Where Are They Now – TPOH (The Pursuit Of Happiness)

In 1985 Moe Berg(vocals, guitar) and Dave Gilby(drums) moved from Edmonton to Toronto. They met Johnny Sinclair(bass) and sisters Tam & Tasha Amabile(background vocals). They released a 12″ single and a low budget video of their first song I’m An Adult Now.

The song was re-recorded and an album was put together called Love Junk(produced by Todd Rundgren). This album was their biggest selling album, selling Platinum in Canada, and making the charts in many other countries around the world. They were nominated for Breakthrough Artist and Best Video at the 1987 Juno’s. It was a sad time for Canadian music, as they lost to Frozen Ghost and The Parachute Club. Blech!!

The next album One Sided Story (also produced by Todd Rundgren) had some hits, including this one.

The band released their 3rd album, The Downward Road. Sales had declined, and after this point they were dropped by their major label. Not before they released this gem though.

Their fourth album Where’s The Bone featured a truly Canadian anthem about hockey.

They released one final album. However, they have never officially broken up. They have done some one off songs over the years. One of my favourites was Edmonton Block Heater. This song has a much harder edge. It’s a raw song that was the opposite of their previous efforts. It was featured on the cd A Tribute To Hard Core Logo. This cd has a bunch of one-offs by a number of well known bands. I suggest to pick this one up ( and also watch the movie Hard Core Logo).

There have been numerous line up changes throughout the years. Here is the list:

The most recent lineup:

Moe Berg (lead vocals, lead guitar)
Dave Gilby (drums)
Kris Abbott (vocals, guitars)[joined 1988]
Brad Barker (bass, vocals) [joined 1990]
Renee Suchy (vocals)[joined 1996]

The alumnae (one alumnus):

Johnny Sinclair (bass, vocals) [left 1990]
Tam Amabile (vocals) [left in 1988]
Tasha Amabile (vocals) [left in 1988]
Leslie Stanwyck (vocals) [joined 1989; left 1990]
Susan Murumets (vocals) [touring in 1990 only]
Rachel Oldfield (vocals) [joined in 1992; left 1995]
Jennifer Foster (vocals) [joined in 1995; left 1996]

Moe Berg lives in Toronto with his wife and 2 young children. His wife runs a successful home run business. Moe continues to make music. He works as a DJ, record producer, music writer and author.

Moe has his own blog site at moeberg.ca. One thing I thought was a great read was his post entitled The Contract. Read it here

Dave Gilby has continued to be a member of TPOH, as well working again with Tam and Tasha Amabile in the group Daughters Of Eve.

Kris Abbott lives in Kingston, Ontario and performs under the band name Kris & Dee.

Brad Barker went back to college and studied broadcasting. He is now an on air personality on Jazz FM91 in Toronto.

Renee Suchy moved back to Edmonton to raise a family, but is still involved in music. She is in a band with her 2 sisters named The Ambers.

Johnny Sinclair and Leslie Stanwyck formed their own band called Universal Honey. To date they have released 7 albums.

Susan Murumets got a degree in psychotherapy and opened her own practice. She continues to perform however under the band name The Cocktail Shakers.

Rachel Oldfield was also in the Canadian band Parachute Club, and is on the Board Of Directors for the Radio Starmakers Fund.

Jennifer Foster has continued to make music and has also delved into acting.

An interesting read from a fellow blogger at Jaded and Elated featured TPOH. Read it here

The band did a reunion show in 2014 that I found out about too late, but I will keep my eyes open for another one. If they ever do reform, I will be the first in the ticket line.

This was a group post. For others check out:

Gin Blossoms- 1001albumsin10years

Tonic – mikeladano.com

The Refreshments – keepsmealive

Paul Laine – StickItInYourEar

Crash Test Dummies – KMA