The Saddletramps were an
alternative country band from
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 ...
in the 1980s and 1990s. Core members of the band included Ken Horne, Andrew Lindsay, John DeHaas and Brian Duguay.
History
In the early 1980s several
Fanshawe College
Fanshawe College of Applied Arts and Technology, commonly shortened to Fanshawe College, is a public college in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. One of the largest colleges in Canada, it has campuses in London, Simcoe, St. Thomas and Woodstock ...
students from the
Greater Toronto Area who shared a rented house in
London, Ontario
London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...
got together to form the band Tin Mitten. Their first gig was opening for another established local band, The Waiting. Friends of the band members chanted "No Waiting, Mitten Now" and pelted the band with mittens. The band was soon renamed The Saddletramps, and performed in various Toronto venues.
Lindsay met seventeen-year-old
Sarah Harmer
Sarah Harmer (born November 12, 1970) is a Canadian singer, songwriter and environmental activist.
Early life
Born and raised in Burlington, Ontario, Harmer gained her first exposure to the musician's lifestyle as a teenager, when her older sis ...
while working at Sunrise Records in Burlington, and she joined the band, later commuting to Toronto to perform on weekends while attending
Queen's University.
In 1989 the Saddletramps released their first album, ''The Saddle Tramps'', on cassette tape, with Dehaas on bass, Duguay on lead guitar and vocals, Harmer on vocals, Horne on percussion, Lindsay on vocals and guitar. Mike Northcott also contributed some instrumental work. The album was recorded at Grant Ave and Axon Studios, and all but one of the songs were written by the band members.
In 1990 the band released a second cassette album, ''Yardsale''. Harmer left to concentrate on her studies; she later fronted her own band,
Weeping Tile
A weeping tile (also called a drain tile or perimeter tileGradwell, John B., and Malcolm Welch. ''Technology--shaping our world''. South Holland, Ill.: Goodheart-Willcox, 1991. 116. Print.) is a porous pipe used for underground water collection ...
.
The Saddletramps disbanded in 1995.
In 1999, Harmer began a solo career; her solo album ''
You Were Here
''You Were Here'' is an album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer, released in 2000.
Background
''You Were Here'' was Harmer's commercial breakthrough in Canada after years of almost reaching the pop charts with Weeping Tile. The album's ...
'' included a new recording of "Don't Get Your Back Up", which she had originally recorded with The Saddletramps on ''Yardsale''. Lindsay, Duguay, and Dehaas formed a new band called Loomer along with Michael Taylor, Iain Thomson, and Scott Loomer. The band released an album, ''Love Is A Dull Instrument'' in 2004. In 2006, Harmer sang "Only Lovers" on the band's second album, ''Songs of the Wild West Island''.
"Loomer Songs of the Wild West Island"
''Exclaim!'', By Eric Thom, Mar 22, 2007
Discography
Albums
*''The Saddle Tramps'' (1989) Tracks: "Christ", "Life and Times", "Church", "Winds of Change", "Alaska", "I Don't Mind", "Blue Eyes" and "Fallen Angel"
*''Yardsale'' (1990) Tracks: "Weight of the World", "Deal With It", "Boomerang", "4000 Roads", "She Don't Love", "Rain of Gold", "Wastin' It On You", "Race Along The Edge", "Passin' Thru", "Don't Get Your Back Up"
*''Well Gone Bad'' (1993)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saddletramps, The
Canadian alternative country groups