Jimmy Kay and Alan Dixon from The Metal Voice interviewed long time Guitarist of April Wine Brian Greenway about the bands upcoming Tour with Triumph and touched on may other topics as well. Watch the full interview below.
When asked how it feels for April Wine to be continually asked to get on these big tours (BTO, Uriah Heep, Triumph)
” I was really pleased it was like hey, we’re getting a shot at this again. April Wine’s always had a good record for being a good opener.”
When asked about the legacy of Myles Goodwin
“The songs that he wrote, his voice on the radio, his voice and songs in the shows, people applauding, that’s his legacy.”
When asked about the crowd reaction at the shows
“It’s many generations that are liking the shows. We’re into our 50th year. It’s got to be three generations of fans and I see them and sometimes in meet and greets, they say well my parents played the music around the house. And I say, Well, say thank you to your parents.”
When asked if the younger fans actually care or know that there are no original members left in the band
” I don’t know if they care. Some of them do. You read the posts, right? You get instant feedback on social media. Uh, but I think it’s the older people saying it’s not the original band rather than the young people saying, “Hey, I just want to see the band. I want to hear the songs. The business has turned into people (artists) who don’t want to retire. People love playing. This is what they do, you know? And you can still physically do it. Why not be able to do it? It’s the song list that’s important. You know, why should those songs just fade away and die without and you’re still capable of doing it? I think it’s great that you can go see bands. It might not be the same guys in the band, but it sure sounds like it.”
When asked about his thoughts on going out on tour with a new Triumph plus band
“Yeah, they uh Well, that started with the Stanley Cup games, right? And uh and Phil X and the other two guys (Todd Kerns, Brent Fitz).were with them. Last night there was a little blurb from Rick Emmett about how he’s so out of shape for touring. It’s been 30 years. And I go, “Man, this is a big thing that’s been offered to you, you know, get yourself ready.” We’ve been doing it non-stop, so we’re ready. But if they’re not ready, it’s going to kill them. You know, even at a nice arena tour, and they are playing 90 minutes a night, but we’re only doing two or three shows in a row. Also they didn’t help each other well by saying they might not be at every show.”
When asked how they were asked to go on this Triumph tour
“We had a phone call saying, “Are you guys interested?” Well, let’s look at the numbers. Let’s look at what’s going on. And uh and all of a sudden it became a real big deal there. Tickets were selling faster. All great big NHL arenas. We haven’t done that in a long time, especially in the US. I think we’re going to hopefully increase our fan base there (USA). People will be able to see us again, too, that would not normally come to see us in a smaller place or places we haven’t been. It’s great between Triumph and us. The music is perfect together. “
When asked about how many minutes they can perform as special guest on this tour
“We have 50 minutes. For a setlist it comes down to the three big albums, First Glance, Harder Faster, Nature of the Beast and a little bit of Power Play and sprinkled in, in Canada some of the the classic old stuff.”
When asked if April Wine will be ever writing new music
“I would like to, but the legalities right now of Myle’s (Goodwin) estate and who owns it, so it sort of stopping that from happening because we don’t know where that’s going.”
Fans of classic Canadian rock n’ roll must be overjoyed with not only the announcement of Triumph’s first North American tour in decades, but that they will have another one of the Great White North’s top rock bands supporting these spring dates: April Wine.
Running from April 22nd through June 6th, the tour will hit all the spots that both Triumph and April Wine amassed legions of fans over the years; Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, St. Louis, San Antonio, New York, etc. Tickets are now on sale for all the shows, and can be ordered via this
Comprised of members Brian Greenway (guitar), Richard Lanthier (bass), Roy Nichol (drums), and Marc Parent (lead vocals, guitar), this will not be the first time April Wine and Triumph have shared the stage before. Longtime fans may recall a show at the Municipal Auditorium in San Antonio, Texas on February 18, 1977, which served as Triumph’s major American debut and a significant breakthrough for the band.
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