Change of Heart was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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 commerci ...

band, active from 1982 to 1997.Michael Barclay, Ian A.D. Jack and Jason Schneider, '' Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985-1995''. ECW Press. . They had one

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

hit, "There You Go" in 1992, as well as several hits on Canada's

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

charts, including "Trigger" and "Little Kingdoms". The band had a diverse, genre-defying sound, with the songs on their albums crossing from pop to hard rock to something almost akin to

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

History

The band was formed in 1982 in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

by vocalist and guitarist

Ian Blurton Ian Blurton (born 1965) is a Canadian musician and record producer. Early life He was born in Champaign, Illinois in 1965, and moved to Toronto in 1973. Musical career He has been a part of Toronto's indie music scene since the early 1980s. He ...

and bassist Rob Taylor, initially inspired by contemporary punk rock bands such as

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

, Gang of Four and L'Étranger. Over the next number of years, Blurton also participated in a number of side projects, working with

Jolly Tambourine Man Jolly Tambourine Man was a Canadian alternative rock band based in Toronto. Ontario They were active in the between 1982 to 1984. The band recorded a demo tape and a 7" single during its lifetime. The single "Apple Strudel Man" was one of the firs ...

Cowboy Junkies Cowboy Junkies are an alternative country and folk rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1985 by Alan Anton (bassist), Michael Timmins (songwriter, guitarist), Peter Timmins (drummer) and Margo Timmins (vocalist). The three Timminse ...

, Slightly Damaged and A Neon Rome. Original percussionist Mike Armstrong left the band during the recording of their 1987 album ''Slowdance'', and would later join

King Cobb Steelie King Cobb Steelie is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1991 from Guelph, Ontario,"Sonuvafreakin' Eh!"

. The band's 1989 album ''Soapbox'' featured the song "Pat's Decline", the band's first single to garner widespread national exposure on MuchMusic and ''

Brave New Waves ''Brave New Waves'' was a Canadian radio program which aired on CBC Stereo, later known as CBC Radio 2, from 1984 to 2007. Airing overnight five nights a week, the show profiled alternative and indie music and culture, including film, comics, ...

''. Drummer Ron Duffy left the band in 1991, and was replaced by Glenn Milchem for the recording of their 1992 album ''Smile''. Following the recording, Milchem left to join Blue Rodeo, and was replaced by John Richardson. Bernard Maiezza, formerly of A Neon Rome, also joined the band during this era. ''Smile'' was produced by Michael-Philip Wojewoda, at the same time as he was juggling two other significant projects, Barenaked Ladies' ''

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

'' and

Rheostatics Rheostatics are a Canadian indie rock band. They were formed in 1978, and actively performed from 1980 until disbanding in 2007. After a number of reunion performances at special events, Rheostatics reformed in late 2016, introducing new songs a ...

' '' Whale Music''. The album, which was recorded in just four days on a budget of just $5,000, spawned the band's only Top 40 charting single, "There You Go", which took off after a radio program director in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

placed the song in rotation on his station. The album, a sprawling 21-song release which the band acknowledged would have been a double album if it had been released prior to the

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Oc ...

era, was compared by critics to Sonic Youth's influential '' Daydream Nation''. Fellow musicians also frequently praised the album; Milchem wore a Change of Heart T-shirt in Blue Rodeo's music video for "Rain Down on Me",

Steven Page Steven Jay Page (born June 22, 1970) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was a founding member, lead singer, guitarist, and a primary songwriter of the music group Barenaked Ladies. Page left the band in Februar ...

wore one in Barenaked Ladies' video for " Brian Wilson", and Andrew Scott wore one in Sloan's original video for "

Underwhelmed "Underwhelmed" is the debut single by Canadian alternative rock band Sloan. The song was originally released on the DTK Records compilation ''Hear and Now '92: The Best Of The East Coast's Independent'' in 1992 and was later included on the band' ...

". Following a cross-Canada tour with

Crash Vegas Crash Vegas was a Canadian folk rock band which formed in 1988, and achieved moderate success in the early 1990s. Biography The band was formed by Michelle McAdorey and Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo in 1988, who were also in a romantic relationship. ...

, Taylor chose to leave the band. He was replaced by John Borra, Maiezza's former bandmate in A Neon Rome who had also previously toured as a solo artist opening for Change of Heart. The band then embarked on tours as an opening act for

The Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, were a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassis ...

and Blue Rodeo. They also won $100,000 from that year's

CFNY-FM CFNY-FM (''102.1 the Edge'') is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 102.1 MHz in the Greater Toronto Area, licensed to the suburb of Brampton. CFNY plays an alternative rock format. Owned by Corus Entertainment, its studios are in Downtown ...

