Wild T & the Spirit is a
Canadian
Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
blues rock
Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...
band, fronted by guitarist
Tony Springer.
History
Wild T & the Spirit was formed in 1990 by Springer with bassist Brian Dickie and drummer Danny Bilan (formerly of
Moxy).
[" Wild T & the Spirit"]
''AllMusic'' Biography by John Bush The band released its Warner Bros. debut album, ''Love Crazy'', in 1991. The album featured a single of the same name, which reached #1 on the ''
RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines.
One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...
''
Cancon
Canadian content (abbreviated CanCon, cancon or can-con; ) refers to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) requirements, derived from the Broadcasting Act of Canada, that radio and television broadcasters (inclu ...
chart. Bassist Kojo Ferguson toured with the band in support of ''Love Crazy'', appearing in the video for "Midnight Blues". Nazeem Lakay soon replaced Dickie on bass.
The following year, Springer was invited to play guitar on
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
's album ''
Black Tie White Noise
''Black Tie White Noise'' is the eighteenth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 5 April 1993 through Savage Records in the United States and Arista Records in the United Kingdom. Conceived following Bowie's marri ...
''. Following that album and tour, Wild T & the Spirit released their second Warner Bros. album, ''Givin' Blood'';
in 1993, which featured the single "Freedom Train". The band toured Canada as a supporting act for
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...
to promote the album. ''Givin' Blood'' earned a nomination for
Best Hard Rock Album at the
1994 Juno Awards, and gave the band a Canadian chart hit with "Loveland".
In the latter half of the 1990s, Springer spent time in Chicago, Ill. performing as a sideman with various blues artists; he returned to Toronto and the band continued to play concert venues throughout Eastern Canada with new members, bassist Chas Laurie and former
Frozen Ghost
Frozen Ghost, stylized as Frōzen Ghōst, was a Canadian rock band formed in 1985 in Toronto by Arnold Lanni and Wolf Hassel, who were previously with the band Sheriff. The band received a Juno Award for " Most Promising Group of the Year" ...
drummer John Bouvette. In 2000, the band released the album ''Strange Modern''. Laurie left the band and was replaced by bassist Guenther Kapelle.
The band followed up with ''True Bliss'' on Bullseye/Taxim Records in 2004, with Kapelle.
Jeff Healey
Norman Jeffrey Healey (March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008) was a Canadian blues, rock and jazz guitarist, singer and songwriter who attained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. He reached No. 5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart with " Ang ...
,
Carole Pope
Carole Ann Pope (born 6 August 1950) is a British-born Canadian rock singer-songwriter, whose provocative blend of hard-edged New wave music, new wave rock with explicit homoerotic and BDSM-themed lyrics made her one of the first openly lesbian ...
, and keyboardist Peter Nunn also appeared on ''True Bliss'' as guest musicians. The band toured throughout Canada, the US, the UK and Europe.
["Wild T & The Spirit to Tour Europe"]
''Blues WebZine'', 3 April 2009 In 2008 the band released the album ''Fender Bender'' on Jazzhaus Records and continued on with their tour schedule. The new album was received well by fans and critic.
The band released an album in 2015 called ''Live'', which was recorded live in Toronto. The lineup at that time was Springer, Kapelle and drummer Dave Langguth. That year they performed at the East Coast Guitar Fest.
"First Halifax guitar fest rocks Cunard Centre"
''Chronicle Herald'', Photos by ADRIEN VECZAN April 27, 2015
Members
Current
*Wild T (Toney Springer) - guitar/lead vocals (1990-present)
*Guenther Kapelle - bass/vocals (2000-present)
*Dave Langguth - drums (2012-present)
Touring
*Gary "Whip" Berndt -
drums/vocals (1996-1997)
*Danny Buss -
bass/Vocals (1996-1997)
*Trevor Bigam - drums/vocals (2012-present)
*Murad Gunduz - drums (2015-2016)
References
External links
Wild T
{{Authority control
Musical groups established in 1990
Musical groups from Toronto
Canadian blues rock musical groups
1990 establishments in Ontario