Celebrating the life of Teenage Head’s Gord Lewis
The shock of Gord Lewis's sudden and tragic death is finally starting to fade. Now it's time to celebrate the Teenage Head guitarist's life and musical legacy.
That's what Gord's family, friends and bandmates intend to do on Saturday, Nov. 5. They've chosen the city's finest venue for the occasion, FirstOntario Concert Hall (formerly Hamilton Place).
And they want you to join the celebration. Doors open at 7 p.m., with the show starting at 8.
The price of general admission tickets is being kept intentionally low, just $10 each (plus fees and tax) and are available through the website coreentertainment.ca. There is seating for about 1,000 on the floor of the venue and the venue is prepared to open up the balcony if the demand is there.
There's a good chance they'll do that. More than 600 tickets were gobbled up during the first week of sales, without any advertising, just word of mouth and social media posts.
The surviving core of Teenage Head - co-founder and bassist Steve Mahon, lead vocalist Dave Rave" DesRoches and drummer Gene Champagne - will likely be on stage throughout the two sets of the show, with assistance from Headstones guitarist Trent Carr and local keyboard stalwart Greg Brisco, as well as Sonny del Rio and Michael Lewis (Gord's nephew) on saxophones.
Plenty of other artists will also join them on stage. There will be friends representing every decade of Teenage Head's 47-year career, including Tim Gibbons of The Shakers, Andy Curran of Coney Hatch, John Kastner and Scott McCullough of the Doughboys, Mike Trebilcock of The Killjoys, Luke Bentham of The Dirty Nil, local punk rocker Sam Squid, ex-Forgotten Rebel Chris Houston and Lou Molinaro of Tongue Fu. All performers are donating their time, with any proceeds going to Good Shepherd, the Lewis family's charity of choice.
The lineup was put together by Mahon and close friend Molinaro, who noted some well-known Hamilton musicians were unable to make the show because of prior commitments.
November is a tough time to get people, a lot of tours are ending, a lot of tours are just starting," Molinaro told The Spectator. Max Kerman couldn't do it because of his commitment to Arkells, Tom Wilson is busy with Blackie and the Rodeo Kings and The Forgotten Rebels are booked to do a show in Toronto the same night."
Molinaro says there was some debate over the choice of venue, but both Mahon and members of the family were insistent on FirstOntario Concert Hall for both its size and prestige.
Steve (Mahon) fully supported it," said Molinaro, former co-owner of This Ain't Hollywood where Gord performed many times. Steve said that Gord would absolutely love it because it was a place they had never played. Even during Teenage Head's peak, it was a place they never got invited to play. It meant a lot to Steve and he ultimately thought it would mean a lot to Gordie."
Gord Lewis's death at the age of 65 stunned the Canadian music community. Considered one of the great guitarists of the punk rock genre, Lewis was found dead in his downtown apartment on Aug. 7. His 41-year-old son Jonathan has been charged with second-degree murder.
I think a lot of people want some closure with Gord's death, rather than just leaving things the way they were," Molinaro says. Just to leave it on a happy note, just to be reminded about his legacy."