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Paul Vienneau
Peter Baylis
FYI
Obituaries: Peter Baylis of The Hopping Penguins, Acclaimed Americana Singer-Songwriter Todd Snider
This week we also acknowledge the passing of Canadian-born music journalist and author Jeff Hannusch and "Tequila" singer Dave Burgess.
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Peter Baylis, frontman of Halifax bands Steps Around The House and The Hopping Penguins and a renowned anthems singer, died on Nov. 12, at age 62.
Jennifer Halpin announced her husband’s passing on the GoFundMe page that was set up to help the family after Baylis was diagnosed in May with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. The fund has raised over $71,000 to support the Baylis family.
An obituary in Saltwire reported that "Baylis immersed himself in the Halifax music scene at the age of 18. In the 1980s, he fronted the band Steps Around the House, and in the 1990s, he was a member of the Hopping Penguins, Halifax’s enduring ska-reggae band. Baylis is also remembered for his portrayal of Judas in Neptune Theatre’s 2001 production of Jesus Christ Superstar."
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Baylis also found local fame as the longtime official anthem singer for the Halifax Mooseheads hockey team. He performed a stirring rendition of 'Oh Canada' for the final time at the Mooseheads home opener on Sept. 20.
In 2017, Baylis was recognized in the Nova Scotia legislature for his patriotism by MLA Lena Diab. She stated then that "I rise today to pay tribute to the patriotism of a constituent of Halifax Armdale, Mr. Peter Baylis. As many may already know, in this 150th year of Confederation, Peter is on a mission. Peter’s personal tribute to Canada is to put his powerful pipes to the test by singing our national anthem 150 times at different events and occasions. As those who have heard Peter sing the anthem at Halifax Mooseheads games can attest, he puts all of his heart and soul into it."
Baylis first found local musical recognition in the 1980s as the dynamic frontman of Halifax new wave band Steps Around The House. The group formed in 1984, after bassist Jim Parker and guitarist James Logan met up with vocalist Baylis in the summer of 1983, when all were touring in cover bands in Newfoundland.
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The group concentrated on original new-wave inflected material, and a two-song demo tape recorded in Baylis' Halifax apartment featuring "Pull The Pin" and "Leave It Alone" made its way to the new Q104 Radio and secured the band a spot on the station's Homegrown album.
Citizenfreak.com reports that "Steps was performing an all-original night of thirty songs in a market dominated by cover bands. A contract was signed with a Toronto management company that let the band float in limbo, never attempting to secure a producer who was in sync with Steps' style. A full-length album never appeared. The original line-up peaked during the summer of 1985, playing multiple weeks at Halifax's Odeon Ballroom, then a triumphant Concert On The Hill show." The group released two singles, "City of Kids" (1986) and "Lovely Memories" (1987).
After relocating to Toronto in the late '80s, Baylis helped found the band My Sister Sings in 1989, alongside Kevin Vienneau, Creighton Doane and Brad Barker (later replaced by Paul Vienneau when Barker joined The Pursuit of Happiness). On Facebook, Doane recalled "these young, hungry musicians from Nova Scotia who found their way to Toronto in the late '80s / early '90s. Led by Peter Baylis, we all found employment, security, and lasting friendships at [famed Toronto club] the Bamboo. Pete took on the city with ease and helped many of us find our way in the TO music landscape."
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To Billboard Canada, Doane reflects that "the band was kind of ill-fated. Paul suffered a terrible accident just after we played our first gig after spending about a year getting our material together. Luckily, we are all still good friends and everyone is still making music. Losing Pete is extremely tough."
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Part of Baylis' circle then were The Hopping Penguins, a Halifax band that had relocated to Toronto in 1985. Their co-founder and drummer, Gary Edwards, recalls to Billboard Canada that "half of My Sister Sings worked at the Bamboo, which was managed by Peter's lifelong partner, Jennifer Halpin.
"The center of the Penguins universe was a house at 178 Euclid Ave and Peter and Jennifer lived only a couple of blocks away. We all saw each other frequently and attended each other's gigs. Peter would have guested with The Hopping Penguins many times during this period as we have always run with a pretty open stage and welcomed many guests (from Gordie Johnson to Sarah McLachlan and beyond) in this era."
Edwards notes that "After the release of Trombone Chromosome [the only full Hopping Penguins album] in 1992, Peter's childhood friend, Bruce Vickery, left the band and returned to Halifax. We did a tour or two with Andru Lordly as the sole frontman of the band but we had been a double-barrelled affair for so long that it was only natural to invite Peter to join us around this time."
"Peter has been a fixture on our stage, singing, dancing and playing percussion ever since. He has been a significant part of Penguin life for over 30 years. We used to like to joke that Peter was the new guy in the band. He'd only been around for 30 years!"
