Rheostatics / Biography

Origin: Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada

Decades: 1980-2007, 2009

Rheostatics was a Genie Award-winning Canadian indie rock band, active from 1980 to 2007.

Although they had only one Top 40 hit, "Claire" in 1995, they were simultaneously one of Canada's most influential and unconventional rock bands, a band whose eclectic take on pop and rock music has been described both as iconic and iconoclastic. In particular, two of the band's albums, Whale Music and Melville, have been cited in numerous critical and listener polls as among the best Canadian albums ever recorded. Formed in Etobicoke, Ontario, the band played their first gig at a club called The Edge in February 1980. The band originally consisted of guitarist Dave Bidini, bassist Tim Vesely, drummer Rod Westlake and keyboard player Dave Crosby. Westlake left the band almost immediately, however, and was replaced by Dave Clark. Crosby left the band in 1981. The band's early sound was more R&B and funk-oriented than their later, more famous, music. A large horn section, known as The Trans-Canada Soul Patrol, accompanied the group from 1983 to 1985. After the departure of the horn section, Martin Tielli was brought in. Tielli and Clark had previously been bandmates in the group Water Tower.

Biography from Wikipedia