I was looking for a band to cover, and CB sent me a link to this terrific Canadian band. I liked the music right away. The first thing I noticed was the great musicianship on the songs. They are the real deal musically, and the guitarist Geordie Johnson is top shelf, and so is the bass player Garry Lowe.
They were formed in Toronto in the late 1980s, initially as a blues trio built around the guitar work of frontman Gordie Johnson. Before Big Sugar became popular, Johnson started out backing legends like the Muddy Waters alumni and Mavis Staples.
Another member who made them sound distinctive was bass player Garry Lowe. Lowe joined Big Sugar in 1994 and played on eight of their albums. He bridged the reggae and Rastafarian culture of his native Jamaica with a rock audience. Lowe was sometimes criticized for working in Big Sugar by Rastas and Jamaican music followers who wanted him to keep reggae pure, but he continued to play and blend his style into others.
They have released 11 studio albums since 1991 and 2 live albums. Their last studio album was released in 2020 and is called Eternity Now. Their success has been mostly in Canada, with one song getting some US airplay with You Better Get Used To It.
I’ve been listening to different cuts, and they cover a lot of ground. They have some heavy blues riffs, some reggae rhythms, roots music, with a pinch of psychedelia here and there. Their breakthrough album was Five Hundred Pounds, which hit big on Canadian college radio at the time.
This song was on the 1996 album Hemi-Vision. It was their biggest hit in Canada, peaking at #9 in the Canadian Charts. I asked my friend Deke if he had heard of them, and he has seen them live a few times. He also sent me this video of Jack White (who is a fan) who is releasing their album Five Hundred Pounds again on vinyl.
Diggin A Hole
Got my head in a haze
Feel like a cat in a cage
I’ve been crying for days and I’m falling apart
Digging a hole in my heart
Give me the lies on page
I’m feelin’ twice my age
I’ve been crying for days and I’m falling apart
Digging a hole in my heart
Digging a hole is that the way you treat me
Digging a hole just tie me up and beat me
Got my head in a haze
Feel like a cat in a cage
I’ve been crying for days and I’m falling apart
Give me the lies on page
I’m feelin’ twice my age
I’ve been crying for days and I’m falling apart
Digging a hole in my heart
Digging a hole is that the way you treat me
Digging a hole just tie me up and beat me
Got my head in a haze
Feel like a cat in a cage
I’ve been crying for days and I’m falling apart
Give me the lies on page
I’m feelin twice my age
I’ve been crying for days and I’m falling apart
Digging a hole in my heart
Digging a hole is that the way you treat me
Digging a hole just tie me up and beat me
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Awesome work always my brother Max! 😎
Great band and a great writeup! Johnson is nasty on the guitar, what a tone … a total beast… glad you’re digging them.
I love his guitar playing man…I’ve seen that double neck you were talking about as well.
Good stuff and another new group to me.
Big Sugar are new to me but I do like ’em.
Wow, hadn’t heard that in years! But I remember Big Sugar were indeed big in Toronto for a few years. Thanks for jogging my memory.
Second time this week a somewhat obscure Toronto band re-entered my life, earlier I heard ‘Don’t Walk on Past’ by Blue Peter, a new wave band of the ’80s , on Sirius First Wave.
I searched your site for this band but all I found was Sugar not this one…I thought you might had covered them but I don’t think so.
no. I never have, maybe will add them to mylist to get to. I really hadn’t thought of the name in years, but yes, for maybe 5 years they were pretty big where I was and had some quite good records
Go down the Geordie Johnson rabbit hole Max. Lots of good stuff there.
I am…that was the first thing Deke told me also. He plays a double neck guitar and just wears it out.
I really like this band and Geordie does “wear it out”
they were a part of a cool era in Canadian Music History…at the time there was everything, and I remember Ska being huge as well….for something fun, I don’t know if it’s on ITunes, but there’s an album called Talk Don’t Dance with musicians from Big Sugar (Gordie Johnson), the Barenaked Ladies(Tyler Stewart), and the great Bourbon Tabernacle Choir(Chris Brown and Dave Wall)…a lot of members of those bands along with Wild T and the Spirit had a history of jamming a lot, the album is so cool on so many levels, including one jam that mixes the rhythm/bass line from Barney Miller TV show theme and the melody, the Flintstines meet the Flintstones….it works well.
I’m listening to their version of the Fred and Barney Miller Dance….thanks again Warren! This is cool.
‘Bourbon Tabernacle Choir’ grabs my attention for a start! What a fun name. Well, fun anywhere outside of Utah I suspect.
That sounds kickass.
Yep, this is yet more good good stuff. Sheesh, I just don’t have the time to follow up on half of what you guys keep digging up.
Sorry man! Love finding these though.
All good. Better to know than to miss out altogether.
Another great-sounding band that’s all new to me from the musical treasure trove of Canada – right up my alley, Max.
Also, just because this is so much fun! 🙂
Oh yes! I thought about posting that one! They did a great version.
This is so good. I like it rockified 🙂
Certainly remember this song! Great band though I don’t listen to them a lot, but as you said this song got some airplay compared to some of their other stuff.
They were new to me…very enjoyable band. Randy did you post today? I’m going to have your posts come up in my reader…that way I won’t miss them.
Yes I did post today, thanks buddy. Yeah reader is not that best way to read a post but it does keep me up to date at least when I get a chance to look at them all!
Oh I meant the comment bar on the right…I miss your posts all of the time and I don’t know why! Now it won’t happen anymore.
Oh yeah I think I knew what you meant there, yes it is good that way!
I’d not heard of Big Sugar before (that I can remember, anyway). They sound ‘dirty-guitar 70s’ to me. I like them!
Yea I never heard of them either…good Canadian band though!
Love how the bass sets the tone right off. Kickass progression to the refrain. The harmonica funkifies it. I told you before that Jack White was doing good things with Third Man Records.
Yea and I have got to go to their place and check it out….I want to do that.
p.s. I like that 2nd video. Very cooooooool
Thanks Lisa…yea they rock and are great musicians! CB never steers me wrong.
p.p.s. I mean the 3rd video (2nd video of the song.)