When Baylis was recruited as frontman for The Hopping Penguins, the eclectic ska-rooted septet was in heavy demand in venues across Canada as a highly entertaining party band. Edwards once described the group this way: “We’re a party band. We sell beer. We play party and dance music, but with a focus on Jamaican music."
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That formula proved popular. After relocating to Toronto between 1986 and 2003, The Hopping Penguins toured across the country 30 times, playing 225 shows a year at one point, and Baylis was present on many of those tours.
Veteran artist manager and industry executive Ian Menzies recalls the heyday of The Hopping Penguins to Billboard Canada with fondness. "Peter started to gig with them more regularly and he ended up becoming a full-time member. Peter was instantly a real presence in the already kinetic Penguins stage show. Between him and the other two front men (Andrew Lordly and Bruce Vickery), they regularly slayed sold-out houses at The Bamboo, Lee's Palace and others. Peter usually took the high parts. A great voice and a real dynamic and genuine performer."
Performance rather than recording was The Hopping Penguins' forte. After releasing a couple of singles, the band released Trombone Chromosome in 1992. Highlights of that record included cover versions of Billy Paul's "Me and Mrs. Jones" and Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe." Other singles Marlene and Oh What a Shame found an audience on radio and Much Music, but Baylis was largely absent on these recordings.
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Baylis and many other members of The Hopping Penguins gradually relocated back to the East Coast. They continued performing, but in a much scaled-down fashion compared to their heyday.
News of Baylis' passing quickly elicited a wave of social media tributes, confirming his popularity.
Mike Campbell, owner of top Halifax music venue The Carleton, provided Billboard Canada with this tribute: “I first met Peter Baylis in Halifax when traveling as a cable affiliate rep for MuchMusic in the mid-80s. He was working as a bartender at Rosa’s Cantina (ironically in the exact same location as The Carleton, the bar/venue I opened in 2008).
"He was actually more like a 'star-tender,' endlessly entertaining, with a barely-contained energy that served him well as the frontman for his local new wave band, Steps Around The House. After I moved to Halifax and started MuchEast, Pete had stepped in to replace Bruce Vickery as lead singer in one of the country’s most popular party bands, The Hopping Penguins.
"They continued to play sporadic gigs, often at The Carleton, right up until his terrible diagnosis. Never a guy to sit still, he was also a featured performer in the cast of Les Miserables at Neptune Theatre and eventually became the official national anthem singer for home games of the Halifax Mooseheads hockey team. The man LOVED to sing and brought joy to everyone whose path crossed his. I was lucky enough to have known him for 40 years and I will very much miss his smile and his contagious laugh.”
Bruce MacKinnon, longtime editorial cartoonist for the Halifax Herald-Chronicle, posted this tribute on Facebook: "We lost a great performer this week when friend, local musician and renowned Mooseheads anthem singer Peter Baylis passed away after a brief battle with brain cancer.
"I’ve known Peter from his early bands Steps Around the House and The Hopping Penguins, his legendary performance as Judas in Neptune Theatre’s Jesus Christ Superstar, and other connections including playing pickup hockey with him for many years. Peter did everything with passion and gusto, including hockey. He was a good skater, though no more destined for the NHL than the rest of us pick up slobs."
MacKinnon's post features an amusing anecdote about Baylis' hilarious antics at a celebrity hockey game during the East Coast Music Awards in Halifax around two decades ago.
On Facebook, former Steps Around The House keyboardist Kevin Owen reminisced that "I knew of Peter long before we met.. He was THE singer in the best original band in Halifax. A master of grabbing a crowd with his massive voice, Charisma.. and yes his dance moves.
"I was working at Music Stop when, one day, Peter and the boys asked me to join. I thought it was a joke.. but it was true and that's when the myth or Peter and the reality came together.. they were exactly the same. He was insanely funny on long trips to New Brunswick in an old station wagon.. and every venture going forward. We performed together in Toronto, Halifax and everywhere in between. Many great days. I still can't believe the world has been robbed of all he was. Peter you are loved far and wide and your influence lives on."
Brad Barker, bassist in The Pursuit of Happiness and a jazz broadcaster, sent Billboard Canada this tribute: "When I first encountered Peter in Halifax when I was in my teens, he was the coolest guy I ever met. He had a confidence and ease that was unmistakable and this was before I saw him perform. Peter on-stage was a whole other thing, he owned it like very few can, great pipes and charisma to spare.
"There was a few of us Maritime musicians that followed Peter to Toronto, where he had already made a space for himself, his leadership was vital for all of us……he made this "big city” seem like ours. Peter and my paths started taking different directions but his influence on my life and that of many of my friends was indelible. He is loved and will be missed."
