The Yohawks:


From Boys to Men!


By JIM HURCOMB The release of a single called “Up, Up,


and Away” in 1967 was a good news/bad news situation. For the American vocal band The Fifth Dimension, it was their stepping stone to international stardom. For Ottawa’s Fifth Dimension, it meant a name change. With their own debut single already in the can, for our Fifth Dimension it was a no brainer. Fans already called them the 5 D, so The 5 D it would be. Flash forward 45 years to a Tim Horton’s


on Bank Street. The core members of the 5 D are older, wiser and having a great time in their second coming as “The Yohawks”. But there are still lots of smiles when they remember their days as Ottawa’s first “Boy Band”. Keith Richardson: “We had a strong following with the ladies, thanks to our suits and clean-cut look. We were all about harmony and snappy dressing, just like the Boy Bands that came later”. Dave Poulin, Brian Bradfield, Brad Campbell


and Keith Richardson are a bit reticent in talking about “those days”, but more than eager to dwell on the current success of the Yohawks. Dave: “There was no satisfaction for me doing the old material and covers. The last thing we were going to do was call ourselves the 5 D, because we wanted to have a new start. Now it’s all about the original material”. A good chunk of that new material can be


heard on their debut album “MPH”, and more coming on the follow-up due for release soon. The genesis of the Yohawk project is familiar


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to musicians of a certain age. It was watching the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show in February 1964 that led high school buddies to form a rock and roll band. Then came the singles, the chart success


across the country, and packed gigs at local spots like Pineland, Lakeside Gardens, Parkdale United Church and, of course, the high schools. There were opening gigs for Wilson Pickett, the Troggs and the Who. In fact, The Who gig at the brand new Civic Center in 1968 was the last gig for the 5 D. Dave: “We broke up because it was time, and it felt like we’d be doing it for a very long time, when, in fact, the whole thing only lasted for about two years”. It was Brian’s idea to get back together


informally and jam in his basement. That evolved into kicking around new tunes that the guys had been working on individually. Once the train got rolling it was impossible to stop. Dave had a studio and a vision. He wanted horns! Brad: “When the horns came in, all of a sudden this whole new thing was born, and now we can’t play without them.” The addition of the horns sounds great on


record, but live it does cause problems. Booking a four piece band playing new material is hard enough these days, but throw in a five-piece horn section and it’s a challenge to find live gigs. But when they do come, they are well worth the wait. Live, the Yohawks have forged a solid rep as one of the city’s best draws.


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So that’s the future for the


Yohawks: working on new material, recording and playing when they can. It’s not a hectic schedule, but it is a satisfying one. After all, these men aren’t boys any more.


So what’s a Yohawk, anyway? When choosing a name for the


band, the guys wanted to get as far away as possible from the bubble-gum image of the 5 D. They chose “The Yohawks” and they chose well. In the late 60s Ottawa had its own


version of the British teen gangs “The Mods” and “The Rockers”, portrayed so well in the film version of the Who’s Quadrophenia. “The Squirrels” had the greasy


hair, jet boots and jean jackets of “The Rockers”, while “The Yohawks” sported a more “Mod” look with desert boots or sneakers, paisley shirts and sharper pants. While the Mods and Rockers


made headlines for their many seaside brawls in Britain, nobody can really remember a full out punch-up here in Ottawa, despite several rumoured encounters, and some taunting, at local shopping plazas. Still, the Yohawks and Squirrels can lay claim to being Ottawa’s first street gangs.


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