Art Bergmann
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox musical artist Arthur Frank Bergmann Template:Postnominals (born February 8, 1953, in Vancouver, British Columbia)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter who was one of the key figures in Canadian punk rock in the late 1970s.<ref name=havenot>Michael Barclay, Ian A.D. Jack and Jason Schneider, Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985-1995. ECW Press. Template:ISBN.</ref> Bergmann was made a member of the Order of Canada in 2021.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Punk bandsEdit
Art Bergmann began his musical career with an Abbotsford band called the Mount Lehman Grease Band. After Mount Lehman folded, he founded his own band called the Notorious Smorg Brothers, which he stocked with a myriad of different support artists.
Bergmann was later the lead singer and songwriter for Vancouver punk stalwarts Young Canadians (formerly The K-Tels).<ref name=Rayner/> Although the Young Canadians only recorded two independent EPs and a single before breaking up, their song "Hawaii" (co-written with Ross Carpenter) is one of the classic Canadian punk anthems. Although long out of print, the EPs, along with some unreleased live material, were reissued in 1995 as the album No Escape.
Solo careerEdit
In the 1980s, Bergmann played with Vancouver independent bands Los Popularos and Poisoned before the latter band signed to Duke Street Records in 1988.<ref name=havenot /> Due to confusion with the popular American band Poison which had marred the band's most recent tour, however, the label decided to bill the band's releases as solo albums by Bergmann.<ref name=havenot />
He released his debut solo album, the John Cale-produced Crawl with Me, that year. He garnered a Juno Award nomination for Most Promising Male Vocalist at the Juno Awards of 1989, and James O'Mara and Kate Ryan were nominated for Best Music Video for Bergmann's "Our Little Secret".<ref>"Bergmann rocks on explosive edge". Toronto Star, March 29, 1990.</ref>
1990's Sexual Roulette, produced by Chris Wardman, became Bergmann's mainstream breakthrough, spawning the rock radio hit "Bound for Vegas" and garnering him a deal with Polygram Records.<ref name=Jam>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
He followed up with a self-titled album on Polygram in 1991, again garnering significant radio airplay for the singles "Faithlessly Yours", "If She Could Sing" and "Message From Paul". Bergmann continued to tour extensively during this era. This included Big, Bad & Groovy, a package tour of Canadian artists that included Bergmann, Sons of Freedom (band), Pure (Canadian band) and headliners Bootsauce.<ref>Eric Volmers, "Music journalist traces the history of Alberta-based songwriter Art Bergmann in The Longest Suicide". Calgary Herald, December 2, 2022.</ref>
In 1994 he collaborated with One Free Fall on a cover of Neil Young's "Prisoners of Rock and Roll" for the tribute album Borrowed Tunes,<ref>"Bergmann on his way to some Fresh Hell: Sony was impressed enough with Vancouver rocker to back album". The Province, February 17, 1995.</ref> leading to a new deal with Sony Records for 1995's What Fresh Hell Is This?. That album won the Juno Award for Best Alternative Rock Album at the Juno Awards of 1996,<ref>"Alanis owns Junos: Five more awards cap singer's fabulous year". The Province, March 11, 1996.</ref> but the album was not a strong performer on the charts and he was then dropped from the label. Bergmann quit the music business for a period following his release by Sony, performing sporadically between 1995 and 1998.<ref name=Rayner>Ben Rayner, "Bergmann living down his reputation". Toronto Star, October 15, 1998: G4.</ref>
The 1998 Design Flaw, produced by Peter J. Moore and released on the independent label Other People's Music, was a reworking of tracks from his first three albums, plus a cover of Gram Parsons' "Sin City". The songs featured Bergmann on acoustic guitar, with backing by Chris Spedding on electric. Bergmann then released Vultura Freeway, a compilation of unreleased demo recordings from the early 1980s, in 2000, with liner notes from Pointed Sticks front man Nick Jones.
Following Vultura Freeway, however, Bergmann withdrew from the music business for several years, due to health difficulties with degenerative arthritis.<ref>"Bergmann still kicking the chair away; Arthritis can't dampen spirit of punk". Victoria Times-Colonist, September 4, 2014.</ref>
In 2009 Bergmann's bassist Ray Fulber compiled the CD Lost Art Bergmann, which featured early demo versions of most of the songs that appeared on the 1988 John Cale produced album. These demo recordings served as a tonic to many fans as they have a more guitar driven sound than the keyboard heavy Cale produced sessions.
On 26 August 2014, Bergmann released Songs for the Underclass on the independent label (weewerk).<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
On 13 May 2016, Bergmann released The Apostate, his first full-length album of new material since 1995, on weewerk Records.<ref>"Art Bergmann Returns with 'The Apostate,' Premieres New Track". Exclaim!, February 11, 2016.</ref>
On 12 May 2017, Bergmann released Remember Her Name, a remastered edition of his self-titled 1991 album.<ref>"First Play: Art Bergmann, Remember Her Name". CBC Music, May 4, 2017.</ref>
On 30 December 2020, Bergmann was made a Member of the Order of Canada, for his "indelible contributions to the Canadian punk music scene, and for his thought-provoking discourse on social, gender and racial inequalities."<ref>Allie Gregory, "Art Bergmann Appointed to the Order of Canada". Exclaim!, December 30, 2020.</ref>
On 21 May 2021, Bergmann released Late Stage Empire Dementia on (weewerk) Recordings. On 29 September 2023, he followed up with ShadowWalk: Legacy of Love, an album inspired by the death in 2022 of his wife Sherri Decembrini.<ref>Alex Hudson, "Art Bergmann Honours Late Wife with New Album 'ShadowWalk'". Exclaim!, July 9, 2023.</ref>
Film appearancesEdit
Art Bergmann has appeared in two Bruce McDonald films, Highway 61 as Otto and Hard Core Logo as himself, and as a musician in Conjurer of Monikers. Additionally, he was featured in Bloodied but Unbowed, a film featured at the 2010 Vancouver Documentary Film Festival.
DiscographyEdit
- Crawl with Me (1988)
- Sexual Roulette (1990)
- Art Bergmann (1991)
- What Fresh Hell Is This? (1995)
- Design Flaw (1998)
- Vultura Freeway (2000)
- Lost Art Bergmann (2009)
- Songs for the Underclass (2014)
- The Apostate (2016)
- Remember Her Name (2017)
- Late Stage Empire Dementia (2021)
- ShadowWalk: Legacy of Love (2023)
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- Art Bergmann
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