The Gandharvas

In the early 1990s a quintet of youths from London, Ontario, assembled a rock band whose name derived from the Hindu concept of celestial musicians serving the gods. The lineup comprised Paul Jago together with guitarists Jud Ruhl and Brian Ward, bassist/keyboardist Beau Cook, and drummer Tim McDonald, and they called themselves the Gandharvas. After performing numerous live shows throughout the London region, the independent label Watch Music expressed interest, resulting in a contract signed in 1994. That same year brought the release of their debut album, A Soap Bubble and Inertia, an upbeat collection that featured the Canadian hit single “The First Day of Spring.” The track earned Song of the Year honors for 1994 at CFNY 102.1 FM in Toronto and ranked as the most requested song on CIMX 89X FM in Windsor, Canada. Their second album, Kicking in the Water, arrived in 1995 and found the group exploring a darker musical direction. Following that release, the Gandharvas secured a major-label agreement with MCA Records. Working with co-producer Laurence Currie, whose credits include Sloan’s One Chord to Another, the band completed its third full-length record, Sold for a Smile, issued in 1998.