Grievous Angels

1. Grievous Angels are a Canadian alternative country band. Although they have never achieved mainstream success, they are a cultural institution in Northern Ontario. As well, they are highly regarded by many music critics: newspapers in both Canada and the United States have compared the band favorably to Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Bruce Springsteen, Stan Rogers and Gordon Lightfoot. The band is fronted by singer/songwriter Charlie Angus, who entered electoral politics in 2004 as the New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for Timmins?James Bay.

The band is fronted by singer/songwriter Charlie Angus, who entered electoral politics in 2004 as the New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for Timmins?James Bay.

The group was originally formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1986 by Angus, vocalist Michelle Rumball and fiddler Peter Jellard. They began as a collective of street buskers, and eventually began playing Toronto-area bars. Tim Hadley and drummer Peter Duffin joined the band in 1987. The band quickly became a popular draw at folk festivals across Canada, and released their debut album, Toute la Gang, in 1989.

In 1990, shortly after the release of the band's second album, One Job Town, Rumball left the band and Angus moved to Cobalt, Ontario. However, the band kept going through these challenges, continuing to tour and being nominated for several Juno Awards.

They released Watershed in 1993, and were named one of the hottest up-and-coming bands in Canada by Maclean's the following year. In 1995, Angus also launched HighGrader, a magazine about Northern Ontario life and culture, and joined CBC Radio One as a correspondent and commentator for its Sudbury station CBCS.

In 1996, Grievous Angels released Waiting for the Cage, a concept album about life in Northern Ontario mining towns which also included an interactive CD-ROM feature. The CD-ROM feature won an award from the New York Expo of Short Film and Video.

In 1999, Angus was presented the Jackie Washington Award, for his contributions to Northern Ontario's cultural life, by Sudbury's Northern Lights Festival Bor?al. The band also released 22 Trailer Park that year.

In the summer of 2000, Duffin retired from the band, and Hadley accepted a gig touring with Stompin' Tom Connors. Duffin was replaced by Dave Patterson. However, the band went on hiatus as Angus got involved in local political activism around the Adams Mine controversy, a campaign which ultimately led to his 2004 election -- and 2006 re-election -- to Parliament. As well, Jellard joined Toronto band Swamperella (although he has continued to play with Grievous Angels as well).

The band's most recent album was released in 2003.

With Angus' new career in politics, the band's future is uncertain. However, Angus has performed at least one solo show since the election, and as of November 2004, no announcement has been made regarding the band's status.

2. The Grievous Angels are also an alternative country band from Tempe, AZ, that recorded albums for Bloodshot Records. Like the Old 97's, Grievous blends country, rock, and bluegrass into a hard-driving, frenetic sound. At concerts they'll play the Sex Pistols' "Bodies," yet they also have a more acoustic alter ego band called Ned Beatty and the Inbreds that plays bluegrass and folk.

The band was named after Gram Parsons' 1973 seminal country-rock album Grievous Angel. Earl C. Whitehead (aka Russell Sepulveda) fronts the group, singing lead, playing acoustic guitar, and writing many of the band's songs. Dan Henzerling co-produced the band's 1998 album, Miles on the Rail, and plays guitar and sings. He worked with Robin Wilson in some bands in the '80s, including the Gin Blossoms for a short time in 1988. Micky Ferrell played in Los Angeles for years before joining the Grievous Angels on bass, and Jesus H. Navarro plays drums. Jon Rauhouse is the newest member, playing everything from steel, banjo, and mandolin to Hawaiian guitar. The band released its debut album, Angels and Inbreds, on Bloodshot Records in 1995, followed by New City of Sin in 1997 and Miles on the Rail in 1998.