{"id":1768,"date":"2019-11-01T22:02:26","date_gmt":"2019-11-02T02:02:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/activeseniorsdigest.ca\/wp_activeseniorsdigest\/?p=1768"},"modified":"2019-12-06T22:08:03","modified_gmt":"2019-12-07T03:08:03","slug":"ian-thomas-a-career-spanning-five-decades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/activeseniorsdigest.ca\/wp_activeseniorsdigest\/?p=1768","title":{"rendered":"Ian Thomas: A career spanning five decades"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Dave Flaherty\/Active Senior’s Digest<\/p>\n

As he enters his fifth decade in the music industry, Ian Thomas is showing no signs of slowing down.<\/p>\n

The veteran Canadian singer-songwriter is returning to Oshawa\u2019s Regent Theatre on Sunday, Nov. 10, at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that theatre, and the audiences in Oshawa are great. Even though it\u2019s a reasonably-sized theatre, it has a real intimate vibe,\u201d Thomas tells Senior\u2019s Active Digest. \u201cAnd it actually sounds good…there are a lot of theatres that certainly weren\u2019t designed by people with an ear for sound.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas has seen his share of stadiums, music halls, and theatres, having toured across Canada, the U.S., and Europe countless times as a solo artist, or part of his groups The Boomers and Lunch At Allen\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Born in Hamilton, Thomas grew up in the small town of Dundas, Ontario. It was during his teen years his love for music began to cultivate.<\/p>\n

In the 1960s, the world was changing dramatically.
\nThe Second World War was almost two decades old, and many young people were asking for peace \u2013 particularly through song.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was quite impressed with the whole folk scene in the 60s. It drew very heavily on traditional stuff – folklore and older stories,\u201d Thomas recalls.<\/p>\n

At the age of 15, Thomas began writing his own songs and instantly became
\nenamoured with the art.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was smitten in some respects,\u201d he says with a laugh.<\/p>\n

As the 60s rolled on, and acts such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones rose to fame, Thomas began to be influenced by them as well.<\/p>\n

He eventually joined a folk group called the Tranquility Base, which released two singles; one, \u201cIf You\u2019re Lookin,\u201d reached #24 on the Canadian charts in 1970.<\/p>\n

He recalls he spent most of his Grade 13 year either writing songs or meeting with publishers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Thomas joined
Murray McLaughlan, Marc Jordan and
Cindy Church in the group, Lunch at Allen\u2019s, in 2004.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Eventually, Jack Feeney, an A & R man and record producer at RCA, got wind of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe started hearing my songs, and hearing my band at that point,\u201d Thomas says.
\nThomas made the trip to RCA\u2019s offices in Toronto and signed with the label out of high school.
\n\u201cIt was something I worked away at, and it all just fell together organically.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas takes a second to note his method of getting signed isn\u2019t likely in today\u2019s industry.
\nWhile he believes there are \u201csome amazing young artists\u201d out there, to him, record labels aren\u2019t as willing to give them time to develop.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are given one single, and if that single song doesn\u2019t do anything, they are done. A & R is a dead art.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite being signed, Thomas says he had just started a family, and his musical career wasn\u2019t enough to \u201cpay the bills\u201d just yet.<\/p>\n

He gained employment as a producer at the CBC, producing several live concerts and transcription recordings.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a wonderful gig. It fed my family, and gave me time to write my first album,\u201d he says.
\nIn 1973, Thomas released the song \u201cPainted Ladies,\u201d which to this day remains his biggest chart hit, reaching #4 on the Canada RPM 100, and #34 on the Billboard Hot 100.<\/p>\n

It’s a song with quite a backstory to it.<\/p>\n

Early in his career, Thomas notes he often played in some \u201cquestionable\u201d locations.
\n\u201cThere was one club that we played in Toronto, I think had go-go dancers \u2013 they might have been topless \u2013 on each side of the stage. I was playing in some of the seediest establishments in Ontario, and often sharing dressing rooms with strippers,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Thomas says while \u201cPainted Ladies\u201d was a hit, he does not consider it \u201chis biggest song,” and far from the height of his creativity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really young, and consequently, I was already tired of that direction by the time it was a hit. I\u2019d already moved on to other stuff,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He also noted while the song was in the top 10 in most major U.S. cities, it never broke the Top 20 charts.<\/p>\n

