Big Sugar officially formed in 1988 in Toronto, Ontario, consisting of vocalist and guitarist Gordie Johnson, bassist Terry Wilkins, and drummer Al Cross, though the three musicians had already played together for several years as a supporting band for Molly Johnson's jazz performances and as an informal jam band with members of the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir. After Molly Johnson returned to rock music with Infidels, she helped her former bandmates to secure a record deal; their eponymous debut album was released in 1991 on Hypnotic Records.
After Wilkins left the band in 1993, Big Sugar recorded the album Five Hundred Pounds with the help of guest musicians, including harmonica and tenor saxophonist Kelly Hoppe, also known as Mr. Chill. Hoppe brought a blues and old-school r'n'b influence into the band's sound. Hoppe would become an official member of the band in September 1994. He would later add keyboards and melodica to his sideman responsibilities. In July 1994, bassist Garry Lowe joined the band. Lowe had moved to Canada in the mid-1970s from Kingston, Jamaica. Soon after arriving in Toronto, he became an in-demand bass player for touring reggae recording artists. He often accompanied them at Toronto's famed Bamboo club on Queen St.W., among other venues. Lowe was a founding member of "Culture Shock", a popular Toronto reggae band. Johnson, an avid reggae maven (and one-time bass player), had been a fan of Lowe's and was overjoyed when he agreed to join Big Sugar as a full-time member.
Big Sugar had slowly built a reputation as an outstanding live band, and Five Hundred Pounds consolidated it; the album sold 10,000 copies in Canada on the strength of their live shows without any real publicity or radio airplay. During this time, Gordie Johnson also recorded an album as Don't Talk Dance, with Tyler Stewart of Barenaked Ladies and Chris Brown of the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir.
In 1995, the band released two EPs; Dear M.F., which featured a cover version of Traffic's "Dear Mr. Fantasy"; and Ride Like Hell. Following the release of these EPs, Stich Wynston left the band and was replaced by Walter "Crash" Morgan. During the band's tour that year, however, Morgan suffered a heart attack, collapsed, and died on stage during a show in Iowa. Longtime band associate Raffa Dean was enlisted to finish the tour, and former Odds member Paul Brennan subsequently joined as the band's new drummer, appearing on one of their most commercially successful albums, 1996's Hemi-Vision.
Hemi-Vision's single "Opem Up Baby" was a notable first for the band, who recorded a French version of that song, "Ouvres-Toi Bébé", for radio stations in Quebec. The song gained widespread airplay in the province, and for their next album, 1998's Platinum-selling Heated, the band recorded a French version of each single they released; the French songs were collected on the 1999 EP Chauffe à bloc. Also that year, Johnson and Hoppe performed several acoustic shows as a duo under the names "Little Sugar" or "Two Fools on Stools".
Cross returned as drummer in 1999. The band also added a new rhythm guitarist, Mojah. In July of that year the band performed at Woodstock 1999.
In 2000, the band released a dub album, Extra Long Life, under the stage name Alkaline.
In 2001, Big Sugar released Brothers and Sisters, Are You Ready? Taking their abilities in writing and performing French material to its logical conclusion, a complete track-for-track French version, Brothers and Sisters, Êtes Vous Ready?, was released the same year. Only the English album concluded with a blistering rendition of "O Canada".
The two-CD compilation Hit & Run, featuring a greatest hits disc that included a special edition, limited run live concert performance disc, was released in 2003.
Big Sugar, known for its thundering rock shows performed without set lists, played their last concert before splitting up on December 31, 2003, at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. Gordie "Grady" Johnson immediately formed the Austin, Texas-based band Grady and later joined Wide Mouth Mason as their full-time bassist, and also started the gospel dub duo Sit Down, Servant!! when he began playing steel guitar. Kelly Hoppe formed Mr. Chill & The Witnesses, a roots music group. Mojah and Garry Lowe went on to form Truth and Rights Revue, a reggae band, and have released one album to date.
The band reunited in 2010, playing their first show since 2003 at Telus World Ski & Snowboard Festival in Whistler, B.C. on April 23, with tour dates through summer 2010. A new studio album evolved and was released in June 2011, titled Revolution Per Minute. This recording included Stephane Beaudin "Bodean" on drums and new full-time band member "DJ Friendlyness" as the fifth member of Big Sugar. Revolution Per Minute was released on both cd and vinyl with the vinyl album containing bonus "Alkaline" dub remixes and additional songs. 2012 was the first ever DVD release when Eliminate Ya! Live!, a double CD/DVD set that included a new single covering Al Tuck's "Eliminate Ya!" was released.
In 2014, Big Sugar released an album called "Yard Style" which contains uplugged versions of nine of their original songs, plus four previously unreleased songs.
The song "Police Bway A Vampire" appeared as a reworked electric version under the name "Universal Vampire" on their next studio album "Calling All The Youth", which was released in 2015 on Bread & Butter Records.
In May, 2017, two long time members, Kelly Hoppe and DJ Friendliness, left Big Sugar. Hoppe is now a freelancer, frequently performing live and in-studio with various artists, while Friendliness likes to concentrate full-time on his other band Human Rights. They were replaced by Ray Arteaga and Gordie Johnson's wife Alex.
Garry Lowe died of cancer on July 7, 2018.
