All Over Now

Mick Sleeper writes his last Big Sugar article for SEE Magazine (December 2003).

"We all knew our last show would be in Edmonton."

According to Gordie Johnson, there was never even a question about where Big Sugar would say goodbye. "We've always been on some higher level in Edmonton," says Johnson from his home in Toronto. "The feeling a band gets when they do the first song of an encore? That's the feeling we get when we play the first song of the night in Edmonton!"

Like the proverbial ripples in a pond, the news that Big Sugar is calling it quits has reached almost all of their fans by now. And they've ensured that all of the stops on Big Sugar's cross-Canada farewell tour have been sold out. On New Year's Eve, the final Big Sugar gig will take place at the Shaw Conference Centre, and it's bound to be an epic night. "The shows have been lasting two and three hours long!" says Gordie enthusiastically. "It's been incredible. Fans just ain't letting us get away without playing all of their favourites, you know?"

With more than 10 years and six solid albums behind them, it actually seems like a good time for Big Sugar to break up. While their fans may lament the demise of the band, Johnson is determined for Big Sugar not to go past its "best before" date. "This will definitely be the last thing I do called Big Sugar," he says. "We have no plans to come back in a couple of years for a reunion tour. I don't need the money. I don't need to coast on the name of this band." While details on Johnson's next musical project remain elusive, the rumour is that he's starting a new blues band with some friends from Texas. Meanwhile, Mojah and Garry Lowe have resurrected their heavy reggae combo Truths & Rights, while Kelly Hoppe swings with a Toronto country band named Train 45. So while Big Sugar is about to leave the building, its members have no plans to head for the retirement home.

Even after the long farewell tour, Gordie isn't taking a break. "My new project starts on January second! There will be no relaxing. But I do want to get away from a lot of the rock-star jazz, and start from scratch."

Although Johnson has always been pleased and somewhat humbled by Big Sugar's popularity, there seems to be another side to that coin now that the end is near. He expressed his dismay for the way that Big Sugar has been constantly pigeon-holed by the industry. "I just get so tired when people say 'you guys belong on classic rock stations'! I don't wish to define my career by other people's yardsticks."

Perhaps the lasting legacy of Big Sugar as simply a hard rocking blues band doesn't sit right with him. As well it shouldn't -- Big Sugar are/were one of those rare commodities, a band that managed to combine chart success with truly eclectic music. Unless we are very lucky, we won't see another band like them.

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