018, Universal Music's ICON album series[26] released a Big Sugar ICON album.[27] In 2020, Universal released the first album of new music in 5 years, the Big Sugar album Eternity Now.[28] Recorded and mixed at the Johnsons' studio, 'The Sound Shack', it features Alex Lifeson of Rush playing guitar on the title track. With the world going into lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the release show and tour was cancelled and Johnson performed a record release show online, singing and playing live, accompanied by the recorded bedtracks. He then performed a record release show for the Deluxe Anniversary Hemi-Vision 25th Anniversary album,[29] this time re-recording all parts himself and performing guitar and vocals live along with Warren Haynes, Chris Robinson, Rich Robinson, Colin James and Jason McCoy. A rousing edition of "If I Had My Way" saw hundreds of fans videos edited into the performance. It was such a feat that the record release show had to be delayed a day as Johnson put it all together in his studio. During the lockdown, Johnson also produced a one-season weekly series on YouTube called "GJ in the SoundShack", in which he talked about songwriting, recording and the equipment he uses.
In 2021, Johnson launched the tour "One Man Big Sugar Show--The Acoustical Sounds of Gordie Johnson",[30] which is an acoustic performance of his songbook along with a showcase of his comedic skills.
In the years of pandemic shutdown, Gordie Johnson reimagined the band as a Power Trio. Resuming touring in 2022 he welcomed Garry Lowe's son, bassist Ben Lowe, to the band. The new band also included drummer Joe Magistro (of The Black Crowes and The B-52's). Universal Music Group released a deluxe 25th anniversary edition of the BIG SUGAR platinum album "Heated" which featured "An Evening With" concert format of two sets with the first being the album played live in its entirety for the first time, followed by hit songs and rarities after an intermission.Big Sugar's much anticipated “Heated 25th Anniversary Tour” continued through 2023 as Gordie Johnson returned to the stage with new bassist and fellow Austin-ite Anders Drerup and 22-year-old phenom drummer Root Valach. “Our music has always been about roots and culture and this is a perfect piece of that evolution."
2024 started with a Third Man Records vinyl deluxe release of "500 Pounds" which sold out when announced, before the official release day. A 2nd pressing of the album has gone into production. Label owner Jack White is a fan of the band, and has stated that Five Hundred Pounds is "the best blues-based record to ever come out of Canada."[31] White performed "Ride Like Hell" live during his concert in Toronto in 2022.
Big Sugar is touring with the "500 Pounds Theatre Tour" through 2024 which sees the entire album played live in the first set followed by hits and favorites in the second set. Don't miss the chance to see the power trio as they have become a seamless unit of deep musicality and soaring vocals providing fans with some of the best shows yet.
Awards and recognition
Gordie Johnson has earned numerous gold and platinum records with his band Big Sugar and as producer or musician with Govt Mule, Joel Plaskett, The Trews and Default.
Big Sugar received five Juno Award nominations: as Best New Group in 1995, Rock Album of the Year (Hemi-Vision) in 1997, Group of the Year in 1998, Best Video ("The Scene") in 2000 and, in 2002, Best Rock Album (Brothers and Sisters, Are You Ready?).[32]
In 1995, Big Sugar won the Edison Award, one of the oldest music awards in the world.[citation needed]
In 1998, the SOCAN awarded Big Sugar the songwriting award for "The Scene".[citation needed]
In 2003, Gibson guitar released a special edition limited-run Gordie Johnson Signature Series SGJ guitar[33] with a hardshell case and Hugo Boss neckstrap. In 2013, the Hard Rock Café Hotel & Casino in Vancouver created a Gordie Johnson display that featured the SGJ.
In 2007, the Canadian Organization of Campus Activities (COCA) inducted Big Sugar into its Hall of Fame.
In 2010, Gordie Johnson was inducted into the Canada South Blues Society Hall of Fame.
Johnson received nominations by the WCMA as Producer of the Year in 2012,[34] and Engineer of the Year in 2013.
In 2017, the Canadian Independent Music Association awarded Big Sugar its Road Gold Award.[35]