On their Facebook page, Halifax band Mellotones posted: "It is with heavy hearts that we express our sadness at the untimely loss of our good friend and musical compatriot Peter Baylis. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends. To say that he was an influence on us both as a band and individually would be an understatement. He was the consummate frontman with vocal chops that were the envy of everyone who heard him. Plus he was just a really great guy with a heart so big he could barely contain it. Godspeed Peter."
Halifax musician Rob Proctor paid this tribute on Facebook: "Rest in peace Peter Baylis. A big loss in the local music scene. I knew of and first met Peter back in the 80s. He was a back up QB on my high school football team (QEH) in the years just before I played.
"He forged a musical career as a singer in the early 80s and ended up in the Hopping Penguins who are a band I have loved and adored for decades. Pete had a great energy and sense of humor. He hopped up on stage with my band a few times for some fun informal jams. I always had some great laughs with him at Hopping Penguins shows and it was always great to touch base. He will be missed by many."
To Billboard Canada, longtime friend and bandmate Gary Edwards reminisced that "I am reminded of the first road trip we made with Peter. Things that quickly come to mind include: his fear of bridges. His easy friendship. And his calm desire to be useful.
"I was having trouble with panic attacks at the time and we were rooming together. Before a show one night I was sure I was having a heart attack and he calmed me down and gave me a brown paper bag to breathe into. The show went on as usual. What does a rockhopper penguin do when faced with a force 10 Gale? He carries on regardless. Peter was possibly the most loyal friend I have ever had. He was someone you would take with you when entering into battle."
International
Todd Snider, an acclaimed Americana/alt-country Nashville-based singer/songwriter, died on Nov. 14, at age 59.
He had recently been diagnosed with walking pneumonia, after a tempestuous month in which he was reportedly the victim of an assault in Salt Lake City, and then arrested for allegedly threatening hospital staff. Details of these circumstances remain unclear.
His record label posted a statement to his social media accounts that reads, in part: “Where do we find the words for the one who always had the right words, who knew how to distill everything down to its essence with words and song while delivering the most devastating, hilarious, and impactful turn of phrases?. Always creating rhyme and meter that immediately felt like an old friend or a favorite blanket. Someone who could almost always find the humor in this crazy ride on Planet Earth.
"He relayed so much tenderness and sensitivity through his songs, and showed many of us how to look at the world through a different lens. He got up every morning and started writing, always working towards finding his place among the songwriting giants that sat on his record shelves, those same giants who let him into their lives and took him under their wings, who he studied relentlessly. Guy Clark, John Prine, Kris Kristofferson, Jerry Jeff Walker.
An Associated Press obituary reported that Snider had recently "scrapped a tour in support of his most recent album, High, Lonesome and Then Some, which released in October. Snider combined elements of folk, rock and country in a three-decade career."
"In reviews of his recent albums, The Associated Press called him a 'singer-songwriter with the persona of a fried folkie' and a 'stoner troubadour and cosmic comic.' He modeled himself on — and at times met and was mentored by — artists like Kris Kristofferson, Guy Clark and John Prine. His songs were recorded by artists including Jerry Jeff Walker, Billy Joe Shaver and Tom Jones. And he co-wrote a song with Loretta Lynn that appeared on her 2016 album, Full Circle."
Snider's best-received albums came out via John Prine’s independent label Oh Boy in the early 2000s, with that list including New Connection, Near Truths and Hotel Rooms and East Nashville Skyline, a 2004 viewed by many as his best. His better-known tunes included “I Can’t Complain,” “Beer Run” and “Alright Guy.”
Snider was born and raised in Oregon before heading to northern California after graduating high school. He settled and made music in San Marcos, Texas in the '80s, where he crossed paths with Jerry Jeff Walker, who became an important mentor. Snider eventually made his way to Nashville, becoming a crucial figure on the flourishing east Nashville creative community.
An early Snider fan was Jimmy Buffett, who signed the young artist to his record label, Margaritaville, which released his first two albums, 1994’s Songs for the Daily Planet and 1996’s Step Right Up.
Snider's musical peers and fans were quick to pay tribute on social media, and that list included many Canadian singer-songwriters.
Folk favourite Steve Poltz posted this on Facebook: "I’m so sad we lost Todd Snider. God bless him. Just really horrible news. I was just with him on Oct 10th at The Ryman. We had a great visit—shared some laughs and stories. He was so excited about his upcoming tour. His new record is so good.