"Discovery to Disc" competition, over

Treble Charger Treble Charger is a Canadian rock band formed in 1992 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, consisting of vocalist and guitarist Greig Nori, vocalist and guitarist Bill Priddle, bassist Rosie Martin and drummer Richard Mulligan. They began with a melodic ...

and

Killjoys ''Killjoys'' is a Canadian space adventure drama series that aired on Space (now CTV Sci-Fi) in Canada. Primarily a science fiction series, ''Killjoys'' follows a trio of hard-living bounty hunters—Dutch (Hannah John-Kamen), Johnny (Aaron As ...

. Following the tour to support their 1994 album ''Tummysuckle'', Borra left the band and was replaced by Rob Higgins for the band's final album, 1997's ''Steelteeth''. Videos for the singles "Little Kingdoms" and "Grifter's Plow" received substantial airplay on MuchMusic's alternative showcase program '' The Wedge''. The band toured in 1997 to support ''Steelteeth'', including the

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festival tour,"Forget h.o.r.d.e., Lilith Fair and Lollapalooza, Another Roadside Attraction is the best touring festival on the continent". '' Edmonton Journal'', July 18, 1999. but broke up soon afterward. Blurton, the band's singer and main songwriter, went on to form the bands

Blurtonia Blurtonia was a Canadian indie rock group formed by Ian Blurton, after the break-up of his previous band, Change of Heart. History Blurtonia was formed in May 1999 to play live shows in support of Blurton's self-released debut ''Adventures in t ...

and C'mon, as well as becoming a record producer. Maiezza went on to form

Cookie Duster Cookie Duster is a Canadian indie rock band, who were briefly active in Toronto in the late 1990s before reforming with some new members in 2012. History Originally formed in the late 1990s by Brendan Canning and Bernard Maiezza after the diss ...

with

Brendan Canning Brendan may refer to: People * Saint Brendan the Navigator (c. 484 – c. 577) was an Irish monastic saint. * Saint Brendan of Birr (died 573), Abbot of Birr in Co. Offaly, contemporaneous with the above * Brendan (given name), a masculine given ...

of hHead; that band released its debut album, produced by Blurton, in 2001."Brendan Canning on Cookie Duster and Life After BSS: 'I Wanted a Fresh Perspective'"
''

Spinner Technology *Spinner (aeronautics), the aerodynamic cone at the hub of an aircraft propeller * Spinner (cell culture), laboratory equipment for cultivating plant or mammalian cells * Spinner (computing), a graphical widget in a GUI * Spinner (MIT Med ...

'', June 26, 2012.

Reunion

The band's ''Steelteeth'' lineup, consisting of Blurton, Richardson, Higgins and Maiezza, reformed for a one-off show at the

Horseshoe Tavern The Horseshoe Tavern (known as ''The Horseshoe'', ''The 'Shoe'', The 'Toronto Tavern' and The 'Triple T' to Toronto locals) is a concert venue at 370 Queen Street West (northeast corner of Queen at Spadina) in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and ...

in Toronto on June 20, 2009. A new 25 song, two-LP compilation entitled ''There You Go '82 - '97'' has been assembled by Ian Blurton and was released on September 18, 2012 by

Sonic Unyon Records Sonic Unyon Recording Company is an independent record label based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Their former retail store was located on Wilson Street near James Street North. The label has put out releases by bands including Tristan Psioni ...

."Change of Heart Reveal 'There You Go '82-'97' Retrospective"
'' Exclaim!'', August 8, 2012. To celebrate, the band reunited for a series of reunion shows starting with the 2012 edition of the Supercrawl festival in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...

on September 15. On October 5, 2012 there was a special Change of Heart show at the Horseshoe Tavern, which featured the participation of every former band member. The lineup of Blurton, Maiezza, Milchem and Taylor reunited again in 2017 for the 25th anniversary vinyl reissue of the ''Smile'' album, playing shows in Ontario and Alberta.Peter Hendra, "Band's reunion puts 'Smile' on their faces". ''

Kingston Whig-Standard ''The Kingston Whig-Standard'' is a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. It is published five days a week, from Tuesday to Saturday. It publishes a mix of community, national and international news and is currently owned by Postmedia. It has ...

'', September 21, 2017.

Discography

* ''50 Ft. Up'' (1986) * ''Slowdance'' (1987) * ''Soapbox'' (1989) * ''Smile'' (1992) * ''Tummysuckle'' (1994) * ''Steelteeth'' (1997) * ''There You Go '82 - '97'' (2012)

References

External links

Change of Heart bio on answers.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Change of Heart Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups disestablished in 1997 Musical groups from Toronto Canadian alternative rock groups 1982 establishments in Ontario 1997 disestablishments in Ontario