A jackpot of Guess Who material was found in a Winnipeg garage recently. Amongst the newly uncovered boxes of tapes are television performances, live recordings and rehearsal tapes that could hold unfinished and unreleased songs from the legendary Canadian rock band.
Luckily, local music scene veteran Tom Kowalsky was able to save the boxes of Can-con history before they hit the dumpster. They had originally been given to an employee of the band, who eventually stored them at his sister and brother-in-law's place, Canadian Press reports. More than 10 years later, they were ready to throw them out — until Kowalsky came to the rescue.
He cleared them out of the garage and donated them to the St. Vital Museum, which features prominent Winnipeg music memorabilia.
The small museum is in for a big day next weekend, when the found tapes will be played for the first time. Even former Guess Who guitarist Dale Russell is planning to attend, and he is bringing an ADAT player so that the museum can play some of the obsolete formats found, CP reports.
In addition to ADAT audio tapes, DAT, 24-track and large-format Beta video cassettes were also found among the boxes.
There are reportedly labels on the tapes dating from 1971 until 1996, including master tapes from studios and tour performances. There's even a tape marked "Brave Belt," the name of the band Randy Bachman formed after leaving the Guess Who, but before forming Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
It's unclear what condition the tapes will be in, though Kowalsky told the Canadian Press that he's hopeful something worthwhile will be salvaged.
"What more could you hope for than you look at the display in the St. Vital Museum of all the Guess Who stuff and you're actually able to put some headphones on and listen to at least one song that we saved," he said.
Luckily, local music scene veteran Tom Kowalsky was able to save the boxes of Can-con history before they hit the dumpster. They had originally been given to an employee of the band, who eventually stored them at his sister and brother-in-law's place, Canadian Press reports. More than 10 years later, they were ready to throw them out — until Kowalsky came to the rescue.
He cleared them out of the garage and donated them to the St. Vital Museum, which features prominent Winnipeg music memorabilia.
The small museum is in for a big day next weekend, when the found tapes will be played for the first time. Even former Guess Who guitarist Dale Russell is planning to attend, and he is bringing an ADAT player so that the museum can play some of the obsolete formats found, CP reports.
In addition to ADAT audio tapes, DAT, 24-track and large-format Beta video cassettes were also found among the boxes.
There are reportedly labels on the tapes dating from 1971 until 1996, including master tapes from studios and tour performances. There's even a tape marked "Brave Belt," the name of the band Randy Bachman formed after leaving the Guess Who, but before forming Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
It's unclear what condition the tapes will be in, though Kowalsky told the Canadian Press that he's hopeful something worthwhile will be salvaged.
"What more could you hope for than you look at the display in the St. Vital Museum of all the Guess Who stuff and you're actually able to put some headphones on and listen to at least one song that we saved," he said.