"I go way back with Todd, and one of my fondest memories goes back to the 90s. His band, The Nervous Wrecks, were doing some dates with my band The Rugburns. The thing I remember most was playing whiffle ball inside a club in Indianapolis in the middle of the day. Todd was an instigator and the merrymaker. Then a month or two later I ran into Todd at a festival somewhere in the Midwest and we painted each other’s toenails."
"Todd was one of the best to ever do it in this troubadour racket. We were just reminiscing about all kinds of stuff backstage at The Ryman. We were even making plans for a tour with a bunch of troubadours—combining forces and conquering the planet. I really can’t believe he’s gone. We really lost one of the greatest. I just can’t imagine a world without Todd Snider. I need to process this."
Singer/songwriter Jay Linden (on Facebook): "This hurts, a lot. Todd Snider has died, a (relatively) kid of 59. A lot of people have been big fans of Todd Snider for quite a few years. I mostly discovered him during Covid, when I'd listen to him online for an hour or two most every week.
"One of those rare songwriters who could make you laugh, a lot, cry a lot, often both at the same time. A real shoot-from-the-hips lyricist who tells unforgettable stories, if pretty irreverent He almost immediately became one of my favourite artists to listen to. I never met him, nor saw him live in person, but I suspect maybe a well hidden troubled soul beneath a tough exterior. He will really, really be missed. My world needs a few guys just like him, and there aren't many left. He was supposed to be part of the older outlaws' legacy."
Emerging yNiagara Falls singer-songwriter Evan Rotella posted on Facebook that "Todd Snider is one of the reasons I ever put pen to paper and decided to write my own stuff. Todd was different than everyone else. Todd could make you laugh, cry, question, and think about all the madness goin on around you.
"You should listen to him if you never did, he’s one of a kind. We lost one of the great storytellers today. I hope there’s an after party, or at least an after thing for him wherever he is now. Eternal peace and love to the storyteller. Todd Snider Rules."
Jeff Hannusch, a Canadian-born, New Orleans-based music journalist and award-winning author, died on Nov. 11. His age and a cause of death have not been reported.
Hannusch moved to New Orleans from Canada in the 1970s. His journalistic career included writing liner notes for over 100 albums, including They Call Me the Fat Man, Antoine "Fats" Domino and The Legendary Imperial Recordings.
He has been published in Billboard, Rolling Stone, USA Today, OffBeat and Goldmine, among others. Hannusch won the 1986 American Book Award for I Hear You Knockin': The Sound of New Orleans (now in its fourth printing) and he published one other acclaimed book of musical history, The Soul of New Orleans: A Legacy of Rhythm & Blues.
New Orleans magazine OffBeat posted this tribute on Facebook: "We are very sorry to report that we have learned that author and friend Jeff Hannusch passed away early this morning. Jeff was the author of two books on New Orleans music history and many, many pieces (interviews, historical pieces, features and album reviews) for OffBeat over the years.
"Part of our musical history has passed away. RIP Jeff. You were loved and appreciated and you will be missed."
Dave Burgess, frontman of The Champs, best known for the Latin-tinged chart-topper “Tequila,” died on Oct. 19. He was 90 years old. News of his passing has just been announced by major media outlets.
An obituary in American Songwriter noted that "Dave Burgess’ band, The Champs, actually formed after recording their biggest hit. Taking their name from Gene Autry’s horse, Champion, the Champs formed in the late ’50s to record a throwaway B-side for Burgess’ single “Train to Nowhere” at Autry’s record label, Challenge Records. The rockabilly singer-songwriter had thus far failed to produce any solo hits since signing with Challenge.
The last tune they recorded, "Tequila," was based on the Cuban mambo song 'Como Mi Ritmo No Hay Dos' by Cachao. Essentially just a jam session by the Flores trio, the primarily instrumental tune contained just one lyric: 'Tequila, spoken three times.
“The youngsters loved it, and the parents hated us,” Burgess said in the 2000 book Record Breakers and Makers, by John Broven. “We were the bad guys. We were gonna corrupt their kids with rock & roll.”
"Tequila” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Chart in March 1958, knocking Elvis Presley’s “Don’t” from the top spot. Two months later, it won the trophy for Best Rhythm & Blues performance at the inaugural Grammy Awards.
The Champs and Burgess never quite matched the success of “Tequila.” Their follow-up single, “El Rancho Rock,” peaked at No. 10 on Billboard’s U.S. R&B chart. They enjoyed moderate success with “Too Much Tequila” (1960) and “Tequila Twist” (1962), but ultimately disbanded in 1965.
American Songwriter states that "In 2020, Burgess resurrected the Champs for a reunion album, Tequila Party. But their signature song has stood the test of time, enjoying a resurrection after Pee-wee Herman danced to it in the 1987 film Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.
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