Bernie LaBarge

Bernie LaBarge (born March 11, 1953) is a Canadian performing and session guitarist, singer and songwriter, and producer.

LaBarge has been the guitarist/front man for acts such as Rain, Sweet Blindness, Zwol, Stem, Stingaree, The Irish Rovers, Cassandra Vasik, The Dexters, and the George Olliver band. He has also recorded and toured with The Irish Rovers, Doug Riley, Ian Tyson, David Clayton-Thomas, Rhinoceros, Long John Baldry, Domenic Troiano, Ronnie Hawkins, John Kay, Kim Mitchell, John Sebastian, David Cassidy, and Rush's Alex Lifeson.

Life and career Early life LaBarge was born in Ottawa, Ontario. His family then moved to Burlington, Ontario, and he grew up in a musically inclined house, listening to everything from show tunes to Motown. When the Beatles and the British Invasion came around, he'd hang around the record store, Music Village in Burlington, and learned the guitar from listening to records.

Career beginnings LaBarge states: "The Mandala was the first live band I ever saw, and guitarist Domenic Troiano and the band changed my life." Inspired by The Rogues opening for the Rolling Stones in 1966 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, LaBarge dreamed of moving to Toronto.

1970s He began playing professionally in 1967, and then during the 1970s into the early 1980s, LaBarge toured with various bands as a guitarist/front man.

He recalls that as a kid, while he was learning to play guitar, he wanted to be a session musician. His father had an interest in tape recorders, so with the equipment in the family basement, LaBarge figured out how to tape songs off the radio, opening up another track and playing along with it: "I wanted to be that session guy playing that great cover, and embellishing the tune like George Harrison did to Beatles tunes. And I ultimately wanted to work with the professionals and get it on tape."

1980s By 1980, LaBarge was performing with Kearney, King, McBride and LaBarge at El Mocambo.

He stopped touring in 1981, watching how Steely Dan had chosen to retire from live performances to become a studio-only band. He wrote "Dream Away," produced by Lanois, and it was originally released as a single in 1981. Bernie continued to write for himself and others, landing a contract with Sony Records to record Barging In. The record earned him that Canadian Juno Award nomination in 1984 for Most Promising Male Vocalist.

In the late 1970s, he started doing jingles at Grant Avenue studio in Hamilton with Dan Lanois and his brother Bob. He sang and played on 200 jingles for local companies. He later went on to performing on hundreds of worldwide jingles (Coke, Pepsi, GM, Ford) and countless recording sessions with producer Jack Richardson. LaBarge also played for television series Smith & Smith (1979–1985), Party with The Rovers (1983–1986), Danger Bay (1985–1989) on CBC, and The Doodlebops. Recalling playing for Fraggle Rock (1983–1987).

1990s to 2000s In the 1990s, LaBarge performed with The Irish Rovers, Mind Over Matter, The Danny B Blues Band, Cassandra Vasik, and The Incontinentals. He also became the lead guitarist for The Dexters in 1994, and began playing at The Orbit Room, a local Toronto bar co-owned by Rush's Lifeson, who often jammed with the band. LaBarge played at The Orbit Room for more than 1000 appearances. In November 2014, The Dexters completed their twentieth anniversary at The Orbit Room with a farewell appearance.

In 2015, LaBarge suffered a fall and injury, requiring a surgery which kept him from practicing guitar.

Influences LaBarge described Jack Richardson as a "surrogate father" to him after they met.

Another major influence was guitarist Domenic Troiano, who inspired LaBarge in high school: "Donnie's band, The Mandala, was the first live band I saw at high school, and they changed my life. Around 1980, Donnie and I later became close friends, and I first got to hold his Tele shortly thereafter, due to a great deal of persistence on my part. Fast forward many years, coupled with the untimely passing of Donnie, his brother Frank asked me if I'd like to hold on to the guitar for a bit. I can't describe what it felt like to have come full circle from that high school to actually playing his guitar, which oozes The Toronto Sound. It IS that sound, although Donnie was the only one who could squeeze those sounds from it. I am merely a facsimile of what I learned from my friend. Not a gig or session goes by where I don't try to ask him for guidance. That guitar should be in every soul and music museum everywhere. I wouldn't have had the capacity to be any more thrilled if I had the chance to play Hendrix's Strat or George Harrison's Gretsch."

David Clayton-Thomas, lead vocalist of Blood, Sweat & Tears, said of working with LaBarge: "I've known Bernie LaBarge for decades. We've recorded and toured the world together, and working with him was always a joy. The ultimate groove player and one of the finest blues players alive."

LaBarge's other influences include Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, Curtis Mayfield, James Burton, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Albert King, Domenic Troiano, Steve Cropper, Jeff Beck, Steely Dan, Elvis Costello, Robin Trower, Howard Roberts, Elliott Randall, Rick Derringer, Elliot Easton, Peter Frampton, Gary Moore, Peter Green, and Kenny Marco.