All Hell For A Basement
Big Sugar Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I ain't worked for a while
Like some old tin can
From the bottom of the pile
From the bottom of the pile
I have lost my way
But I hear tell
Where they've got all hell for a basement
My words are like a rope
That's wrapped around my throat
Wash my mouth with soap
For words unfit to quote
I have lost my way
But I hear tell
About heaven in Alberta
Where they got all hell for a basement
I have lost my way
But I hear tell
About heaven in Alberta
Where they got all hell for a basement
And now I'm free to go
But time cannot remove
The only life I've known
Now only time will prove
Yes, only time will prove
If I have lost my way
'Cause I hear tell
About heaven in Alberta
Where they got all hell for a basement
Yeah, I have lost my way
But I hear tell
About heaven in Alberta
Where they got all hell for a basement
The song "All Hell for a Basement" by Big Sugar is a powerful and soulful song that speaks to the struggles of a working man who has hit rock bottom. The first stanza sets the tone, with the singer admitting he hasn't worked for a while and feeling like an old tin can from the bottom of the pile. This line is a metaphor for his sense of worthlessness and despair.
The chorus describes the singer's hope for a better life, a tale he hears about "heaven in Alberta" where they have "all hell for a basement." The phrase "all hell for basement" refers to the oil and gas deposits that lie deep beneath the earth's surface in the province of Alberta, Canada. These resources have brought great wealth to the region, but their acquisition has come at a steep price with extensive drilling, and oil sands processing has had severe environmental consequences. The singer's quest for something better, combined with the harsh reality of the oil industry, creates a powerful tension that speaks to the human condition.
The second stanza acknowledges the singer's own role in his troubles with the line "my words are like a rope that's wrapped around my throat," suggesting that his own actions have contributed to his plight. He recognizes that his words have been unfit to quote and that he needs to clean up his act. The singer's sense of hopelessness returns in the third verse, where he admits to being trapped by the only life he's known. The final lines acknowledge that the journey will be a long one; only time will tell if he can find his way forward.
Line by Line Meaning
I am a working man.
I am a man who works to make ends meet.
But I ain't worked for a while.
But lately, I have not had stable employment.
Like some old tin can.
Like a used and discarded object.
From the bottom of the pile.
From the very bottom of society, with little chance of upward mobility.
I have lost my way
I am struggling and directionless in life.
but I hear a tale. About heaven in Alberta
But I have heard about a place where things can be better, specifically in Alberta.
Where they got all hell for a basement.
Where the place may seem good on the surface, but underneath lies chaos and difficulty.
My words are like a rope.
My words have become a burden.
that's wrapped around my throat.
They are suffocating me.
Wash my mouth with soap.
I regret what I have said, and wish to cleanse myself of the things I've said.
For words unfit to quote.
For words that are too vulgar or harsh to repeat.
And now I'm free to go.
Now that I have run out of options, I am free to leave.
But time cannot remove.
But my past experiences and struggles will always be with me.
the only life I've known.
This is the only way of life I have ever experienced.
'Cause only time will prove,
Only time will tell if things will get better or not.
Yeah only time will prove.
Yes, only the passage of time can determine if things will improve.
But I hear a tale. About heaven in Alberta.
Despite this, I cling to the hope that things can be better, and I have heard stories of a better life in Alberta.
Where they got all hell for a basement.
Even though things may seem perfect on the surface, there are underlying troubles and hardships.
I have lost my way,
I am lost in life and directionless.
But I hear a tale. About heaven in Alberta.
But despite this, I still cling to the idea that there may be a better life in Alberta.
Where they got all hell for a basement.
However, even this seemingly perfect option has its own share of problems and challenges.
My words are like a rope.
My words have become a burden to me that are weighing me down.
that's wrapped around my throat.
They have choked and suffocated me to the point where I struggle to speak at all.
Wash my mouth with soap.
I wish to cleanse myself of the negative words and actions that have led me to this point.
For words unfit to quote.
For words that are too vulgar or negative to repeat.
I have lost my way,
I am lost and struggling to find my place in life.
But I hear a tale. About heaven in Alberta.
Despite my struggles and setbacks, I still hold onto the idea that there may be a better life for me in Alberta.
Where they got all hell for a basement.
Despite the initial appearance of safety and comfort, there are underlying challenges and issues that make things difficult.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Gordie Edmond Johnson, Patrick Joseph Ballantyne
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@thehollowedone5415
As an albertan blue collar worker I listen to this song all damn day while I'm welding or cutting or building blueprints love being a Canadian worker
@TheJakem24
Aussie carpenter here that spent a year working in Ottawa, mostly in the countryside scraping by. Couldn’t get enough of this song. It brings nostalgia to me and I feel like I had a small peak into how this song would resinate with the working class Canadian in a weird way. I’d love to hear it on our radio stations here.
@robit5728
Kingston k-rock plays this song from time to time every few weeks. There ua go baiy!
@alexalore1877
You should come visit the city this songs wiritten about look up medicine hat its quite the place with quite the history and a coal fire thats still burns to this day
@triedandtooth
A criminally underappreciated song. Glad to be part of this exclusive group of musically literate people though.
@justinhlisic762
Amen to that. 👍
@mikedelaney4055
Cap.
@j.o.productions9147
Word g on my mama no cap
@scottphillips2300
I love this song, I was driving up the trans can earlier in Alberta with this on full blast!!!
@thomasbodry4082
This is cap. If people don’t like this song that’s they’re choice not yours doesn’t make them illiterate dumb or with a poor taste of music. 9 time outta 10 people just haven’t heard of a song like this and will go to pop music or rap