Eastside Confectionery Records are thrilled to welcome Sin City Boys to the family, especially as they celebrate 25 years of Rock n’ Roll! Sin City Boys were formed way back in 1992 by Kevin Jollimore and Gerard Popma. Bringing together influences from Hank Williams to The Rolling Stones with dashes of Gram Parsons, David Bowie, Spirit, Deep Purple and more, Sin City Boys have been delighting audiences across Toronto for a quarter century. During this successful (and continuing) run, they’ve recorded an impressive body of work, releasing 4 great albums in the process! Here at Eastside we’ve got big plans to re-release special 25 Year editions of each of these albums, and to ensure that all of their music is eventually available for all to enjoy online! We’ll also be digging deep into the archives to unearth previously unreleased and rare recordings from the bands extensive career … stay tuned!

To celebrate this important milestone (25 years!) as well as to welcome them to Eastside, we are dedicating this month’s podcast and playlist to none other than the Sin City Boys! Listen in as lead singer Kevin Jollimore and lead guitarist Gerard Popma walk us down memory lane and share with us how this great rock n’ roll journey began…

Kevin met Gerard in 1984 when Gerard was playing in the Toronto band “The Dice” and Kevin was busking on the corner of Yonge Street and Dundas. Both had moved from small towns to the “Sin City” to pursue their rock and roll dreams.
When Kevin and Gerard put together Sin City Boys, it was as a vehicle to play original music that the two had developed over many sessions with a four track tape recorder and a couple of guitars.

After countless gigs at The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern and across southern Ontario, and two successful CD releases, Kevin decided, in 2000, to refocus his musical energies, and Sin City Boys broke up. In 2003, after a chance phone call from an old fan, the guys decided to get back together, on a smaller scale, and play a one- off reunion gig. The gig went so well, they have reunited for good. The result is what we have today, the critically acclaimed, much beloved Sin City Boys, doing what they do best, for nothing other than the love of music.

And now in 2017, Sin City Boys begin their next chapter: things change, nothing stays the same, but rock n’ roll prevails! Kevin and his wife have pulled up stakes and moved back to Nova Scotia but his rock n’ roll heart still beats, and he’s busy re-establishing himself as an artist and performer in his childhood hometown. Sin City Boys live on, but now with a less frenetic pace, looking towards doing 4 ‘special event’ shows over the next year, and hoping to continue that trend as Kevin plans to make regular visits back to his beloved Toronto streets and barrooms. Gerard meanwhile has plans to sort through his massive catalog of written but un-recorded songs with an eye towards releasing an album (or two) of his own … and we here at Eastside are eager to help and be a part of that! So stay tuned! We’ve got much to share about the Sin City Boys in the coming months, and we’re working hard to get Gerard’s music out there as well! And Kevin’s always writing, and he’s got a few more tricks up his sleeve for sure, so we anticipate some more exciting news on that front as well!

So join us in saying “Congratulations!” to the Sin City Boys on 25 years of rock n’ roll!