May 16, 2017
After a triumphant return to the Commodore Ballroom in their hometown of Vancouver, the Smugglers now set their rock 'n' roll sites on the legendary Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto.
"Put on an event. Turn it into a party, every single time.”
That piece of gig-planning advice is something a teenaged Grant Lawrence absorbs in the early pages of Dirty Windshields: the best and the worst of the Smugglers tour diaries (Douglas and McIntrye, May 2017). It’s a credo that’s stuck with him ever since.
With those sage words still fresh in his mind nearly 30 years later, Lawrence will launch his newest and third book on Friday June 16, 2017 at the Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto's legendary music venue since 1947.
And to do it up right, Lawrence will reform his band THE SMUGGLERS for their first gig in Toronto in more than 13 years.
The event will also celebrate the launch of Dirty Windshields. Grant chronicles the band’s booze-fuelled, sweaty, broke and wayward attempts at rock and roll glory as they trekked across Canada, the United States, and eventually, Europe and the Pacific Rim. In their sixteen years of touring, the Smugglers experienced all the highs and lows the road can offer, from playing a gig at New York’s legendary CBGB club to starting a riot in a Denver nightclub to having their performance tuxes stolen in Australia.
Through the fights, sexual misadventures, new friendships, dance contests and mayhem, the band grew up together on the road. Told with Grant’s signature self-deprecating wit, the anecdotes develop into a compelling story of the growth of an independent, do-it-yourself touring band, a community, and a musical movement.
Joining Grant Lawrence and the Smugglers is an all-star pop-punk line up of friends, is NEEDLES // PINS from Vancouver; DUOTANG from Winnipeg; and THE NEW ENCHANTERS, featuring Classy Craig Daniels of The Leather Uppers.
Dirty Windshields Toronto Book Launch
with The Smugglers and Needles//Pins, Duotang, The New Enchanters
Friday, June 16, 2017 | 9pm
The Horseshoe Tavern
370 Queen Street W, Toronto
Tickets $20 in advance.
