by Richard Skelly » Sun Apr 01, 2018 12:49 am
Not much easily-Googable info on the Checkerlads. They apparently hailed from Regina. And were one of many up-and-coming bands stretching from Thunder Bay to Alberta that signed up with Gaiety Records.
Distributed by RCA Canada, Gaiety was a Canadian label controlled, in part, by the late Don Grashey. An intriguing chap, Grashey and then partners stumbled across a then-unknown Loretta Lynn who was taking Vancouver-area gigs while living in Custer Washington. The Grashey group formed Zero Records and booked Loretta into LA high-end studio Western Recorders.
Gaiety came later. Admired by garage-rock enthusiasts. Indeed, Gaiety artists rated two compilation CDs—with Grashey liner notes—for Pacemaker Entertainment. Volume 1 dropped in 1999; Volume 2 in 2003. The Checkerlads made the cut as did acts such as Lexington Avenue, Flying Colours, NRG, The Plague, Tomorrow’s Keepsake and The White Knights to name a few.