The Northern Pikes are a Canadian
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band formed in
Saskatoon
Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as th ...
,
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 ...
, in 1984. The original members are
Jay Semko,
Bryan Potvin, Merl Bryck and Glen Hollingshead, who left the band in 1985 and was replaced by Don Schmid in June 1986.
The band was active until 1993 and toured and recorded again from 1999 through to the present.
The Northern Pikes were inducted into the Western Canadian Music Hall of Fame on Sunday, September 30, 2012, in Regina, Saskatchewan.
The band released its ninth record of original material, ''Forest of Love'', on June 7, 2019.
History
The Northern Pikes released two independent
EPs before being signed to Virgin Records in 1986, ''The Northern Pikes'' (1984) and ''Scene in North America'' (1985). They also recorded a song for ''Saskatchewan After Dark'', a 1985 compilation of Saskatchewan-based artists sponsored by the provincial government. Their first album for Virgin, ''
Big Blue Sky'', included the Semko-penned "Teenland", the band's first significant hit. The follow-up album ''
Secrets of the Alibi'' contained three Canadian hits, "Wait for Me", "Let's Pretend" & "Hopes Go Astray".
Their 1990 album ''
Snow in June'' became their biggest seller in Canada and the
US. That album's lead single, "
She Ain't Pretty", was the band's biggest hit, and was written by Potvin. An innovative
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
for that song received heavy play on
MuchMusic and was nominated for a
Juno Award in 1991. Overall, the band has been nominated for five Juno Awards, but have yet to record a win.
In early 1992, the band released the single "Everyone's a Hero" for the Canadian
Special Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in ...
. Later that year, the band released their next album, ''
Neptune''. The album's biggest hit, "Believe", was written by Potvin. After touring to support the album, they announced their retirement as a group in July 1993.
In 1999, Virgin Records asked the band members for their input on a "greatest hits" package. The band decided to do a short promotional tour following the release of ''
Hits and Assorted Secrets 1984-1993
Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block
* ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998
* ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...
'', but found themselves enjoying the more relaxed independence of making their own schedule that they continued touring. They have since released three independent albums, including ''
Truest Inspiration
''Truest Inspiration'' is the sixth studio album by The Northern Pikes released in 2001. This was their first album of new music since they reformed in 1999 after a 6-year break.
Following the release of ''Neptune'' in 1992 and the subsequent li ...
'' (2001) and ''
It's a Good Life'' (2003), as well as the aptly titled ''
Live'' (2000).
In 2005, the band struck up a musical collaboration with
Les Stroud
Les Stroud (born October 20, 1961) is a Canadian survival expert, filmmaker and musician best known as the creator, writer, producer, director, cameraman and host of the television series ''Survivorman''. Stroud was named Chief Scout by Sc ...
. Throughout 2005 and 2006 they performed together live several times. A six-song EP born from this collaboration entitled ''Long Walk Home'' was released in the spring of 2007, and was credited to "Les Stroud & The Pikes".
In 2006, Merl Bryck made the decision to curtail his touring schedule, and left the Northern Pikes. Long-time sideman Ross Nykiforuk joined the band on keyboards as the fourth member onstage from 2006–2011. Since then, Semko, Potvin and Schmid have continued touring under the Northern Pikes banner as, in their own words, a "power trio". In 2017,
Grapes of Wrath guitarist
Kevin Kane joined them for their 30th Anniversary of "Big Blue Sky" Tour, becoming a full-time member of the band in 2018 for the recording of ''Forest Of Love''. The 10-track record is the band's first in 16 years and also features original members Semko, Schmid and Potvin. BlueFrog Studios hosted the band for two official pre-release concerts on June 6, 2019, which were viewed via Facebook Live and YouTube Live. The band began working on a new album in early 2020, which Jay Semko described as a "tribute to ''Snow in June" but postponed finishing it due to travel restrictions and difficulty getting together in studio due to the Covid pandemic. They plan to finish it and have it out by 2022.
In 2019, Semko recorded a new version of the band's 1987 single "The Things I Do for Money", in collaboration with cellists Theodor and Maximilian Aoki, for the soundtrack to
Warren P. Sonoda's feature film ''
Things I Do for Money
''Things I Do for Money'' is a 2019 Canadian crime film, directed by Warren P. Sonoda.Jordan Pinto"Warren P. Sonoda on doing ‘everything you’re not supposed to’ on his 11th feature" '' Playback'', August 11, 2020. The film stars Theodor Aoki ...
''.
[Matt Olson]
"Creative Isolation: Jay Semko steps toward the silver screen"
''Saskatoon Star-Phoenix
''The StarPhoenix'' is a daily newspaper that serves Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and is a part of Postmedia Network. The ''StarPhoenix'' puts out six editions each week and publishes one weekly, ''Bridges''. It is also part of the canada.com ...
'', August 17, 2020.
Discography
Studio albums
* 1987 – ''
Big Blue Sky''
* 1988 – ''
Secrets of the Alibi''
* 1990 – ''
Snow in June''
* 1992 – ''
Neptune''
* 2001 – ''
Truest Inspiration
''Truest Inspiration'' is the sixth studio album by The Northern Pikes released in 2001. This was their first album of new music since they reformed in 1999 after a 6-year break.
Following the release of ''Neptune'' in 1992 and the subsequent li ...
''
* 2003 – ''
It's a Good Life''
* 2019 – ''
Forest of Love''
Independently-released EPs
* 1984 – ''The Northern Pikes''
* 1985 – ''Scene in North America''
Collaborative EP
* 2007 –
Les Stroud
Les Stroud (born October 20, 1961) is a Canadian survival expert, filmmaker and musician best known as the creator, writer, producer, director, cameraman and host of the television series ''Survivorman''. Stroud was named Chief Scout by Sc ...
& the Pikes: ''Long Walk Home''
Live albums
* 1993 – ''
Gig
Gig or GIG may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Gig'' (Circle Jerks album) (1992)
* ''Gig'' (Northern Pikes album) (1993)
* ''The Gig'', a 1985 film written and directed by Frank D. Gilroy
* GIG, a character in ''Hot Wheels AcceleRacers'' ...
''
* 2000 – ''
Live''
Compilations
* 1999 – ''
Hits and Assorted Secrets 1984-1993
Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block
* ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998
* ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...
''
* 2007 – ''Platinum''
Appearances
* 1985 – ''Saskatchewan After Dark'' (track "Working in My Head")
Singles
References
;Citations
External links
The Northern PikesOfficial Site
CanConRox entry
The Northern Pikesat
MySpace
The Northern Pikesentry at
JAM! The Canadian Pop Encyclopedia
Jay Semkointerview discussing The Northern Pikes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Northern Pikes, The
Musical groups established in 1984
Musical groups disestablished in 1993
Musical groups reestablished in 1999
Musical groups from Saskatoon
Canadian alternative rock groups
1984 establishments in Saskatchewan
1993 disestablishments in Saskatchewan
1999 establishments in Saskatchewan
Virgin Records artists
Scotti Brothers Records artists