Biography

The Grapes of Wrath are a jangly alternative folk-pop quartet formed in Kelowna, British Columbia in 1983 by brothers Chris Hooper (drums) and Tom Hooper (vocals, bass), along with Kevin Kane (vocals, guitar) and the later addition of keyboardist Vincent Jones. In 1984, they signed to Nettwerk Records and relocated to Vancouver where they recorded a four-song, self-titled EP that earned the band some initial local exposure. 1985’s full-length, ‘September Bowl of Green’, however, brought them national recognition and critical acclaim. They enlisted fellow Capitol Records label-mate Tom Cochrane for production of the follow-up, ‘Treehouse’ which was released in October 1987, resulting in their first gold album for sales in Canada and yielding a hit with the single "Peace of Mind". Subsequent singles and two more albums, ‘Now and Again’ (1989) and ‘These Days’ (1991), did well in their homeland and propelled their albums to platinum status, seeing the band go from playing bars to theatres and touring the U.S. and Europe. Personal and creative differences brought about the band's demise in 1992, with their final show on Halloween in Vancouver. In the summer of 2010, after 18 years, the original founding members joined together to play the Surrey B.C. Fusion Festival. Due to the show’s success, the band once again began touring Canada and subsequently signed with Aporia Records to put together a new album. ‘High Road', recorded in the spring of 2012 with co-producer Darryl Neudorf (Neko Case, Blue Rodeo), was released in March 2013. The first single, "Good to See You," reached the Top 40 on Canada's Active Rock and Alternative Rock charts. In the meantime, EMI-Canada released the album 'Singles' in October 2012, featuring remixes of each of the 15 radio singles from GOW's catalog, as well as two new songs.