Toronto band Change of Heart was indie before indie was considered hip. And though indie bands certainly existed prior to 1982 and will continue to exist to infinity, few bands toughed it out as long as Change of Heart did. Fronted by Ian Blurton, who would also lead rawk n roll trio C’mon, Change of Heart was admired by their peers far and wide. Members of Barenaked Ladies, Sloan and Blue Rodeo proudly wore Change of Heart t-shirts in their videos over the years, showing their love for the group. But alas in 1997, after six studio records, Change of Heart went their separate ways.
It was perhaps inevitable that the group would reunite at some point and that point came in 2009 during Toronto’s North By Northeast Festival. Unlike so many other acts, this reunion was no cash grab. The group’s sold-out show at Toronto’s legendary Horseshoe Tavern proved that 12 years after having called it a day, interest in the group was perhaps stronger than ever.
Fast-forward to 2012. Change of Heart has a sprawling 25-track retrospective out via Hamilton indie label Sonic Unyon. There You Go: ’82-’97 is a jaw-dropping starting point for one of Canada’s most under-rated acts.
Here Magazine recently connected with Change of Heart front-man Ian Blurton about revisiting this key part of his past as well as what the future holds:
Q: Why the decision to release a Change of Heart retrospective now?
Blurton: Sonic Unyon had been bugging us for a long time to do something [laughs]. But really, we were waiting for our masters to be returned to us so that we could do something like this. Maybe most importantly though, it just seemed like the right time to do it. I am not playing with any band full-time so it was a good opportunity to put some energy into it.
Q: How was it to have received such an overwhelming response when you guys reunited to play in 2009?
Blurton: I think that we had only sold-out the Horseshoe on one occasion prior to that so it was encouraging to say the least. It’s like the legend of the band grew larger after we split which is kind of odd in itself considering you couldn’t buy our records.
Q: How did you go about selecting the tracks to be included on There You Go: ’82-’97?
Blurton: Any member of the band who bothered handing in a list of what they thought should go on it had a say {laughs]. Whatever songs showed up more than once on those lists made the cut.
Q: What does the future hold for Change of Heart?
Blurton: We have some shows planned through December and January 2013, but we are not going to continue playing otherwise. Everyone in the band is busy with other things. Rob (Higgins, bassist) has Dearly Beloved on the go while Bernard (Maiezza, keyboards) is playing with Cookie Duster. I’m busy producing other acts and while I can’t speak for anyone else in the band, I personally don’t want to get in a van and tour again. I’m over it for now.
Article published in the September 27, 2012 edition of Here Magazine