This provided a lesson about the music industry to the young songwriter.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took about $250,000 to cross palms to independent promoters before you would break that Billboard Top 20,\u201d Thomas recalls. \u201cI was a little disheartened by those realities.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Thomas forged ahead at a frantic pace, releasing 12 albums between 1973 and 1984.
\nHe had 15 charting singles in Canada in the 1970s and 1980s, including five top 40 hits.<\/p>\n

A number of his songs were covered by, and became hits for, other artists such as \u201cHold On\u201d by Santana, \u201cRunner\u201d by Manfred Mann\u2019s Earth Band, \u201cRight Before Your Eyes\u201d by America, and \u201cChains\u201d by Chicago.<\/p>\n

Thomas notes the royalties from these covers probably paid him more than \u201cPainted Ladies\u201d ever did.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen another artist is investing in your song or investing their career in your song… it\u2019s the ultimate validation,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

In the late 80s, Thomas was working on another solo album, but with the cast of players he was playing, it felt different.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was such an interesting cross-section of folks. I thought I really can\u2019t put my name on this as a solo artist,\u201d Thomas explains.<\/p>\n

This group eventually became The Boomers, an act that had several hits in the mid-1990s, including You\u2019ve Got To Know (#20), I Feel A Change Coming (#17), and Saving Face (#18).
\nWhile the Boomers were received \u201creasonably well\u201d in Canada, Thomas says this group opened him up to a new audience overseas.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just took off organically in Europe,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The Boomers made a number of successful tours across Europe, which Thomas recalls as a \u201cwonderful experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to him, having a successful record in Europe is much more rewarding financially for the artist.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mechanical licensing fees were three or four times greater. The business in North America is much more \u2018mob-run.\u2019 Author rights get some serious consideration in Europe,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

As the new millennium dawned, Thomas, like many other artists from the 1970s and 1980s, eventually disappeared from the Canadian charts.<\/p>\n

He admits this reality is difficult to accept at first.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt affects you as an artist for a while, because you feel completely irrelevant \u2013 because you can\u2019t get played on the radio if you are over 35 years old,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

While his live shows are his bread and butter these days, Thomas continues to write and record.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s released three albums with Lunch At Allen\u2019s, a project that also includes Murray McLauchlan, Cindy Church, and Marc Jordan.<\/p>\n

His last solo album, Little Dreams, was released in 2012. In 2015, he performed with Darcy Hepner and the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, also recording a CD with them.<\/p>\n

Thomas isn\u2019t the only member of his family to make a name in the entertainment business.<\/p>\n

His older brother Dave is known for his work on SCTV, especially his duo comedy performances with Rick Moranis as Bob & Doug MacKenzie.<\/p>\n

Thomas has added acting to his resume as well, appearing on the popular 1990s CBC program The Red Green Show.<\/p>\n

He has also written scores for several movies and television shows, including Strange Brew, which featured his brother\u2019s and Moranis\u2019 iconic brothers, Bob and Doug.<\/p>\n

Thomas says he and his brother are \u201ceach other’s biggest fans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s the quintessential big brother, at least every week we are on the phone just laughing our asses off,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead to his show at the Regent Theatre, Thomas recently took to Facebook and asked his fans to throw out some songs he hasn\u2019t played recently.<\/p>\n

Thomas says he was impressed by some of the choices, including songs he has never performed live.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it will be a fun night. There will be a lot of road stories, a lot of behind the scenes stuff,\u201d the Canadian music icon says. \u201cIt\u2019s a pretty solid musical conversation with the audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information, visit ianthomas.ca.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dave Flaherty\/Active Senior’s Digest As he enters his fifth decade in the music industry, Ian Thomas is showing no signs of slowing down. 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