the Passion Lizards
4 piece rock and roll band, 4 singers, partying and playing until all hours, usually. The Passion Lizards have been rocking Southern Alberta and the area for
1
top 50
4
songs
3.5K
plays
Public Service Announcement (PSA) Public Service Announcement (PSA)
Sometimes, the best healing is to just talk about it..... Biff's ex left him with a lot to talk about...... hope you laugh.
"Strut" "Strut"
This is the first mix of one of our earliest songs. The concept is the same today, although the final mix will have a lot more polish on it.
Changes Changes
Just a fun, happy song we enjoy. Mostly aimed at those who love the dance floor.
Long Live the Longhairs Long Live the Longhairs
Our first 'net release, a happy little rocker about sticking together, and sticking it to the "NORM".
the Passion Lizards... Canada's own Reptilian Rockers! Check us out at www.passionlizards.com Together for nearly 20 years, the Lizards are all about fun, good times, good tunes, and good friends. The upcoming release of "Get Your Licks In", the Passion Lizards' first full length cd, now mixed and on it's way to mastering, promises to expose a whole ton more listeners to the insanity that they purvey....Band/artist history
Well, it all started way back in 1982,during summer holidays, when Jim and Jeff got a wild hair and decided that since Jim had a guitar, (albeit one that couldn't be tuned), and Jeff had...........a clarinet........ we could decide to be a band. It didn't take long for them to realize that this particular lineup of instruments was a little too "avant garde" to garner us any airplay. It was about the same time that we decided that the two instruments didn't sound all that great together, especially considering who was "playing" them. Shortly thereafter, in the first year of high school, while paying absolutely intense attention to the electronics instructor, we decided it would be more prudent to get Jeff a bass. As luck would have it, an equally devoted student at the next lab table happened to have one for sale. By the time we had spent an entire 80 minute class concentrating on nothing but the instructor's words, a deal had been cut, and the band just got it's first bassist, after quickly cutting the clarinetist. (Thanks to Terry Rice for the bass deal)
Jeff and Jim, choosing the moniker "Twister" for our new duo, devoted ourselves to practice, practice, practice. We practiced hair solos. We practiced "in time guitar neck head bashing". We practiced leaping off of things and looking reallllllly cool in midair. We practiced soloing whilst on our knees, bent wayyy back, so it was hard to get up. And somewhere in there, some songs started to appear. A few of the first creations, such as "Zombies on Acid", have never been recorded. Since they were never the same once, they probably never will. But.... then Jim got a screaming deal on a guitar that was actually.....playable..........from a guy who showed him a bit about how to play it. (Thanks, John Malcolm)
And suddenly, without warning, music type stuff started to appear. But there was something missing. Rhythm. There wasn't any. We needed a drummer. And who should volunteer? The only guy with a drumkit in the whole town! Amazing! And he wasn't in a band yet! Staggering! In a town of way more than 200 people, there wasn't another rock band! And so, Clifford joined, we chose a new name, and "Nephew" was born, thanks to a cool logo on a birthday card that Jeff got from his aunt. (Thanks, Auntie Marg)
And so it began. We practiced in Cliff's basement, until the sanity of his mother was at stake. We borrowed the stage in local schools (Thanks to the Granum Schools, and to Willow Creek Composite High, for the loan of rehearsal space.) and carried on. We experimented with styles, with genres, and with different hairsprays. We explored volume.....great walloping gouts of volume, and not just from hairspray.
We need to thank Bryn Roberts, our electronics instructor, who was very understanding when Jim and Jeff would spend half of electronics 10 talking band stuff. About this time, that same electronics instructor lent a new name to the band- one that he thought was very..appropriate. And "60 Cycle Hum" was born. We picked up a roadie, who would provide us with the idea of recording, and try to implement it. Then it hit. A GIG. Christmas assembly, the high school. Time to buckle down. Time to tighten that show. Time to hire a singer...........hey, roaaaaaaadiiieeeeee. Why not? Keep it in the organisation, right? Unfortunately for Bryn Roberts' sense of humor, we also decided to change the name. After a staggeringly silly conversation, "Armed Robbery" was born. Roadie Lorne Nelson joined as a player, and performed that one show with the band. He decided it wasn't his cup of tea. That was cool. And Bryn Roberts decided that the band name had to do with us charging anything, ever.
