Time for a few more tidbits from the press. Here are some excerpts from the Edmonton Journal and the Winnipeg Free Press.
The Journal for Thursday, November 16, 1995, had an article by Shawn Ohler titled "Jr. picks Trolls' Messiah for gig finale":
Local legends Jr. Gone Wild will play their last ever Edmonton gig this Saturday in a reprise of last year's wacky theatre hit The Messiah.Mike McDonald's country-rock crew, which officially broke up earlier this month, will co-star in the one-night-only Christmas play with local comedy troupe Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie and local musicians/performers Scott Wicken, Jason Kodie and Crystal Hanson.
[...]
Jr. Gone Wild, which McDonald started 13 years ago and seemingly featured a roster of thousands over the years, played its last rock show Oct. 27 in Calgary and broke up soon after.
``We broke up, then we didn't, then we did, then we didn't. It was just demoralizing. After we did the Messiah thing, (bassist and long-term band member) Dove figured that would be it for good,'' McDonald said recently.
``I wanted to keep it going, but then I thought, `How can I keep it going without Dove in the band?' -- and that was pretty much it.''
McDonald, Dove and drummer Larry Shelast figured they'd scrap the band after the Edmonton Messiah gig and two performances of the show in Winnipeg later this month.
The Messiah will have Jr. Gone Wild and the other five cast members poking some serious fun at the old birth-of-baby-Jesus story.
For example, Mary is abducted -- and somehow impregnated -- by aliens, who want to ensure The Messiah has an adequate genetic code, or something.
Sound like blasphemy? McDonald insists with a laugh that it's not
``We had some clerics come to the last year's show. One, an Anglican priest, I think, said he really liked it. A couple of rabbis came too. They said they wouldn't recommend it to their congregations because of the show's profanity, but they said there wasn't a theological problem with it.
``I did get a call from someone who said I was going to hell and I'm still waiting for that to happen. The band's last tour did come pretty close, though.''
Peter North wrote a piece for the November 3 Journal about the breakup of Edmonton bluegrass band Jerusalem Ridge:
``I don't know exactly what's going to happen,'' says the Ridge's guitarist, vocalist Dave Wright.[...]
A superb honky-tonk singer as well, Wright mentioned one possibility that he wants to check out.
``Now that Jr. Gone Wild is history as well, it looks as though Mike McDonald and I are finally going to find the time to toss a few ideas around. We've wanted to swap some ideas for quite a while now,'' concluded Wright.
The Wright-McDonald collaboration sounds like a fine idea and, who knows, maybe we'll have a real country/rock band calling Edmonton home for the first time in years.
Jennine Profeta of the Winnipeg Free Press reviewed Messiah on Monday, November 27, 1995.
PEOPLE OF many faiths came together for the production of The Messiah at the Walker Theatre last weekend, some for diversion and others in protest.While two religious groups asserted their beliefs outside Friday night, other Winnipeggers went indoors to check out Alberta's revamped Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie, the popular troupe that Manitobans at one time hailed as the deities of Canadian comedy.
Their new two-hour show, performed in collaboration with Edmonton band Jr. Gone Wild, is a musical exploration of the Bible's most famous parents, Mary and Joseph, and the emotional and physical journey that took place en route to the birth of the Christ child. The result is Abbott and Costello meet Andrew Lloyd Webber.
The story opens with veteran Troll member Wes Borg, who is credited with writing most of the script and stars as one of three wise guys, encountering shepherds roasting their matzo balls outdoors. Borg joins the group and, together with the rest of the cast, relates their version of the infamous Biblical tale.
Seasoned Troll member Joe Bird and newcomer Crystal Hanson give fine performances as Joseph and Mary, two sweethearts happily and innocently in love until the young virgin conceives a child by aliens one night in a dream.
The story is set to an impressive musical score performed by the four member band Jr. Gone Wild, who also double as supporting characters.
The music provided the highlights of the show, featuring a calypso number done by the Up With Bethlehem welcoming trio as well as a number of duets sung by the ideally cast, heavenly voices of Hanson and Bird.
[....]
If you noticed the surprise revelation in the above articles, well, I'm waiting for Mike to write an official statement. He's been a bit busy with Messiah among other things. Stay tuned....
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