Boulevard (band)

Boulevard is a Canadian band (originally called BLVD) formed in 1983 in Calgary by Mark Holden (saxophone/vocals). The band dissolved in 1991. They reunited in 2014 and played at Firefest in Nottingham, England. The band has also started to write new songs for a record which was scheduled to be released in 2016. They released a DVD, Live from Gastown, in December 2015.

History

In 1983, Mark Holden, co-founded the new Thunder Road Studio in Calgary, Alberta. Shortly thereafter, he started a studio project called Modern Minds using studio players in Calgary. In 1984 he asked Andrew Johns to join as keyboard player and lead vocalist while redoing some of the old demos. Meanwhile, an offer from CBS records in Germany signed the band. The band then travelled to Germany to make a video for the first single "Rainy Day In London", and to perform on Ronny's Pop Show and Bananas, both widely viewed TV shows. "Rainy Day in London" topped out at #45 on the Billboard charts in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. The band was then assembled, including Randy Gould on guitar, Jerry Adolphe on drums, Hans Sahlen on bass and Andrew Johns on keyboards and lead vocals. The group remained in Calgary until it ended up signing a deal with MCA records in 1988, and consequently moved to Vancouver, Canada, to procure management with the Bruce Allen talent agency. Randy Burgess replaced Hans on bass and vocals.^[1]

Their self-titled debut album was recorded at Ocean Sound in Vancouver by producer Pierre 'Baz' Bazinet and was mixed by notable rock producers Bob Rock and Mike Fraser. The album produced four singles with videos for "Never Give Up" and "Far From Over", and the band gained good exposure by touring Canada opening for Glass Tiger. The band also opened for Boston on its final leg of the Third Stage tour, ending up in Seattle, Washington, the home of new lead singer David Forbes. Forbes had crossed paths with both Mark Holden and Andrew Johns in unrelated circles. He was a great fit for the band and brought his powerful voice to the "already vocal heavy" band. All members sang "live". In the day of samplers and tape it was a surprise to hear this "studio" band actually sound better "live".

By 1990, Boulevard had revised their lineup with Thom Christiansen on bass (formerly of Idle Eyes, later to play with Econoline Crush, Josh Kelly) and Randall Stoll on drums. (Randall later moved on to play with k.d. lang and Tom Cochrane.) They recorded Into the Street at Venture Studios in Vancouver with John Punter and released two singles in Canada. The band broke up by 1991.

In 2013 singer David Forbes came back to the music scene, taking part as guest on "Charming Grace", an AOR all-star project founded by members of Shining Line and Wheels Of Fire, officially released the same year by Avenue Of Allies Music.^[2]

The band were invited to play at Firefest in 2014, and put on a phenomenal concert, in front of many diehard fans. Many consider this to be one of the finest concerts ever at Firefest.^[3]

After a 25-year hiatus, the band released “Boulevard - Live from Gastown” a DVD which features all five of the bands Canadian top 40 singles, as well as some classic tracks from the bands catalog including some classic tracks performed live in their entirety for the very first time. The DVD was filmed live on February 27th 2015 at Vancouver’s legendary Warehouse studio.^[4]

On July 16th 2017, the band released the first song from their upcoming record. The song, entitled Life Is A Beautiful Thing was aired live on the Steve Price Rock Show on ArFM. On July 17th, melodicrock.com announced the name of the new Boulevard album is "Luminescence" and it will be released September 22, 2017. ^[5]

Today the band is composed of David Forbes (vocals), Dave Corman (guitars), Andrew Johns (keyboards), Mark Holden (saxophone), Randall Stoll (drums) and Cory Curtis (bass).^[6]

Members

Current line-up

• David Forbes - lead vocals
• Dave Corman - guitars
• Andrew Johns - keyboards/vocals
• Mark Holden - saxophone
• Cory Curtis - bass
• Randall Stoll - drums

^[7]

Discography

Albums

• BLVD (1988)
• Into the Street (1990)
• IV: Luminescence (2017)

Singles

• "Rainy Day in London" (1984)
• "In the Twilight" (1988)
• "Never Give Up" (1988) CAN #23
• "Far From Over" (1988) CAN #26
• "Dream On" (1988) CAN #31
• "Lead Me On" (1990) CAN #21
• "Crazy Life" (1990) CAN #47
• "Need You Tonight"

DVDs

• Live from Gastown (2015)

References

External links

• Jam! Canadian Pop Encyclopedia
• BLVD review
• Into The Street review
• Discogs entry for Boulevard