Then, Jim and Jeff started taking drama class, thinking that it would have to show them a few things about how to perform better. During that class, the instructor's son, (That instructor being, once again, the highly influencial Bryn Roberts) who was an acquaintance of the band, was sitting in on a class. Unexpectedly, he mentioned the show at Christmas. More unexpectedly, he asked point blank how come he hadn't been invited to join the band. Since the reason was simply that no one had thought he would want to, Kelly was promptly not just invited, but inducted, tattooed, and locked in.
The quartet worked hard, rehearsed steadily, and learned at a..... consistent pace. And then, another gig struck, another chance to play live. We learned up a ton of new songs. We hired gear. And we rocked! Ok, WE thought we rocked, and the 14 year old girls fought for guitar picks and autographs, so we assume others thought we did as well. But the reality of pseudo-superstardom was not for Cliff. He didn't enjoy the whole thing as much as he thought he might. And he decided to leave. We were once again without a skin pounder.
Months passed, and we worked on the guitar/bass/vocal side of things, hoping to run into an available drummer. We started hearing rumours that a guy had moved to town- watch for a red Camaro. Jeff tracked him down one day on main street, hauled his ass over, and after making sure he played drums, promptly invited him to audition. Matt Patterson showed up with a MASSIVE kit, knew the songs, joined right up, and stayed with the group for more than a decade. A name change was decided upon during this time, and the Passion Lizards were born. Thanks now to Matt, for all of it. He eventually shifted his interests and focus, and we were once again without a drummer. How "Spinal Tap" is that?
We did try adding a fifth member during this time. Les Ablonze joined as lead vocalist/ keys player. Although it was a lot of fun, Les and the Lizards were essentially pointed in different directions, and we went back to being a four-on-the-floor group. Thanks to Les, for the good times, which there definitely were!
Now, of course, a lot of other stuff had gone on during these years, and we knew a lot of musicians. We decided to audition for drummers. Unexpectedly, a drummer actually asked for the chance to sit in. Trevor had been acquainted with Jeff for a couple of years, thru working together with a local blues band, and blues festival. Jeff and Trev always got along, and it seemed to make sense that Trev would get on well with the other guys. And IT WORKED. One audition. Actually, not very long into the audition. And we made the offer. Trev accepted, and the rest is current history. Trevor Freed joined the Lizards, and the Lizards carried on. Then, in late 2004, Jim had to move for work, and a NEW Jim, and Mike, joined, maintaining the 2 guitar vibe, but adding a keys/guitar/Chapman Stick player and turning us into 5 singers. Any other salient parts of this story are contained in the other pages of the site. www.passionlizards.comHave you performed in front of an audience?We have been performing live for nearly 20 years, primarily in Southern Alberta, Canada, but we are considering expanding our area. Current listings available at www.passionlizards.com We LOVE playing live- that's the reason we haven't done a cd until now.. takes a lot of time away from the stage. One of our most memorable shows was Canada Day 2001- when nearly 20 women flashed us all at once! Lemme tell ya, that's "feel like a rock star" time, right there.
Your musical influences
We are a 5 piece, rock and roll, Keys, 2 guitars a bass and drums kinda guys, and most of our influences are related.
Kiss, Priest. DC. Cooper. Allmans. It's all there, just rock and roll, guitars, marshalls, and sheer guts.What equipment do you use?
Gibson, Washburn, Ibanez, Yamaha, Aria Pro, Fender, and Ovation guitars. Slingerland and Tama drums, Roland and Boss processing. Nord Electro, Moog, Chapman Stick, Samson amps and wireless, Bryston bass power. Behringer and custom speaker cabinets. Wave Tech custom PA gear.
Lethbridge,
Canada
ID
172631
Contact
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Comments (4)
Hi guys,
Stopped by to wish you a Happy Holiday and Happy New Year.
Hope to see a picture of you soon so I can see how good you look. (smiles)
Longhairs rule!
Kick Kick sound
Id love to hear more
Just havin a good time eh
Thats what its all about
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
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