“We can’t hold back our enthusiasm any longer for a new Canadian act with a bright future, The Northern Pikes. The band spent the past four years building a respected reputation as a hard-working road band in the Great White North and are poised for a major breakthrough stateside.”- Album Network, 1987
“This Saskatoon-based foursome gives us an intriguing, smartly crafted record with a clean spacious percussive sound. There’s a refreshing pulse and vitality here that definitely allows The Pikes to qualitatively stand apart and we admire the band’s stripped down yet effective arrangements and their sense of adventure, eclecticism while maintaining a relevance for the format as a whole.” - Friday Morning Quarterback, 1987
“This is a terrific new wave/pop cum roots LP from a tough little band playing tried-and-true music in an original way. All major label debuts should be so blessed.”- Montreal Gazette, 1987
Canadian rock heroes The Northern Pikes are back with a vengeance. Celebrating the 30th anniversary of their classic debut, the band announces a brand-new triple album, Big Blue Sky (Super-Sized), out October 6 via Universal Music Canada, the country’s leading music company. Available now for pre-order, the gold-certified album that brought the world such hit singles as, “Teenland”, “Things I Do For Money” and “Dancing In A Dance Club”, receives a super-sized treatment in a lavish triple LP format and 2 CD set + digital. In support of the album, the band launches a full 30th anniversary cross-Canada tour, co-presented by MusicVaultz, their first since the early 2000s.
The hit-makers behind “She Ain't Pretty”, “Girl With A Problem” and countless more, have been a fixture for 33 years, consistently maintaining their status with a small but steady number of performances for their adoring fans. With new music to play and a classic album to celebrate, the group – bassist Jay Semko, guitarist Bryan Potvin, drummer Don Schmid, joined by Kevin Kane from The Grapes of Wrath, following the departure of original band member Merl Bryck in 2006 – will embark on a 27-date Canadian tour in the days following album release, with details below.
The anniversary edition of Big Blue Sky (Super-Sized), is a triple album set that follows up The Northern Pikes’ previously released eight studio albums, two live albums and three ‘best-of’ albums. Celebrating its initial debut, Big Blue Sky (Super-Sized) features the original tracks on disc one, and 10 previously unreleased songs from the demo stockpile, followed by a full-length exclusive live show from September 1986 at the legendary Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, on disc two. If that weren’t enough, each platter in the LP version will be pressed on different coloured vinyl. The first remastered version in blue, second unreleased portion in red, and the third exclusive set of live recordings in white.
Check out more from the band and about their release at: http://thenorthernpikes.com/
Big Blue Sky (Super-Sized) 30th Anniversary Canadian Tour Dates:
Co-presented by MusicVaultz
Oct 12 - St. John, NB (Imperial Theatre)
Oct 13 - Fredericton, NB (Playhouse Theatre)
Oct 14 - Halifax, NS (Casino Nova Scotia)
Oct 17 - Strathroy, ON (Portuguese Canadian Club)
Oct 18 - Delhi, ON (Delhi District German Home)
Oct 19 - Orangeville, ON (OAS Event Centre)
Oct 20 - St. Thomas, ON (Railway City Big Top)
Oct 21 - Oshawa, ON (Regent Theatre)
Oct 22 - Toronto, ON (Mod Club)
Oct 23 - Waterloo, ON (Maxwells)
Oct 24 - Burnstown, ON (Neat Café)
Oct 25 - Ottawa, ON (Mavericks)
Oct 26 - Montreal, QC (Petit Campus)
Nov 10 - Powell River, BC (Evergreen Theatre)
Nov 11 - Nanaimo, BC (Port Theatre)
Nov 12 - Campbell River, BC (Tidemark Theatre)
Nov 13 - Courtenay, BC (Sid Williams Theatre)
Nov 14 - Victoria, BC (McPherson Theatre)
Nov 15 - Langley, BC (Cascades Casino)
Nov 17 - Sherwood Park, AB (Festival Place Theatre)
Nov 18 - Calgary, AB (Webber Academy Arts Centre)
Nov 19 - Red Deer, AB (The Krossing)
Nov 20 - Medicine Hat, AB (Esplanade Arts Centre)
Nov 22 - Regina, SK (Conexus Theatre)
Nov 23 - Winnipeg, MB (Burton Cummings Theatre)
Nov 24 - North Battleford, SK (Dekker Centre)
Nov 25 - Saskatoon, SK (Broadway Theatre)
