Biography
The Grapes of Wrath were formed in Kelowna, British Columbia in 1983 by Chris Hooper, Tom Hooper and Kevin Kane. They came up with the name for the band after looking at a movie guide—nobody in the band had seen the movie or read the book. In 1984, they signed to Nettwerk, releasing a self-titled EP that year. The following year, their debut album September Bowl of Green was released.
1987's Treehouse, produced by Tom Cochrane, was the band's initial Canadian breakthrough, yielding the hit single "Peace of Mind".
Their 1989 album, Now and Again, produced by Anton Fier, was the band's most successful. The band expanded to a four-piece with the addition of keyboardist Vincent Jones. Jones would later describe working with Fier as "like pulling teeth." The band's tour to support this album was also notable for its opening act, a then-emerging singer/songwriter named Sarah McLachlan.
Produced by John Leckie, These Days, released in 1991, found the band experimenting with a harder rock sound, and while it sold well and spawned the hit singles "I Am Here" and "You May Be Right", it was to be the band's last effort for almost a decade. It received the 1992 CASBY Award for Favourite Album.
Kane then split from the other members of the band, who continued to perform and record together as Ginger. In 1999, Kane and Tom Hooper, the Grapes' main songwriting team, decided to work together again, and in 2000 released Field Trip under the Grapes of Wrath name. Neither Chris Hooper nor Vincent Jones participated in the reunion. Matt Brain was enlisted as the band's drummer, though he was not an official member of the group. After the tour for this album, Hooper and Kane said that they "had taken the reunion as far as they could take it" and deactivated the band in 2001.
In 2009, Kane and Hooper decided to play together again, as an acoustic duo. Two concerts were scheduled in Western Canada, during which they were to play all their hit songs.
On July 18, 2010, the three original members performed together at the Surrey Fusion Festival in Surrey, British Columbia. It was the first time the original trio had played together since 1992. Dave Genn was brought in to fill Vince Jones' place on keyboards, and a small-scale series of Canadian dates followed throughout 2010.
The trio of hooper/Kane/Hooper continued to tour regularly thereafter, and have announced that they are beginning work on a new Grapes Of Wrath album, tentatively due for release in early 2013. Two newly-recorded tracks from these sessions were issued on the band's 2012 compilation Singles.
Read more about this topic: Chris Hooper
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