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Artist
The Northern Pikes
12+ albums
Canadianrockindie rockindiealternative rock
about
The Northern Pikes began their career in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in early 1984. Over the next two years, the band recorded and released the independent EPs 'The Northern Pikes' and 'Scene In North America' with producer and pal Mitch Barnett. Both were recorded and mixed at Studio West in Saskatoon. Sharing a taste for jangly, tuneful songs mixing alternative rock with power pop and indie music, the original lineup was spawned from the ashes of three local groups, 'The Idols', 'Doris Daye', and '17 Envelope', and consisted of Jay Semko, Merl Bryck, Bryan Potvin and Glen Hollingshead, who left the band in 1985. Numerous drummers came and went until June of 1986, when Don Schmid joined to make it a permanent quartet. With the help of friend and local booking agent Robert Hodgins, the band cut its teeth on the prairie bar circuit. The combination of exciting live performances, well-received indie albums, and the continuous stream of demos caught the ear of Doug Chappell, President of Virgin Records, Canada, and with the help of managers Fraser Hill and Ed Smeall, The Pikes signed to the label on December 19, 1986. In January 1987, the band began sessions at Metal Works Studio in Toronto with producers Rick Hutt and Fraser Hill, and they finished mixing at McClear Place Studios for what would become its first Virgin album, titled 'Big Blue Sky'. It was released in June of '87 and featured the singles "Teenland" and "Things I Do For Money", introducing the band to a wider audi
