Headstones (band)

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Headstones
OriginKingston, Ontario, Canada
GenresHard rock, alternative rock, post-grunge
Years active1987 (1987)–2003 (2003)
2011 (2011)–present
LabelsCadence, Frostbyte Media, MapleMusic, MCA
Associated actsHugh Dillon Redemption Choir
Websiteheadstonesband.com
MembersHugh Dillon
Trent Carr
Tim White
Steve Carr
Jesse Labovitz
Past membersMark Gibson
Dale Harrison
Rickferd Van Dyk

Headstones are a Canadian punk-influenced[1] rock band that was formed in Kingston, Ontario[2] in 1987 and was active until 2003, then reforming in 2011.[3] The band consists of vocalist Hugh Dillon, guitarist Trent Carr, bassist Tim White, keyboardist Steve Carr plus guitarist Rickferd Van Dyk and Jesse Labovitz on drums. They frequently sell out at mid-sized venues and are known for their high energy live shows, particularly the antics of Dillon, who interacts with his audience in a variety of ways, 'more rock less super shock'.[4] Their songwriting tackles many serious and controversial topics. Between 1996 and 2016, Headstones was among the top 150-selling Canadian artists in Canada and among the top 35-selling Canadian bands in Canada.[5]

History[]

The band signed to MCA Records in 1992 and released their debut album June 1993 Picture of Health.[6] with original drummer Mark Gibson; Gibson left the band after touring for Picture of Health. Dale Harrison was recruited for the follow-up Teeth and Tissue in 1995. To promote the album, the band went on a two-month, 44-city tour. In 1996, the Headstones received Juno Award nominations for Best Group and Best Rock Album. In 1997, the band released their next album, Smile and Wave. Three years later, Nickels for Your Nightmares was released, in which time Carr and Harrison became fathers and Dillon recovered from a drug addiction.[3]

The band released a compilation album, Greatest Fits, in 2001.[7] In 2002, the band signed with MapleMusic.[8] That same year, they released their next album, The Oracle of Hi-Fi.[9] In September 2003, the band announced on their website that they had broken up, citing personal and professional reasons.[10]

After the band broke up in 2003, Dillon started a new band, the Hugh Dillon Redemption Choir, whose debut album The High Co$t of Low Living was released in June 2005. Dillon has also found success in acting, appearing in several films, including Hard Core Logo, Dance Me Outside, Trailer Park Boys: The Movie, Assault on Precinct 13 and the TV series Durham County, Degrassi: The Next Generation and Flashpoint and Continuum. In addition, their song "Come On" was featured in the videogame Triple Play 2002, and was also the theme for the Canadian version of the sketch comedy show, Comedy Inc.

White went on to become a music producer and composer for television and film, working at Imprint Music.

Reunion[]

Headstones reunited for four shows in February 2011 for a mini tour. The band also played eight shows in December 2011: two in Vancouver and one each in Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto,[11] London, Guelph, Peterborough and Niagara Falls, New York.

After reforming the band and getting back onstage, the Headstones went back into the studio to record a new album. Released in 2013, Love + Fury was crowdfunded through PledgeMusic, before being released by Universal Music. The album garnered the band their first top 10 album, and #1 hit single "Long Way to Neverland". This was in followed in 2014 with another crowd-funded album, the acoustic covers collection One in the Chamber Music. The band's next album, Little Army, was released on June 2, 2017 on Cadence Music. It includes the hit single "Devil's on Fire". With this release the band gave their fans an exclusive behind the scenes look into the making of the album, in real time.

A remastered edition of Picture of Health with bonus tracks was released in October 2018. On March 15, 2019, the band released a cover of Gordon Lightfoot's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald". Their latest album, PeopleSkills, was released by Cadence Music on October 25, 2019, and is the band's first full album to be released on vinyl. The first single release "Leave It All Behind reached number 8 on the Billboard Canada Rock chart.

Discography[]

Studio albums[]

Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications
CAN
[12] 		CAN
[13]
1993 Picture of Health — Platinum
1995 Teeth and Tissue 62 Gold
1997 Smile and Wave 36 Gold
2000 Nickels for Your Nightmares 34
2002 The Oracle of Hi-Fi 47
2013 Love + Fury 7
2014 One in the Chamber Music —
2017 Little Army 26
2019 PeopleSkills 45

Compilation albums[]

Year Title Chart positions Certifications
CAN
 CAN
[13]
2001 The Greatest Fits 43

Singles[]

Year Title Peak Chart Position Certifications
CAN 		Album
CAN
[14][15] 		CAN
Rock/Alt
[16][17] 		CAN Content (Cancon)
[18]
1993 "When Something Stands for Nothing" 71 — — Platinum[13] Picture of Health
"It's All Over" — — 1
1994 "Tweeter and the Monkey Man" — — —
"Cemetery" — — —
"Three Angels" — — 3
1995 "Unsound" 58 8 — Teeth and Tissue
"Hearts, Love & Honour" — — —
1997 "Cubically Contained" 20 8 — Smile and Wave
"Smile and Wave" 57 14 —
"And" — — —
2000 "Settle" — 4 — Nickels for Your Nightmares
"Blonde and Blue" — 8 —
"Fuck You" — — —
2001 "Blowtorch" — — — The Greatest Fits
"Come On" — — —
2002 "Reframed (Every Single Failure)" — — — The Oracle of Hi-Fi
2003 "Tiny Teddy" — — —
2013 "Long Way To Neverland" 87 2 — Love + Fury
"Far Away from Here" — 6 —
2014 "Colourless" — 37 — One in the Chamber Music
2017 "Devil's On Fire" — 6 — Little Army
"Broken" — 30 —
2019 "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" — — — Non album-single
"Leave It All Behind" — 8 — PeopleSkills
2020 "Horses" — 22 —

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ McEwan, Paul (2011). Bruce McDonald's 'Hard Core Logo'. University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division. p. 31. ISBN 978-1442612730.
  2. ^ LeBlanc, Larry (February 5, 1994). "The Next Sounds... You'll Hear". Billboard. 106 (6): 50.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Headstones". The Canadian Pop Encyclopedia, jam.canoe.ca
  4. ^ "Hugh Dillon changes direction" Archived March 31, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. MIKE ROSS, Edmonton Sun, September 9, 2005
  5. ^ "NIELSEN MUSIC & BILLBOARD PRESENT CANADA 150 CHARTS" (PDF). bdsradio.com. p. 28. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  6. ^ " Hard-rocking Headstones driven by soft spot". Barrie Advance, November 13, 2015. By Laurie Watt
  7. ^ "CD REVIEWS: Bush, Headstones, Incubus, Rheostatics and many more". Chart Attack, October 23, 2001 By: Debbie Bento
  8. ^ "Headstones Sign On With Maple Music". Chart Attack. Archived from the original on June 24, 2003. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  9. ^ "Straight man" Archived March 31, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Canoe: Showbiz, DARRYL STERDAN. November 30, 2004
  10. ^ "The Headstones Call It Quits". Chart Attack. Archived from the original on September 28, 2003. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  11. ^ "REVIEWS: Headstones – [Live]". Ground Control. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  12. ^ Peak positions for Headstones' albums on Canadian Albums Chart:
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Gold/Platinum". Music Canada. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  14. ^ "Headstones Top Singles positions". RPM. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
  15. ^ "Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  16. ^ "Headstones Rock/Alternative positions". RPM. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
  17. ^ "Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  18. ^ "Headstones Canadian Content positions". RPM. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2010.

External links[]

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