alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercia ...
group from
Tsawwassen
Tsawwassen ( ) is a suburban, mostly residential community on a peninsula in the southwestern corner of the City of Delta in British Columbia, Canada. It provides the only road access to the American territory on the southern tip of the peninsul ...
, British Columbia. The band take their name from the slogan "54-40 or Fight!", coined to express the unsuccessful expansionist agenda of James K. Polk's presidency, which was intent upon controlling a contested U.S.-Canada border area in the
Oregon boundary dispute
The Oregon boundary dispute or the Oregon Question was a 19th-century territorial dispute over the political division of the Pacific Northwest of North America between several nations that had competing territorial and commercial aspirations in t ...
. 54-40 has had a successful career, with four of their albums being certified Platinum in Canada. The band has been nominated for eight
Juno Awards
The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...
. Between 1996 and 2016, 54-40 were among the top 150 selling Canadian artists in Canada and among the top 50 selling Canadian bands in Canada.
History
Neil Osborne and Brad Merritt met in 1978 at
South Delta High School
South Delta High School is a public high school in Rolling Fork, Mississippi (United States). The school serves students in grades nine through twelve.
South Delta High is part of the South Delta School District; the district serves all of Sha ...
in
Tsawwassen
Tsawwassen ( ) is a suburban, mostly residential community on a peninsula in the southwestern corner of the City of Delta in British Columbia, Canada. It provides the only road access to the American territory on the southern tip of the peninsul ...
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level course ...
in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most p ...
, Osborne returned home and formed the band 54-40 with Merritt and drummer Ian Franey. The band played their first gig in Coquitlam on December 8, 1980, the night John Lennon was killed. That same year, they made their first recordings for the
Mo-Da-Mu
Mo=Da=Mu was a Canadian independent record label founded in 1980 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The music label was established by Allen Moy of the punk rock band Popular Front, and released material by bands such as 54-40, Bolero Lava, Moral ...
label, with four tracks appearing on the independent compilation LP ''Things Are Still Coming Ashore'', which also featured music by Vancouver bands Animal Slaves and Junco Run. In June 1982, the band released the EP '' Selection''. Shortly after the release of ''Selection'', Franey left the band. Franey was replaced by
Darryl Neudorf
Darryl Neudorf (born June 7, 1964 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) is a Canadian musician, record producer and audio engineer.
He was the drummer for 54-40 from 1982 to 1986. He is best known during this time for co-writing the hit song " I Go Bli ...
and Phil Comparelli was added on guitar, trumpet and vocals. The band recorded the album ''
Set the Fire
''Set the Fire'' is the debut full-length album by Canadian alternative rock band 54-40, released in 1984 on Mo-Da-Mu.
Although no longer in print, ''Set the Fire'' and its predecessor ''Selection
Selection may refer to:
Science
* Selec ...
'' in 1983, releasing it in 1984. Neudorf, frustrated with the band's prolonged time in the studio and away from the road, left the band in 1985. He was replaced by Matt Johnson.
The band's self-titled second album, released in 1986 through Warner/
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels.
Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...
, began to attract attention from radio and record buyers across Canada, with the singles "Baby Ran" and "
I Go Blind
"I Go Blind" is a song by Canadian alternative rock group 54-40. The song was released in Canada as the second single from the band's 1986 self-titled album, '' 54-40''. It has since become one of the band's most popular songs.
Hootie & the Blow ...
" gaining significant college radio airplay. Dave Osborne (keyboards, harmonica), toured and recorded with the band from 1987 to 1993. The band's third album, '' Show Me'', became their commercial breakthrough in Canada, with the hits " One Day in Your Life" and "One Gun".
Although the band was popular on
college radio
Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...
in the United States, they never had a commercial breakthrough, and Warner dropped 54-40 in 1990. In 1991, the band released the compilation album, '' Sweeter Things''. Also during that year, the band signed a deal with Sony and released ''
Dear Dear
''Dear Dear'' is an album by Canadian rock band 54-40, released in 1992. It was their most successful album in their native Canada, spawning the singles " Nice to Luv You", "She La", "Music Man", "You Don't Get Away (That Easy)" and "We Are, We ...
'' in 1992. It was the band's first album to be certified Gold in Canada and was certified Platinum in 1993. The band released ''
Smilin' Buddha Cabaret
''Smilin' Buddha Cabaret'' is an album by Canadian rock band 54-40. The album is named after a live music club in Vancouver, British Columbia
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of Briti ...
'' in 1994 and '' Trusted by Millions'' in 1996, both of which would later be certified Platinum.
The band's song "
I Go Blind
"I Go Blind" is a song by Canadian alternative rock group 54-40. The song was released in Canada as the second single from the band's 1986 self-titled album, '' 54-40''. It has since become one of the band's most popular songs.
