Event Details
Date: Saturday, June 23, 2012
Start Time: 8:00 PM
Event Type: Concerts, Special Events
Last Updated: June 15, 2012
Views: 11
Spirit Of The WestSpirit of the West are a Canadian folk rock band, who were popular on the Canadian folk music scene in the 1980s before evolving a blend of hard rock, Britpop and Celtic folk influences which made them one of Canadas most successful alternative rock acts in the 1990s.The band began in 1983 as a Vancouver-based folk trio called Evesdropper, consisting of John Mann, Geoffrey Kelly and J. Knutson. They soon changed their name to Spirit of the West, and independently released a self-titled album in 1984 before signing to Stony Plain Records, an Edmonton, Alberta roots music label.Stony Plain released Tripping Up the Stairs in 1986. Following that album, Knutson left the band and was replaced by Hugh MacMillan. 1988s Labour Day was the bands first major success, spawning the popular single Political and making the band a major name on the folk festival circuit. After that albums tour, MacMillan took a temporary hiatus from the band. He was replaced by Daniel Lapp and Linda McRae, but returned before the bands next album was recorded. When MacMillan returned, Lapp left the band but McRae stayed on. (As a result, Lapp never actually appeared on a Spirit of the West recording. He pursued a solo career, however, releasing a number of albums of experimental jazz/folk/electronic fusion.)On the strength of Political, Warner Brothers Records signed the band, and Stony Plain released a compilation, Old Material 1984-1986 in 1989. In 1990, the bands major label debut, Save This House was released, spawning the singles Save This House and Home For a Rest (which is still considered a classic frosh week anthem at universities across Canada.)Following that album, the band toured England with The Wonder Stuff, and decided to bring in a drummer and experiment with a more rock-oriented sound. Vince Ditrich was brought in, and the bands 1991 album, Go Figure, was the result.Although the album retained the bands folk influences, it was more hard rock than any of the bands previous efforts, and this proved controversial among the bands fans. The album included a rock rendition of Political, and at one show in London, Ontario, the audience presented the band with a petition demanding that they play the original version of that song. Despite the controversies, however, it became the bands mainstream commercial breakthrough, and won them many new fans in the alternative rock scene.