[align=center].....has to go out to this weeks Tunesday Band - not only for the music they gave us but the fact that one of my all time favorite Canadian performers "cut his teeth" in this group.

They started out in Sarnia in the early 70s - the aformentioned performer had just left his first group, Zoom, and talked high school buddy Terry Watkinson out of leaving HIS band, The Rock Show of The Yeoman. They then hooked up with Mike Tilka and Paul Kersey and together they hit the Ontario Pub circuit, soon becoming as well known for their crazy onstage antics and attire as they were for their music.

In '76 they took a leap of faith, leaving Sarnia for T.O. and soon met up with lyricist Pye Dubois, whom you may remember from a previous TUNESDAY. (Dubois also worked with Canadas own RUSH and is credited with writing one of their most popular songs, Tom Sawyer) A poet at heart, Dubois was often accused of jumbling words together that just happened to rhyme in the end; non the less a partnership was formed, one that was soon noticed by Anthem Records who signed the group to their first record deal, sans demo.

They released their self-titled debut album later that same year and three singles soon found their way to the charts; "Hangover", "Here Among The Cats" and "Blowing The Blues Away" all spent time climbing the musical ladder here in THE GREAT WHITE NORTH and quickly established this group as one of Canadas finest at the time.

HIGH CLASS IN BORROWED SHOES dropped in late 1977 and featured a small changing of the guards - Gary McCracken replaced Kersey on drums and the band was joined in the control booth by producer Terry Brown, most noted for his work with Rush and Klaatu. The album not only produced four singles, "Diamonds Diamonds" and "Gravity", "America's Veins" and the title track, it also kicked off their first tour, one where their onstage antics and bizarre appearance only helped build the groups popularity.

MUTINY UP MY SLEEVE hit the stores a year later and while "The Party", "Waterline" and "Lip Service" all did well on the charts many found the lyrics to be complex and obtuse. Strangely enough tho their popularity continued to rise via the old fashioned way; word of mouth. Another tour coincided with the release of their fourth and most popular disc to date; A MILLION VACATIONS made them one fo the hottest tickets in Canada and the group rode to the tops of the Top 100 on the backs of classics like "Paradise Skies", "Night Flights", the title track and this weeks featured tune.

LIVE MAGNETIC AIR dropped the following year - a live release that allowed the band to showcase their onstage antics. The disc did well but the constant touring and problems with management began to cause cracks in the groups foundation. By the time UNIVERAL JUVENILES was released the next year the band was a shell of their former selves. Members were tired of being treated as "RUSHs little brother" by Anthem records and when Dubois wrote "Tom Sawyer" for Getty Lee and the boys one man had had enough.

Ironically it was while touring with Rush that this groups front man told his bandmates that it would be his last time on stage with them.... while at first he said he just "needed a vacation" he would eventually go on to enjoy more commercial success than this band ever did....


That man was

KIM MITCHELL

the Band was

MAX WEBSTER

and their song...



LET GO THE LINE...

Click HERE to download this song and sing along!

I see you there in your satin shirt
Unfocussed eyes on the ceiling
Fluorescent lips on a painted face
I think i know what you're feeling

This tightrope just begins to feel like home
When the wind comes rising from a desert storm
And all i know is that tonight i might
Let go the line
Let go the line

Unwrap yourself for a starving man
Come drown your thoughts if they bite you
Turn off the world if it makes you hurt
I'm just a clown but i like you

I see you there in your satin shirt
Unfocussed eyes on the ceiling
A trace of smile on a frozen face
I think i know what you're stealing

Life has been likened to a poker deal
Or a poor brief candle or a karmic wheel
And all i know is that tonight i might
Let go the line
Let go the line


Hope you enjoyed this weeks edition of TUNESDAY and as usual if youd like any song mentioned here just drop me a line...

Wil[/align]