The Gandharvas 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 Popular culture, mainstre ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

formed in 1989 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 ...

History

The band formed in 1989 as The Droogs (later The London Droogs), and released a self-titled EP in 1991. They changed their name to The Gandharvas in 1993, after

Gandharva A gandharva () is a member of a class of celestial beings in Dharmic religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, whose males are divine performers such as musicians and singers, and the females are divine dancers. In Hinduism, they are ...

s, who are musical spirits in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

.Wood, Scott
"Say It Right: The Gandharvas"
, ''The Peak'' –

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...

's student newspaper, October 13, 1997. The band performed live shows in the London area, and in November 1993 signed with the label ''Watch Music''. In 1994 the group released their debut album as The Gandharvas, titled '' A Soap Bubble and Inertia''. The album included the single "The First Day of Spring", which was named Song of the Year (CASBY Award) by The Edge 102.1 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 ancho ...

, and was nominated for

MuchMusic Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. MuchMusic launched on August 31 ...

's Video of the Year. ''A Soap Bubble and Inertia'' entered the Canadian album charts at No. 51 in July 1994 and peaked at No. 39 on August 1, 1994. In 1995, they released their second album '' Kicking in the Water'', and shortly after were signed by major label

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

. Their 1997 release, '' Sold for a Smile'', included the singles "Downtime" and "Watching the Girl". All three albums were also released in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

on the label ''Avex DD''. Though ''Sold for a Smile'' was a minor commercial success (with the "Downtime" video receiving substantial play at

), the album would be the band's last, as the grunge/alternative movement of the 1990s faded in popularity. They would announce their breakup in 2000. Following the break-up of the band, Beau Cook returned to his former band, Smoother. Vocalist Paul Jago became a

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

and moved to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, later forming the band (duo with wife) ''SAID DOG''.

Band members

; Final line-up *Paul Jago –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

(1989–2000) *Jud Ruhl –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

(1989–2000) *Brian Ward – guitar (1989–2000) *Beau Cook – bass,

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

(1996–2000) *Tim McDonald –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(1989–2000)

Former members

*Rob Blanchette – bass (1989–1993) *Eric Howden – bass (1993–1996)

Discography

The Droogs

*''The Droogs'' – 1991

Gandharvas

*'' A Soap Bubble and Inertia'' (1994) *'' Kicking in the Water'' (1995) *'' Sold for a Smile'' (1997)

References

External links

The Gandharvas
on Myspace
''The Droogs''
at the

CHRW-FM CHRW-FM (branded as Radio Western) is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 94.9 FM in London, Ontario. It is licensed as a community-based campus radio station by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. The stati ...

London Music Archives
''A Soap Bubble and Inertia''
at the

London Music Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Gandharvas, The Musical groups established in 1989 Musical groups disestablished in 2000 Musical groups from London, Ontario Canadian alternative rock groups 1989 establishments in Ontario 2000 disestablishments in Ontario