Biography
Over thirty years the Skydiggers have stood as steady participants in Canada’s thriving folk-rock community, collecting widespread critical praise and loyal grassroots backing even while confronting repeated business reversals and modest sales. After seeing the Hi-Fi's (later Blue Rodeo) perform at Toronto’s Cabana Club, founding member Josh Finlayson launched an acoustic duo with Andy Maize in 1988; their rich vocal harmonies quickly drew notice. Songwriter Peter Cash, drummer Wayne Stokes, and bassist Ron Macey soon joined, and the expanded Skydiggers swiftly became favorites on the Toronto club circuit.
Fewer than twelve months after forming, the group became the first act signed to the newly opened Canadian division of Enigma Records and issued its self-titled debut LP in 1990. Although sales remained modest, the album yielded two Canadian radio hits—“Monday Morning” and “I Will Give You Everything”—that supported the band’s initial national tours. Despite rising popularity, Enigma Canada could not market the record effectively; the weak Canadian market combined with the American parent company’s collapse drove the label into bankruptcy. Former Enigma staffers then established FRE Records, which financed and released the Skydiggers’ second album, Restless, in 1992. Widely praised by critics, Restless contained the band’s biggest single, “A Penny More,” and many listeners still regard it as the group’s finest recording.
Capitol/EMI subsequently acquired FRE and Enigma for distribution, reissued the debut album, and put out Just Over This Mountain in 1993; after three releases and numerous cross-country tours, the album helped the Skydiggers win the 1993 Juno Award for Most Promising Group of the Year. In 1995 the band moved to Warner Records for Road Radio, yet FRE’s bankruptcy simultaneously removed the entire back catalog from circulation. Peter Cash departed to form the Cash Brothers with his sibling Andrew. Only Finlayson and Maize have remained constant members, frequently touring as a duo or alongside established Canadian acts such as Blue Rodeo and Cowboy Junkies. Drawing on his accumulated label experiences, Maize founded the independent MapleMusic imprint and distribution company, which has successfully released and promoted Canadian artists including Paul Brandt, Tegan and Sara, Matthew Good, Loreena McKennitt, Daniel Lanois, and Sarah Harmer.
The Skydiggers next issued Desmond’s Hip City in 1997 on the independent DROG Records label, adopting a harder-edged sound that incorporated occasional trip-hop elements. Frustrated that their strongest-selling album, Restless, remained unavailable because of FRE’s legal entanglements, the band self-released Still Restless: The Lost Tapes in 1999, reconstructing a fresh version from the original rehearsal recordings. There and Back, a live set captured at Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern, appeared in 2000; Bittersweet Harmony, a roots-oriented studio album, followed in 2003. An acoustic collaboration with the Cash Brothers arrived in 2006, and the studio album City of Sirens appeared in 2008. In 2009 the band surveyed its history with the anthology The Truth About Us: A Twenty Year Retrospective.
Returning in 2012, the Skydiggers released their eighth studio album, Northern Shore, on Cowboy Junkies guitarist Michael Timmins’ Latent Recordings imprint. Recorded partly at Blue Rodeo’s Woodshed Studio and the Tragically Hip’s Bathhouse, the album featured a guest appearance by returning member Peter Cash. The holiday-themed Angels followed two years later. In 2016 the group explored songs by Byrds singer/songwriter Gene Clark on Here Without You. The following year they delivered the Timmins-produced Warmth of the Sun, which included the singles “Apology,” “When You're on a Roll,” and “Needle and Thread.”
Fewer than twelve months after forming, the group became the first act signed to the newly opened Canadian division of Enigma Records and issued its self-titled debut LP in 1990. Although sales remained modest, the album yielded two Canadian radio hits—“Monday Morning” and “I Will Give You Everything”—that supported the band’s initial national tours. Despite rising popularity, Enigma Canada could not market the record effectively; the weak Canadian market combined with the American parent company’s collapse drove the label into bankruptcy. Former Enigma staffers then established FRE Records, which financed and released the Skydiggers’ second album, Restless, in 1992. Widely praised by critics, Restless contained the band’s biggest single, “A Penny More,” and many listeners still regard it as the group’s finest recording.
Capitol/EMI subsequently acquired FRE and Enigma for distribution, reissued the debut album, and put out Just Over This Mountain in 1993; after three releases and numerous cross-country tours, the album helped the Skydiggers win the 1993 Juno Award for Most Promising Group of the Year. In 1995 the band moved to Warner Records for Road Radio, yet FRE’s bankruptcy simultaneously removed the entire back catalog from circulation. Peter Cash departed to form the Cash Brothers with his sibling Andrew. Only Finlayson and Maize have remained constant members, frequently touring as a duo or alongside established Canadian acts such as Blue Rodeo and Cowboy Junkies. Drawing on his accumulated label experiences, Maize founded the independent MapleMusic imprint and distribution company, which has successfully released and promoted Canadian artists including Paul Brandt, Tegan and Sara, Matthew Good, Loreena McKennitt, Daniel Lanois, and Sarah Harmer.
The Skydiggers next issued Desmond’s Hip City in 1997 on the independent DROG Records label, adopting a harder-edged sound that incorporated occasional trip-hop elements. Frustrated that their strongest-selling album, Restless, remained unavailable because of FRE’s legal entanglements, the band self-released Still Restless: The Lost Tapes in 1999, reconstructing a fresh version from the original rehearsal recordings. There and Back, a live set captured at Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern, appeared in 2000; Bittersweet Harmony, a roots-oriented studio album, followed in 2003. An acoustic collaboration with the Cash Brothers arrived in 2006, and the studio album City of Sirens appeared in 2008. In 2009 the band surveyed its history with the anthology The Truth About Us: A Twenty Year Retrospective.
Returning in 2012, the Skydiggers released their eighth studio album, Northern Shore, on Cowboy Junkies guitarist Michael Timmins’ Latent Recordings imprint. Recorded partly at Blue Rodeo’s Woodshed Studio and the Tragically Hip’s Bathhouse, the album featured a guest appearance by returning member Peter Cash. The holiday-themed Angels followed two years later. In 2016 the group explored songs by Byrds singer/songwriter Gene Clark on Here Without You. The following year they delivered the Timmins-produced Warmth of the Sun, which included the singles “Apology,” “When You're on a Roll,” and “Needle and Thread.”
Albums