SPILL FEATURE: THERE IS NOTHING IN LIFE I WOULD RATHER DO THAN PLAY – A CONVERSATION WITH BRIAN GREENWAY OF APRIL WINE

THERE IS NOTHING IN LIFE I WOULD RATHER DO THAN PLAY

A CONVERSATION WITH BRIAN GREENWAY OF APRIL WINE

Brian Greenway was an established musician when he officially joined in April in 1977. Of course, by 1977, April Wine was firmly established as well, which made the pairing a pretty momentous event. Greenway had been in other bands prior, Mashmakhan and The Dudes, and had experienced his own success. But when Myles Goodwin, the founding member of April Wine invited him to join, the answer was an obvious yes!

“I remember the first day,” Brian Greenaway says. “Stuff in between I forget a lot, but I remember the first day. I showed up. I had played with them all before, in fact the bass player, Steven Lang, I played with in two other bands. It was band three for me and him. It was because of him I kept getting into bands. I was only supposed to be part of the summer tour [1977 summer tour], staying after the tour if it worked out well, and it did. The big challenge was learning the songs and associating the titles with the songs,” laughed Greenaway. “It was May of 1977.”

And, like the summer of 1977, April Wine are about to embark on a tour with fellow Canadian rock and roll heavies, Triumph. The tour kicks off on February 7 in Quebec City and goes all the way until June 6 in Boston. They hit Toronto on April 24 for a show at Scotiabank Arena.

“We are both hard rock bands,” said Greenway. “It has been a long time since we toured with them, and we are looking forward to it. We have not played with them since the late 80s.” They shared the stage for a well remembered concert in Texas in 1978. “April Wine and Triumph are very well liked in Texas. Especially in San Antonio. Something in the water in that city, I guess. People should drink more of it.”

And Greenway is quick to point out that touring in 2026 is a lot different than touring in 1977. “A lot more rules,” he laughed. “With the airports, paperwork, and more people traveling, the airports are usually a disaster. So when we get on a bus for these tours, I like it because it is home. Some guys don’t like the bus, I don’t mind it all. I am used to camping I guess, and this is luxury camping. But you know, anything, no matter how nice it is, wears its welcome out and you just want to be home.”

And although Greenway and the band look forward to touring, it does have its drawbacks. “We say we are professional waiters. We wait for buses, airplanes, wait for our rooms to be ready. We sit and wait to get on stage. But the 90 minutes on stage, that is the fun, free part. That’s the stuff you remember the most. It is the whole reason we are here. If it isn’t the whole reason you are here, then you shouldn’t be there. Give it up. The word play is part of your job description.”

As noted, Brian Greenway has been with April Wine for close to 50 years, and the band’s history stretches all the way back to 1969. So, with the passing of founding member Myles Goodwin, there has had to be changes in the lineup. April Wine currently consists of Brian Greenway (guitar), Richard Lanthier (bass), Roy Nichol (drums), and Marc Parent (lead vocals, guitar). And Greenway points out that the new band has a lot of fun on stage.

PURCHASE TICKETS TO SEE TRIUMPH w/ APRIL WINE

“There is great chemistry with the current lineup, Marc is a lot of fun to be with. He is mischievous like I am, so I try to sneak up on him when he doesn’t expect me. It’s fun, I like to have fun up there and be surprised. I like to have people see us smiling. If you see the band smiling, they are having fun and you are going to smile too because a smile is infectious. We just love doing this. There is nothing in life I would rather do than play. If I am home for too long between tours, my wife will tell me to go find someone to jam with. It is in my blood. I have a friend who has a weekly jam session in a hotel in his town, not far from here. I go up sometimes when I am not working, it is just fun.

I do a solo show sometimes, but you are playing by yourself and that is the worst thing. There is no one to turn to and smile and share the moment. Unless you look in a mirror and scare yourself,” laughed Greenway. “But a duo is more fun, a band is more fun. You have to be able to bounce off somebody. I like to rock!”

April Wine has had a lot of hit singles and albums, so getting a 90-min set could prove tricky for the band. “Tonite is a Wonderful Time to Fall in Love,” “Rock ‘N’ Roll Is a Vicious Game,” “Roller,” “Just Between You and Me,” and “I Like to Rock” to name just a few. So, choosing the setlist cannot be an easy task.

“You always play what the people want to hear, never what the band wants to play. Because it usually isn’t right, you want to play the songs that people come to hear. You can’t play all of them, and with 90 minutes, you try to make everyone happy. When we make up a set, you don’t get to the point of scrambling to stick a song in there where it doesn’t fit. We played a song called “Shotdown” from The Whole World’s Goin’ Crazy album, it was a big hit in St. Louis. We play that there and people go nuts, you play it somewhere else and no one knows it. But if you don’t play it in St. Louis, they let you know.”

Myles Goodwin, founding member of the band, passed away in 2023. Not only did the world lose an incredible talent, Greenway lost a friend.

“He was a friend for so long it still feels weird up there being on the stage without him, and without Steve Lang. People you will never see again. I get on stage and look around and remember when it was my first time on stage, and now I look around and there is nobody there from that time. I look at the other guys and some I have played with for 15 years.’

As it turns out, Myles Goodwin was not a fan of playing live.

“He wasn’t really enjoying being on the road near the end of his life. He wanted to stay home, write, and record music. It is all he ever wanted to do. He was a reluctant pop star.”

Although right now the band is getting set for a lengthy tour, in some ways, it feels like it is a new beginning for April Wine.

“I’m always writing but not always finishing, much to my frustration. There’s a live album we recorded with Myles in March of 2022, his last show, that is sitting there just waiting to be released. I hope April Wine does another album, as the band is rebuilding itself, doing all these tours and playing places we never played in the past, so we are getting ourselves back in the picture.”

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Main Photo Credit: Taylor Jones