12 Gauge - First Shot (EP)

Tracks

Side 1

		Track Name	Length
	1	Don't Be Afraid Of The Night	04:40
	2	Throw It Away	04:42

Side 2

		Track Name	Length
	1	I'll Never Say Goodbye	03:47
	2	Gotta Get Back To You	04:40

Photos

Videos

No Video

Information/Write-up

12 Gauge are hitting the road with a raft of new material. From left are Mark Murphy, Marc Beland, Peter Boisvert and John Hutton.

12 Gauge are making their move

By Geoff Meeker, The Newfoundland Herald, November 10, 1984

The past three months have been the most significant, eventful days in the six year history of 12 Gauge. Founding member Bruce Blackwood, after careful consideration, has left the group, while John Hutton, the other founding member, has closed out John’s Music Store on Water Street to devote his full-time energy to songwriting, rehearsing — and especially touring. That’s a tough decision; after all, the store has been there over a hundred years.

"I’ve changed my tune a little in the last year," Hutton said. "I used to say how good it would be if the band could make it in the business while staying based in Newfoundland. But I know now that that is impossible. You just can’t do it (you’ve got to be up there, where everything’s happening)."

Accordingly, Hutton has secured a three-month booking on the road after the Christmas season, and is making a challenging, well-paying start.

"This started back around August," explained Bruce, who has been playing professionally for 18 years. "I was always trying to keep on holidays around bookings, and even the West Coast bookings had to be juggled. We’ve been to Corner Brook once, and even had offers to play in Halifax and New Brunswick, and possible bookings further upalong, but I wasn’t able to do them. We had a chance to do the university circuit too, a while back, but I wasn’t able to do that either, because I couldn’t get the time off work. So I decided it was unfair to the band. I had to think back, and I left."

Bruce will be involved afterwards in other projects, but nothing as intensive as 12 Gauge. In the meantime, he says, he and his "rare and still beloved" friends.

"I’m still involved with the band, as far as listening and criticizing, making mistakes, making criticisms and things like that."

What Bruce has been offering suggestions on is 12 Gauge’s original material, a balanced set of 17 new songs, all aimed at commercial acceptance. John Hutton has no pretensions in this regard. "We want to make money at it," he said. "It saves." After all, it is the music business.

12 Gauge’s live show is now almost 17 original tunes, an act that has 17 songs which is unprecedented amount for a Newfoundland rock group. And these are strong songs, a remarkable fusion of power pop and hard rock — and potentially 40 hits. In fact, it occurred to me, as I was watching the band at the Strand two weeks back, that the originals now sound better than the covers do, and that’s got to be a good sign.

The band members (John Hutton, Mark Murphy, Peter Boisvert and new bassist Marc Beland) are taking this punchy new show and taking it on the road next week to gigs all across the maritimes. They’ll return in mid-December, take a Christmas breather, and then again to points further west, such as Montreal, Toronto and maybe even Vancouver — wherever the action is. Mind you, they’re not venturing out there totally in the dark; the water has already been tested by an unofficial marketing survey, which the band knew nothing about.

Mark Murphy explains: "My father had his sisters down from the United States for a reunion a few months back. One of them has a son who’s my age, so I gave her a copy of the First Shot album to pass on to her. Well, she gave it to a designer friend of his in Seattle, Washington, and this guy played it out at the storied college in requests, so the record was played. Now it’s being written by rotation and the deejay wants to know more about the group..."

"So what," you say. "It’s just one city." Consider this: Triumph’s first album went largely unnoticed, until one American city latched onto the group and got behind them. Look where Triumph is now.

Along with the Seattle incident, 12 Gauge have other things on anticipation on the mainland. Several months back, they mailed out various promos and press kits to various promoters, recommending tapes and more for their bands. They got one interested and excited response from a Bill Cikes, the promoter and manager who took Helix and made them what they are today. This is a lead that still has to be followed up on, but the band is nonetheless excited about it. Having Cikes working on their behalf could be just the break they need — if it comes through.

Time will tell.

John Hutton: guitar, roland guitar synth
Mark Murphy: lead vocals, juno 60
Bruce Blackwood: bass, vocals
Jimi Hynes: drums

Produced by Pierre Tremblay and 12 Gauge
Recorded at Studio Vert, Quebec

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