Saskatoon’s Northern Pikes kick off 33rd anniversary tour in Prince Albert

In January 1987, Saskatoon rock group the Northern Pikes flew out to Toronto to record their debut major label LP.

But when the Pikes arrived at the studio, they learned that they had been double-booked with another band and were forced to record during what singer and bassist Jay Semko describes as “the night shift.”

“We would record all night and then the other band would come in during the day and after a couple of weeks of that we thought, ‘Well, screw this. This is not really going as we well or as smoothly as we thought,’” Semko said.

“As much as we were nocturnal people, it’s hard to get out your best at six in the morning after you’ve been working for eight hours already.”

The band ended up finishing the recordings at about a half-dozen different studios in and around the Toronto area. The result was 1987’s Big Blue Sky, which was certified gold by the end of the year and garnered radio play with the singles Teenland and Things I do for Money and “opened the door” to the next level of their career.

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Got to go:

Who? The Northern Pikes and the Grapes of Wrath

Where? E.A. Rawlinson Centre

When? Jan. 27 at 7:30 p.m.

Admission? $43.05 for adults, $24.68 for students