Danny Weis of Lou Reed, Iron Butterfly, Bette Midler, and Rhinoceros stated "If you have Bernie LaBarge on your gig, you know you're covered. He always knows the right thing to play, and always has a smile. When he played with me on the Rhinoceros reunions gig in 2009, it felt like the original band was back together as he covered that guitar part perfectly. When you've got Bernie on stage, you're in for a good time. He's a great guitar player and a great friend."

Discography

Albums Title Artist Year Label Notes Barging In Bernie LaBarge 1983 Sony

Singles Title Year Label Dream Away 1981 WEA Can't Hold On Forever 1983 Overnight Sensation 1984 Listen to a Boy in Love 1985 Turn On the Lights Before You Leave 1987 RCA

Selected collaborations and session work Title Artist Year Label Rain Catwalk 1972 Axe Records Rain Louise 1973 Axe Records China China 1978 Long John Baldry Long John Baldry 1980 EMI Effective Immediately Zwol 1981 EMI Time Stands Still Christopher Ward 1981 Bit Parts The Extras 1981 Ready Records No More Bread and Butter The Irish Rovers 1981 Attic Records The Minx Belinda Metz 1982 Thrillz Zwol 1982 A&M Gowan Lawrence Gowan 1982 Postcard Garnett Ford 1982 Two Hound Blues King Biscuit Boy 1982 Love Me Closer Hagood Hardy 1982 Attic Records Priceless Lisa Price 1983 Champions Canadian Brass 1983 Sony The Curly Shuffle The Knuckleheads 1983 Attic Weekend The Shakers 1983 Rough Side of Town Johnny Lovesin A&M A Test of Time Darkroom WEA 2WO Strange Advance 1985 Heartbeat Priscilla Wright 1985 Attic Records The Passerby Tony Kosinec 1985 Party with the Rovers The Irish Rovers 1985 Lookin' for a Heartache P.J. Morris 1986 Ronnie Hawkins Ronnie Hawkins 1987 Epic Records Silver Anniversary The Irish Rovers 1989 Aural Fixations Kim Mitchell 1992 Some Other Time Tim Thorney 1993 Mothers of Hope John James 1994 Attic Hip to the Tip The Dexters 1995 Feels Like Home Cassandra Vasik 1995 Greatest Hits Kim Mitchell 1996 All the Good'uns Ian Tyson 1996 Much Too Late The Danny B Blues Band 1996 Life Is But a Dream Joel Feeney 1996 Mother and Child Paige Stroman 2001 Side One The Stickmen 2002 Suzana Da Câmara Suzana Da Câmara 2003 Different Cassandra Vasik 2003 Side Two The Stickmen 2003 Get on the Bus The Doodlebops 2005 Fill Your Head with Rock Kim Mitchell 2005 In Concert – A Musical Biography David Clayton-Thomas 2006 I Love Being Here with You Dione Taylor 2006 Anthology, Vol. 1 Dave Rave 2006 Christmas Lullabies to Create Memories Paige Stroman 2006 Jon Levine Band Jon Levine Band 2007 Classics George Canyon 2007 The Evergreens David Clayton-Thomas 2007 You Can't Make Peace Riley / B / LaBarge 2007 Headlights and Tailpipes Willie Mack 2007 Sing Theo Tams 2008 Disney Music Block Party Various artists 2008 Spectrum David Clayton-Thomas 2009 Salvation Radio Brett Ryan 2010 Drop the Needle in the Groove Dean McTaggart 2010 Soul Ballads David Clayton-Thomas 2010 Welcome to the Boogaloo Lounge Lou Pomanti 2011 When Denis Keldie 2011 A Blues for the New World David Clayton-Thomas 2013 Universal The Unicorn (50th Anniversary Remake) The Irish Rovers 2019

Associated acts The Underground Taxi Service (1967) The Royal Banke (1968–1969) Stem (1969–1972) Rain (1972–1973) The Jax 'n Lynda (1973–1974) George Olliver's Blue-Eyed Brotherhood (1974) Hot Dog (1974–1975) Whizz (1975–1976) Stingaree (1976–1977) Bond (1978–1979) Sweet Blindness (1979) Zwol (1980) Kearney, King, McBride & LaBarge (1980–1981) The Irish Rovers (1983–1990) Mind Over Matter (1987) The Danny B Blues Band (1989–present) Cassandra Vasik (1992–1994) The Dexters (1994–2014) The Incontinentals (1999–2000) Off the Record (1999–2002) The Stickmen (2002–2006) David Clayton-Thomas (2005–2009) Rhinoceros (2009)