Millions

Millions were an Edmonton rock band formed in 1980, arriving just as hard rock, melodic metal, and early AOR sounds were beginning to reshape the prairie club circuit. The group featured Dave Cox and Brian Weafer on guitars and vocals, Randy Lloyd on bass, keyboards, percussion and vocals, and Todd Ketza on drums and percussion. Lloyd had previously been part of Alberta country-rock act One Horse Blue, while Cox and Weafer also appear to have worked together earlier in the Edmonton band Roxslyde.

Built around Cox and Weafer’s twin-guitar attack, Millions quickly became active on the prairie circuit and attracted the attention of Rick Erickson, who brought the band into Damon Sound Studios in Edmonton in the spring of 1981. Erickson produced and mixed the group’s self-titled LP with the band, capturing a polished but still regional strain of early-1980s Canadian hard rock. The album was released later that year on Mustard, manufactured by Damon Productions Ltd., and mastered at McClear Place in Toronto.

The band’s lone LP, Millions, included 'I Got Rock ’n’ Roll', 'Go The Distance', 'Can’t Imagine', 'What Do You Mean By That?', 'Just A Fool', 'Right To Rock', 'So It Goes', 'Don’t You', and 'Livin’ This Way'. The songwriting was shared mainly among Randy Lloyd, Dave Cox, and Brian Weafer, with the record published by 3PM Music. 'Just A Fool' was also paired with 'Livin’ This Way' for single release, while 'Lady Denise' and 'Right To Rock' appeared on the Alberta Crude compilation, tying the group to Edmonton’s local radio-supported rock scene.

Millions continued working the prairie circuit for a short period after the album, but the group did not record a second LP. Like many regional Canadian hard rock acts of the period, they left behind a small but worthwhile document of the early-1980s prairie rock scene: big guitars, melodic choruses, studio polish, and a sound that sits between bar-band muscle and radio-minded AOR.

-Robert Williston

Lineup
Dave Cox: guitar, keyboards, vocals
Brian Weafer: guitar, vocals, drum programming
Randy Lloyd: bass, keyboards, percussion, vocals
Todd Ketza: drums, percussion