theBUZZ
The Pursuit of Happiness are all adults now, and still performing – May 13/14, 2022 (Toronto)
Bryen Dunn
Anyone over the age of 40, and many younger than that, have heard the iconic anthem, I’m An Adult Now, by The Pursuit of Happiness. But, have you ever heard it performed live? If you were old enough to attend shows in the 1980s and 90s, then perhaps you did, but for those that weren’t you now have that opportunity. The band are putting on two shows at the legendary Lee’s Palace to help that venue celebrate their 37th anniversary of putting on great music shows here in Toronto.
Mark your calendars for May 13 and 14, 2022, and you might even want to attend both nights as there are different opening acts on each night, and set lists will also be different!
Read below for an short Q&A with longtime member (1988) Kris Abbott (guitarist/backing vocals), who also fronts her own musical duo, Kris and Dee, with life and music partner, Dee McNeil.
How many of the original founding members will be performing at the Lee’s Palace shows?
If you call Love Junk era the original members, then that would be Dave Gilby on drums, myself on guitar/backup vocals and Mr. Moe Berg. However, Brad Barker, our current bass player, actually joined the band in 1990 just after we recorded our second album One Sided Story and were about to go out on tour and promote it. What a great time! He has recorded every bass note since then so that is a pretty major history with us. Renee Suchy, our current backup singer, joined the band in about 1996. Our fans have been watching and making friends with our current lineup for a long time. Really long time LOL!
Can you recall how many times you have performed at Lee’s Palace in the past?
Oh gosh did we mention that TPOH has been playing shows since 1985? So no I can’t remember but let’s say MANY!! It is special and fun and beyond an honour to play to our fans at Lee’s. People jump on planes to come and hear these tunes. You can’t bring anything short of your best self to the stage! So we will.
What can fans expect in terms of classic hits, new material, and possible cover tunes?
We will definitely play the hits and our favourite tracks from all of our albums. Our songs are short so it is a launch pad of fun and ya, a lot of hits! When we played before Covid we were out doing a 30-year anniversary of Love Junk tour so the show was pretty focused on that album from start to finish with some other songs in and around that time. This show will be for the fans. We are trying to cover all of our albums and will play different material on both nights.
What sort of merch will be available at the shows?
We have T-shirts, vinyl and CDs. Really nice collectable packages. Actually we have a new T-shirt design for these shows and I am so excited to see it!
There’s a different opening act for each night. Can you tell me a bit about each and how they were chosen?
We always like to make a show that our audience will enjoy and given that it is Juno time, there are so many opportunities to share the stage with performers that are in town for the awards. So we opened the conversation up to see what was out there. Our management at TMT brought back these bands to look at. We are all really looking forward to how diverse these shows are.
Friday night will be the Command Sisters. A sister based band from Toronto that also lists some familiar influences connecting paths with TPOH to Todd Rundgren and Hall and Oats. The list of influences like Lenny Kravitz is long and really interesting. This will be a great opener. Love that the night has lots of female energy in the house! Kick ass energy to say the least!!
Saturday night will be Vox Rea. Also a sister based band. They refer to themselves as a noir pop band with beautiful strings and harmonies. TPOH loves harmony as you know and we also really like all kinds of pop so this will be a beautiful contribution to the show. Again another night with lots of female energy in the house. Harmonies harmonies harmonies!
For fans not in the GTA, are there plans to tour the show to other locations here in Canada, or beyond?
Yes we do have shows in Ontario this summer and fall. We have played Western Canada a few times on this run but not in the East. You never know though! You have to see TPOH while you can. We are taking it one day at a time and as long as it is fun and you can pay us, we will come to your town! But not forever LOL!
Then….
And Now….
The Pursuit of Happiness – May 13 and 14, 2022 – Lee’s Palace (529 Bloor St W, Toronto)
Kris and Dee Socials
About the Author
Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist with a focus on travel, lifestyle, entertainment and hospitality. He has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors and other public personalities. He enjoys discovering delicious eats, tasting spirited treats, and being mesmerized by musical beats.
