From the mid-1980’s until the time they originally disbanded in 1992, The Grapes Of Wrath were Canadian college favourites who had also managed to cross into mainstream success thanks to singles like All The Things I Wasn’t and Peace Of Mind.
All was quiet in the Grapes camp from 1992 until the turn of the century when they released their full-length effort Field Trip before they disappeared into the shadows once again. But with the recent release of Singles, a collection of some of the band’s hits along with a pair of excellent new songs, The Grapes of Wrath are busy once again.
The Grapes of Wrath’s guitarist-vocalist sKevin Kane spoke with Here Magazine last week in regards to the band’s past, present and their future.
What led to The Grapes of Wrath originally having split in 1992?
It was more just a matter of us having drifted apart from each other. Tom [Hooper, bassist-vocalist], Chris [Hooper, drummer] and I grew up together, moved to Vancouver together and had the whole us against the world mentality. The dynamics of the band changed over time and we simply lost sight of what it was that had brought us together in the first place.
You guys have a new record in the works, correct?
Yes, we just actually approved the final masters of High Road, our new record that will be released in February 2013. We started recording it last April and completed the recording process in a relatively quick 13 days with Darryl Neudorf.
What attracted the band to sign with Aporia Records [label home to Julie Doiron among others] for the release of High Road?
We definitely wanted to keep things small and not get lost in the shuffle. Aporia is a part of a new breed of record labels that look at licensing, foreign opportunities and other avenues to generate income and interest for artists.
Are you looking forward to getting back on the road?
Setting up a tour will be a lot more strategic; it won’t be like the old days of getting in a van and sleeping on floors. But it is something that each of us are looking forward to. We have a lot of fun performing live; there is something very special that happens when the three of us perform together.