By Liam O’Connor

Fifty years after Heat Exchange’s music fell flat, the band was revived and has a new wave of fans who are finally ready for the progressive-rock group’s sound.

Craig Carmody, who played horns for Heat Exchange, was signed along with the rest of the Scarborough, Ont., band to Arc Sound. They were told this was the largest record deal in Canadian history at the time and were put in one of the finest recording studios in Toronto.

“It was like a day job,” said Carmody. “We went to the studio every day, from nine till five and worked on material for the album. They paid us a meager salary, which at the time was like a gift from the gods, that was, you know, weird getting paid to do what we love to do.” 

The band released the single “Can You Tell Me” and it was a hit that got played all over Canada, but it wasn’t quite as successful as the label had hoped, so they wanted another one. However, unable to make another commercial hit, Heat Exchange was back on the road and the deal was dead.

“I was actually the first to decide to leave Heat Exchange.” said Carmody.

With marriage and family on the horizon, Craig decided it was time to give up on the dream and find a more stable means of income.

A similar case happened to a 1970’s Regina band, Wascana. They were on the cusp of making it big, but struggled to get the attention of big recording companies because of their progressive style of music.

It’s often thought that Wascana suffered because of their heavy material which was often criticized for going over people’s heads and resulted in mixed reviews.

Fast-forward 45 years, after the master-reels of the album spent years on the shelf, Craig’s son, Kyle, posted the hit single on YouTube. 

“Next thing you know, we were offered from this Spanish record company, ‘We’re interested in releasing the album.’ So, we said, ‘Sure,’ ” said Craig.

Kyle Carmody always wanted people to hear his dad’s music and thought they could’ve made it big.

“It just feels good for me to be able to contribute to making my dad understand how good his music actually was.” said Kyle.

Now the album that was shelved for years, called Reminiscence, is finally getting praise online.

On the social media site Reddit, the post has garnered a lot of attention and has hundreds of comments inquiring on the origins of the band.

“It feels like it was a part of his life that always should have been there, but he sacrificed it for his family, because there just wasn’t time,” said Kyle. “So, that kind of chokes me up a little bit thinking about that, that he kind of sacrificed a lot of that.”

Craig may have sacrificed a chance at fame, but he doesn’t regret his decision. He also expressed that he is happy with new and young fans who are enjoying his music from the 70’s.

“I certainly have no regrets in terms of, you know, my three sons and the other opportunities that I’ve pursued since then.” said Craig.

The members of the band are now scattered across Canada, but are getting together via Zoom to discuss the recent popularity and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of when they first recorded their hit single.

“We’ve just spent so much time together, that just trying to catch up on what’s transpired for each of us in the last 45 to 50 years, it takes up a lot of time,” said Craig. “We’re reminiscing about the good old days when we were all together. So, it’s really fun.”