Hamilton’s Gord Lewis of Teenage Head remembered for music that defined lives

He was a man who wrote the music and performed at the concerts - the wild, manic wonderful concerts - that many people, especially Hamiltonians, milestoned their lives around (and still do).

In short, Gord Lewis brought people energy and joy, joy with a rough exterior perhaps - I mean, we're talking punk icons Teenage Head here - but joy nonetheless.

That's his legacy," says longtime friend Lou Molinaro. It's what he should be remembered for. I think back on those positive memories and all the happiness he brought."

Many a personal timeline is interrupted by the spike of a great Teenage Head concert that was experienced and then never forgotten because it meant so much, says Molinaro, who is a Hamilton promoter, talent-buyer and former co-owner of the now gone This Ain't Hollywood, where Gord Lewis often played.

He always wanted to be a rock star and he was. He was one of the best."

Lewis, the sound-defining guitarist of the legendary band, was found dead in his Hamilton apartment by police on Sunday (Aug. 7). He was 65. Hamilton Police are conducting a homicide investigation.

He is going to be so missed," says Molinaro. He was such a great soul, such a great person."

Once, after visiting a dying fan in hospital, Lewis was so moved that he arranged to put on a Teenage Head show in the hospital's auditorium.

It meant so much (to the fan). It was a beautiful reflection of who Gord was - humble, quiet, sweet."

Molinaro himself got to know Lewis first as a fan. He (Molinaro) was an impressionable" teenager growing up in Oshawa when he first heard Teenage Head and became so taken by the band he ran for president of student council at Central Collegiate in Oshawa for the sole purpose of bringing the band in to play at the school.

I actually won," Molinaro reveals, with a laugh. But there was no way they (the school administration) was going to let me bring in a band" whose concert famously erupted into a riot at Ontario Place in 1980.

When Molinaro moved to Hamilton and started promoting shows here, including ones by Teenage Head and Gord Lewis, he became close with the guitarist.

We worked together on shows at This Ain't Hollywood and we developed a strong relationship." It wasn't just the music. It was baseball.

We went to many games together. I've always been a Yankees fan but Gord was a real student of the sport and collected cards from the old Negro League days. We were like two kids hanging out. It was a nucleus of our friendship. Gord would always go on tangents, like remembering when Steinbrenner owned the Yankees and wouldn't let any of the players have facial hair."

Lewis was also an avid hockey fan, says Molinaro, and it meant the world to him when the Toronto Maple Leafs would play the intro to Teenage Head hit Let's Shake!" every time they score a goal at home throughout an entire season. That was in 2016 or 2017, he recalls.

Lewis formed Teenage Head while attending Westdale Secondary School along with the late Frank Kerr (known best by stage name Frankie Venom), Steve Mahon, and Nick Stipanitz.

The band became a sensation, building a large following with their electrifying live shows and such songs as Can't Stop Shakin'," Teenage Beer Drinkin' Party," Let's Go To Hawaii," Some Kinda Fun," Let's Shake" and Picture My Face."

The band seemed well on its way to international fame in the early '80s, with a series of concerts set up for New York City, but Lewis was seriously injured in a car accident from which it took him more than a year to recover. In the meantime, the American showcase was cancelled.

The band continued playing over the decades but in smaller venues.

In some ways, says Molinaro, it allowed Hamiltonians to have a more intimate long-term connection with the band that the city had spawned.

Lewis, who suffered from depression, took the death of Frankie Venom very hard, says Molinaro.

They were two peas in a pod. In time, Gord started doing a Gord Lewis songbook series at This Ain't Hollywood, every Wednesday evening at it got Teenage Head active again."

Molinaro says the last time the band performed together was 2019. They performed that year at the Ticat-Argonaut Labour Day classic. That same year Lewis had been hospitalized for five months with depression.

The last time I saw him," says Molinaro, was at my birthday party on July 9. He was struggling. I'd seen him look healthier."

Molinaro says he was trying to reach Lewis last week and left messages but they weren't returned which, says Molinaro, was uncharacteristic.

He wrote the songs that were the soundtrack to my life," says Molinaro.

Jeff Mahoney is a Hamilton-based reporter and columnist covering culture and lifestyle stories, commentary and humour for The Spectator.jmahoney@thespec.com