Zealanda Green

d’Carot was a Saskatoon band built around Bill Hodge, a singer, keyboard player and songwriter who went by the nickname Carot. In 1986 the group released Zealanda Green, a ten-song LP on the Carobird Records label that Hodge wrote, conceived and co-executive produced. Behind him was a drummer whose history ran back through the Winnipeg showband circuit to the Toronto pop scene of the 1970s.

Drummer Laurie Currie was a Saskatchewan native who joined Sugar and Spice, the Winnipeg vocal and instrumental group best known for its 1969 hit ‘Cruel War’, and sang and drummed in its later lineup alongside bassist Brian Miessner. As Spice, the band relocated to Toronto by 1972 and released singles including ‘Sweet Talkin’ Woman’. When Spice broke up, Currie and Miessner formed Liverpool, a Beatles tribute act that played the first Fest for Beatles Fans in New York City and the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles in 1974. Liverpool became Aerial in 1977 and made two albums for Anthem Records, In the Middle of the Night in 1978 and Maneuvers in 1980, before breaking up in 1981. By the mid-1980s Currie was playing in Saskatoon.

Hodge, guitarist Doug Hergott and Currie appeared on record in 1985 as Denim, with Hodge’s ‘Davy’s Lane’ on Saskatoon Rocks, an LP of local original music issued by Rock FM 103 that also featured the Northern Pikes, Revelon, The Guise and Third Party. With bassist Hugh Mitchell added, the four became d’Carot ’n’ d’Boize, Carot and the boys, for Saskatchewan After Dark, a double album produced by Studio West Canada for Saskatchewan Heritage 1985. Over 100 Saskatchewan performers took part in that project. The band’s contribution, Hodge’s ‘Simply A Dance Band’, was self-produced, engineered by Clarence Deis and mixed by Mitchell Barnett, and it shares side two with the Northern Pikes’ ‘Working in My Head’.

For Zealanda Green the name was trimmed to d’Carot and the lineup grew to six. Tom Churnick joined on guitar, and Brent Burlingham, the drummer heard all over Saskatchewan After Dark on tracks by the Northern Pikes, Don Freed, Jack Hills and others, added drums and Simmons electronic drums alongside Currie. The album was recorded and mixed at Studio West Canada, engineered by Mitch Barnett and produced by Currie, Hergott, Barnett and Hodge, with Blaine Wilkins coordinating the project and Mike Struthers joining Hodge as executive producer.

Hodge wrote the music for all ten songs and the words for six of them. Maureen Haddock supplied lyrics for ‘Gloeysong’, ‘She Was Someone Else Tonight’ and ‘Id Zealanda Green’, and Gordon Haddock wrote the words to ‘Comes the Light’. ‘Davy’s Lane’ resurfaced from the Denim days, joined by ‘Have You Seen the Sand Man’, ‘Damon’, ‘I’m Inspector Prints’, ‘You Two’ and ‘Imagination’.

Hodge also devised the album’s concept. Paul Constable of Constable Torpe Advertising painted the front cover and Rob Struthers handled the back, with photography by Carefree Cameras, make-up by Shelley Recknell and Gloria Hodge as cover model. The record carries a dedication to Gloey, the same name that titles ‘Gloeysong’.

-Robert Williston