Bourbon Tabernacle Choir

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Bourbon Tabernacle Choir were a Canadian alternative rock band that formed in 1985 in Toronto, Ontario. Their R&B-flavoured rock made them a mainstay on Canadian campus radio in the early 1990s, but the band never quite broke through to the mainstream.

The band consisted of vocalist Kate Fenner, vocalist and organist Chris Brown, vocalist and guitarist Andrew Whiteman, guitarist Chris Miller, saxophone and vocals Chris Plock, bassist Jason Mercer and drummer Gregor Beresford. Vocalist Dave Wall joined the band in 1988, and vocalist and saxophonist Gene Hardy joined in 1989.

They released three independent cassettes -- First Taste of Bourbon in 1987, If Hell Had A Houseband in 1989 and Sister Anthony in 1990. The single "Put Your Head On" b/w "As Right As They Want To Be" [1990], attracted the attention of film director Bruce McDonald, who included it on the soundtrack to his 1991 film Highway 61. Both songs were later available on the CD reissue of "Sister Anthony" in 1995 although the original version of "As Right As They Want To Be" was replaced with a live version.

With the exposure they gained from "Put Your Head On", the band signed to the independent label Yonder Records, and released Superior Cackling Hen in 1992. The singles "Make Amends", "Afterglow" and "Original Grin" were all hits on campus and modern rock radio stations in the next year.

Following that album, Whiteman left the band in 1993. After leaving the Bourbons, Whiteman recorded as a solo artist, and subsequently became a member of the bands Que Vida, Broken Social Scene and Apostle of Hustle. Beresford left the band in 1994, and performed drum tracks on Tom Cochrane's 1995 album Ragged Ass Road.

Howie Beck and Daniel Barnes also played with the band during this era.

In 1995, the band released Shy Folk, which featured contributions from Ani DiFranco and was produced by Michael Phillip Wojewoda. The singles from Shy Folk, "All Peace" and "Be My Witness", kept the band successful in alternative rock circles. A CD reissue of Sister Anthony was also released the same year.

Following Shy Folk, the band relocated to New York City to make its bid for stardom, but instead the band soon broke up.

After the breakup, Brown and Fenner continued to record and perform as a duo, Mercer played with DiFranco's band, Wall recorded an album (Lozenge) as a solo artist and performed as a member of the Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band, and Miller worked in film postproduction. Hardy and Plock became session musicians who have played on albums by a wide variety of Canadian rock, pop, jazz and blues musicians, and Beresford joined David Wilcox's band.

A retrospective album, Simply the Best 1985-1995, was released in 2000.