Hootie & the Blow ...
" was covered in the mid-1990s by American band Hootie & the Blowfish, and was featured on the first soundtrack to the TV series ''
Friends
''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lis ...
''. The song also appears on two compilations released by the band: 2000's ''
Scattered, Smothered and Covered
''Scattered, Smothered and Covered'' is a covers album by American rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, released in 2000. The album was named in honor of Waffle House, a Southern restaurant chain. One of Waffle House's advertising campaigns used t ...
Dave Genn
David Robert Madison Genn is a Canadian musician, producer, and songwriter. He is a member of the rock group 54-40, and a former member of the Matthew Good Band.
Early life
Genn was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, on 2 March 1969. He is th ...
, formerly of
Matthew Good Band
Matthew Good Band was a Canadian alternative rock band formed in Coquitlam, British Columbia in 1995. The band consisted of singer-songwriter/guitarist Matthew Good, guitarist/keyboardist Dave Genn, drummer Ian Browne and bassist Geoff Lloy ...
, joined 54-40 in 2003. In February 2005, it was announced that Comparelli left the band due to personal reasons. That same year, 54-40 signed with
True North Records
True North Records is a Canadian independent record label.
History
True North Records was founded in Mississauga, Ontario in 1969 by Bernie Finkelstein. By 1971, True North was producing albums for various Canadian musicians, including Bruce Co ...
.
In 2010, to celebrate the band's 30 years together and almost 25 years since their first commercial album '' The Green Album'', the band went on a promotional
concert tour
A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific t ...
with a two-set act. The first set was " The Green Album" from start to finish. The second set was one song from every album since, with the exception of ''
Dear Dear
''Dear Dear'' is an album by Canadian rock band 54-40, released in 1992. It was their most successful album in their native Canada, spawning the singles " Nice to Luv You", "She La", "Music Man", "You Don't Get Away (That Easy)" and "We Are, We ...
'' where they played two songs. 54-40 also performed a new song from their upcoming record, "Lost In The City", which was released on June 14, 2011.
In January, 2016, the band released a greatest hits album titled ''La Difference: A History Unplugged''. Tracks included " One Day In Your Life", "
I Go Blind
"I Go Blind" is a song by Canadian alternative rock group 54-40. The song was released in Canada as the second single from the band's 1986 self-titled album, '' 54-40''. It has since become one of the band's most popular songs.
Hootie & the Blow ...
", and " Ocean Pearl". The album was released through
eOne Music
MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch", formerly known as Koch Records and eOne Music) is a New York City-based independent record label and music management company. It was formed in 2009 from the music assets of Koch Entertainment, which had b ...
. The band then set out on a month-long theatre tour across Canada to support the album. In 2017 they played at Peachfest in Penticton.
In 2018 54-40 performed with fiddler
Daniel Lapp
Daniel Edward Lapp is a Canadian folk musician based in Victoria, British Columbia and Pender Island."54-40 pull all the right strings" Paul Dwyer, March 22, 2018 and also as the opening band at Ottawa's
CityFolk Festival
CityFolk Festival (known until 2014 as the Ottawa Folk Festival) is a folk music festival held annually in Ottawa, Canada.
Format
The festival is held on the Great Lawn at Lansdowne Park each September as a 4- or 5-day general admission ticke ...
.
Lead singer Neil Osborne began playing shows with his daughter, singer-songwriter Kandle, billing themselves as A Family Curse, self-described as "pure folk-art worked from found objects (something old, something new)." A Toronto show took place May 8, 2019 at the intimate and tiny 20-capacity Radical Road Brewing Co. The father-daughter duo played later that year on August 7, 2019 as part of
Roy Thompson Hall
Roy Thomson Hall is a concert hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located downtown in the city's entertainment district, it is home to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, and the Toronto Defiant. Opened in 1982, its circu ...
's Live on the Patio series, also in Toronto. These shows were bookended by shows in Montréal, where Kandle resides, in February and August, 2019.
54-40 played The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern's 72nd anniversary party on December 6, 2019. Sam Cash, son of Toronto post-punk musician turned city politician,
Andrew Cash
Andrew Cash (born January 22, 1962) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and former politician who was the member of Parliament (MP) for the Toronto-area riding of Davenport from 2011 to 2015. A member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Cash grew ...
, opened the show.
Members
Current
*Neil Osborne – vocals, rhythm guitar (1980–present), lead guitar (1981–1983)
*Dave Genn – lead guitar (2003–present)
*Brad Merrit – bass (1980–present)
*Matt Johnson – drums (1986–present)
*David Osborne - organ, saxophone, harmonica (2015-present)
Former
*Ian Franey – drums (1980–1983)
*Phil Comparelli – lead guitar, vocals, trumpet (1983–2005)
*Darryl Neudorf – drums (1983–1986)