Share the Band Vancouver TikTokker taps love for Guess Who to bring local rock legends to a new generation By: David Sanderson Posted: 3:00 AM CDT Saturday, Jun. 29, 2024

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/06/2024 (782 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VANCOUVER — Last Canada Day, Rolling Stone magazine published a list of what its writers and editors felt are the top 50 music acts from the Great White North, all-time.

Positioned at No. 26 on the Joni Mitchell-led countdown — one spot ahead of former teen heartthrob Sean Mendes and one place behind indie rockers the Japandroids — was the Guess Who, a lower-than-expected ranking that had Vancouverite Josh Mackenzie feeling like a heartbroken bopper.

The 26-year-old social media manager loves “a ton” of Canadian artists, including Neil Young (No. 2 on the RS list) and Chilliwack (unrated). But not only is the Guess Who his favourite Canadian band, he would argue the Winnipeg-born unit is the most important group the country has ever produced, period.

Since February, Mackenzie has hosted a weekly live show on TikTok called Streamed Wheat, so-named for the Guess Who’s 1969 effort Canned Wheat, which contained the smash hits Undun and Laughing. The highly entertaining, two-hour affair is wholly focused on the Guess Who, which its founder compares to a certain foursome from across the pond.

“The more I got into them, the more I kept drawing parallels to the Beatles,” Mackenzie says, seated in a Denman Street watering hole overlooking picturesque English Bay. “Their sound is so diverse and they’re one of those bands that seemingly have a song and album for everyone.”

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Given the Guess Who’s speculative-sounding tag, here is another question: why has a person living on the west coast, who was born 24 years after Dancin’ Fool became the last Guess Who track to crack Billboard’s Top 40 singles chart in 1974, taken such a keen interest in a rock ’n’ roll unit that’s as quintessentially Winnipeg as Portage and Main?

The answer to that begins in Maple Ridge, B.C., of all places, where, as a youngster, Mackenzie was regularly exposed to late-’70s hits by the Guess Who’s former frontman.

His mother was a huge fan of Burton Cummings’ solo work. Through her he became familiar with radio-friendly tunes such as Stand Tall, My Own Way to Rock and Your Backyard. His dad was the one who introduced him to Guess Who classics like American Woman and No Sugar Tonight. It wasn’t until he was 11 years old, by which time his family had moved to Lethbridge, Alta., that he put two and two together, and realized Cummings was also the voice of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees.

“Later, when I discovered that Randy Bachman, who I only knew from Bachman-Turner Overdrive, had also been part of the Guess Who, my mind was completely blown,” he says with a laugh.

In 2020, a year before he relocated to B.C. with his fiancée, now his wife, Mackenzie, a self-described old soul, created an Instagram account dubbed Vinyl Spin, to show off his ever-growing record collection. Not just LPs by the Guess Who, but from other favoured artists as well, including the Beach Boys, Wings, Supertramp and the Doors.

He began following members of the online vinyl community who were doing something similar. He became particularly interested in an account revolving entirely around legendary California group the Grateful Dead.

Hmm, he began to think; if it was good enough for the Dead, why not the Guess Who?

Streamed Wheat, which is broadcast live from the living room of Mackenzie’s basement suite in east Vancouver, made its official debut on Feb. 1. During the initial episode, Mackenzie, flanked by an autographed replica of Cummings’ original handwritten lyrics for These Eyes, announced the mantra would be to highlight the Guess Who’s lengthy discography, beginning with Shakin’ All Over, a No. 22 hit in 1965 by the Chad Allan-led version of the group.

He also promised to delve down past the hits, by discussing the various members’ solo careers, as well as offshoot projects such as Brave Belt, BTO’s precursor, and Mood Jga Jga and Kilowatt, both of which featured one-time Guess Who guitarist Greg Leskiw.

“The gear I use is somewhat simple, but did require some investing,” Mackenzie explains, mentioning one doesn’t need a TikTok account to watch the proceedings; they just have to click on the “live” button on his profile, to partake. “Essentially the show is broadcast from a turntable through an iPhone and a mixer. The mixer takes in the audio from my turntable, as well as a microphone so I can tell stories and interact with viewers.”

The top comment he receives, particularly from younger audience members, is “I recognize that song, only I didn’t know it was by the Guess Who.” That’s music to his ears, he says.

“You’re always going to get teens and young adults obsessing over the usual suspects like the Beatles, Stones and Led Zeppelin, only I wanted to show them that Canada has this great band that’s debatably just as good,” he gushes.

Toronto rock historian Robert Lawson is the author of Wheatfield Empire: The Listener’s Guide to the Guess Who (2020), an exhaustive tome packed with countless facts and tidbits about the group’s recording career. Mackenzie reached out to Lawson after the release of his book to let him know how much he appreciated it. He contacted the author again in February, to see if he’d be open to guesting on his new show.

“He was doing an episode on deep cuts, which was right up my alley, and because what Josh does is very interactive, I was able to take questions, which made it even more fun,” Lawson says, when reached at home in Toronto.

Lawson, who is originally from Winnipeg, finds it encouraging that people Mackenzie’s age are getting into the Guess Who. He is certain that Cummings, whom he’s interviewed on multiple occasions, would echo that sentiment.

“For an artist, it would be incredibly fulfilling to know you’re reaching this new generation of listeners, not just people who grew up singing along to your songs on the radio,” Lawson says. “I think it’s great that Josh is taking the time and energy to help get the word out.”

For now, Mackenzie, whose most recent show touched on Guess Who songs that have been covered by other artists, doesn’t have any archived episodes of Streamed Wheat available for viewing, only highlight snippets he posts on TikTok the following morning.

One thing he has done on occasion is post a link to a segment’s full playlist on Spotify so interested parties can listen to the songs at their leisure. That is a common request, he says, mentioning he first saw Cummings perform live in 2017 in Lethbridge, and that he has tickets to Cummings’ upcoming show in Vancouver, on Aug. 17.

As to the ongoing debate whether or not the Guess Who belongs in Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Mackenzie is of the belief they do, no ifs, ands or buts. He isn’t losing sleep over the omission, mind you.

“There was a time when I was like ‘this is a travesty!’ and that was one of the questions I put to Robert (Lawson) when he was on my show,” says Mackenzie, who would love to cross a trip to Winnipeg off his bucket list.

“He said that when he brought the subject up with Burton a few years ago, Burton told him that all the gold records and awards he has on the wall at his home in Moose Jaw is his own personal hall of fame. That said, if the time comes that they do get in, my one hope is that the main members are still with us, to savour the moment.”

For more information, go to @vinylspin_yvr

david.sanderson@freepress.mb.ca