Hotknife (1972 – 1975)
Hotknife had its beginnings at the Strathcona High School. Glenn signed up for the music program in Grade 10 (1971/1972) where he started playing the standup bass. This class was open students of all grades so this is where Glenn met fellow bass player Gordon Wright and drummer Bill Mathew. In the fall of 1972 Clint Tobiasson joined the band class playing trumpet. The band teacher Mr. Ozipko was well liked by the students and was receptive to creative ideas.
There was a program available for the Strathcona students to get diploma credits for approved projects in any subject. Glenn, Clint, Bill and Gerry Koroluk came up with the idea to form a rock band. They presented their idea to the school administration and it was approved! They would play a couple of “sock hops” at the school and perform at the Christmas concert to receive final marks and grades. The band members were: Glenn – lead guitar/vocals, Clint – bass, Gerry – rhythm guitar and Bill – drums. The final performance at the Christmas concert included two original songs that Glenn wrote and two cover songs. The group was given marks for their work and they received the diploma credits for completing the assignment.
After the school project was completed Glenn, Clint and Bill decided continue playing music together and pursue paid gigs. Changes were made in the band with the addition of Peter Bredemann on keyboards and Rhett Butler (who replaced Gerry on rhythm guitar). The band now became “Hotknife”. The band ranged in age from 14 to 17 with Peter being the youngest.
The band had the popular music gear at the time. Glenn originally played with an Ibanez SG guitar and an Acoustic amp. This was later replaced with a Fender Strat and Fender Bandmaster amp. Glenn’s next guitar was a sunburst Gibson Les Paul. Clint had a heavy GBX bass amp and played a blue Hagstrom bass. He later played with a Fender precision bass. Rhett played a red Hagstrom guitar with a 50 Watt Marshall double stack. He later got a Black and White Fender Stratocaster with a maple neck/no tremolo arm. Peter played a “chopped” Hammond M3 with a Leslie speaker (he later added a synthesizer to his setup), Bill had a starter drum kit which he replaced with a set of Gretsch drums. The group purchased an Acoustic PA system from Vic Lillo at Lillo’s Music for $1800. Glenn and Clint both worked at the shop teaching music lessons at the time. The band finished the PA purchase by having a shot of aquavit with Vic in his office! The group did not have a van so they would often rent one for gigs to move the gear.
Most of the rehearsals took place at Glenn’s Mom’s house. The music was loud. Peter remembers going to rehearsal and hearing the amps roaring from down the street as he approached the house. There were many friends that came to the rehearsals and shows. Clint’s girlfriend Gay came to every rehearsal and show. Chris Thompson and Gordon Wright also came to many rehearsals and shows. Some of the neighbor kids would get a thrill by looking through the basement windows watching the band rehearse. Sometimes they would be invited inside and the party was on – much to the dismay of Glenn’s Mom!
Hotknife was booked through the Milro booking agency (Big Miller and Mary Roth). Most of the band members were underage but that didn’t pose any problems with the club owners and the bars. Often, there would be a table full of draft beer mugs for the band. The group received great response. They played at a variety of places in Edmonton and the surrounding area including junior high “sock hops”, high school dances including one in Caroline Alberta, the Grand Hotel in Red Deer (for a week), the Druid Hotel in Wetaskiwin, a bar in Rimbey and at a frat house near the University of Alberta. The band also booked their own gigs by renting the McKernan hall in Edmonton and the hall in Warburg selling tickets and collecting money at the door. Many of the gigs took place on the weekends.
Hotknife played the popular rock songs of the time. The band sets included songs from Deep Purple – the Machine Head album, Ten Years After, Cream, Santana, the Doobie Brothers, the Beatles and more. Here is a partial song list:
– Smoke on the Water (Deep Purple)
– Long Train Running (The Doobie Brothers)
– China Grove (The Doobie Brothers)
– Black Magic Woman (Santana)
– I’m Going Home (Ten Years After)
– Honky Tonk Woman (Rolling Stones)
– Space Truckin (Deep Purple)
– Green Eyed Lady (Sugarloaf)
– Highway Star (Deep Purple)
– Rock ’n Roll Hoochie Koo (Johnny Winter)
– Sunshine of Your Love (Cream)
– Rock and Roll Music to the World (Ten Years After)
– Evil Ways (Santana)
– Rock and Roll Medley
– Beatle songs
– Chilliwack songs
– Kansas City
– You Could Have Been a Lady (April Wine)
Hotknife was active from 1972 to 1975. After the band broke up, Glenn, Peter, Clint and Bill continued to play music together in a variety of different band configurations with different band names.
