Bernie LaBarge

Bernie LaBarge (born March 11, 1953) is a Canadian performing and session guitarist, an award-winning singer and songwriter, and producer, who has gone on tour and made recordings with Canadian and international artists.

As a result, another essential part of LaBarge's “modus operandi” was learning from the mentors he was fortunate to encounter: “The Mandala was the first live band I ever saw, and guitarist Domenic Troiano and the band changed my life." ‘Donnie’ was one of the leading proponents of the unique ‘Toronto sound’—full of the blues, rock and a lot of soul. Troiano's previous band The Rogues had opened for the Rolling Stones in 1966 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, and the legend-in-the-making became influential to LaBarge in many ways. So, a big turning point was moving to Toronto. “I wanted to be the small fish in a big pond, just to see if I could cut it,” confesses LaBarge.

The first band he formed in Toronto was Stingaree, and he used another key element of his “MO”—he strived to be the worst guy in the band, explaining: “I knew what I wanted to see; dual guitars, endless solos, playing covers and originals.

So, I went about putting together a dream band.

I scouted good players, and I coaxed them to quit their bands.

I bought a truck, and had an agent lined up.

In the process, I had a motto—I strived to be worst guy in the band.

I have always looked for situations where I would be challenged on stage by players who made me play to the best of my ability.

Players who also forced me to push the envelope, and Stingaree certainly accomplished that.

It was the best way to improve.”

In a wide-ranging career that began in 1967, LaBarge signed with WEA Records and released a single entitled "Dream Away" in 1981.

He began playing professionally in 1967, and then during the 1970s into the early 1980s, young LaBarge toured with various bands as a guitarist/frontman.

He enjoyed the thrill of being on the road and especially accomplishing something by reaching out to people in performance.

But he'd never wanted to be a rock star, suggesting, “I have an ego, but it goes in another direction.

It's more about listen to me as opposed to watch me.” So, the last years of the 1970s saw him start to segue into an area he had always wanted, session and studio work.

He recalls that as a kid, while he was learning to play guitar along with records, he thought he'd like to be a session guy.

Especially when he listened to best-selling compilation records from K-tel International (based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada), which often featured re-recordings of original hits.

And, young LaBarge had thought he could do better.

“Dream Away” was one of the most-played songs of 1981, and still receives extensive airplay.

Along the way, LaBarge has been the guitarist/front man for popular performing acts like Rain, Sweet Blindness, Zwol, Stem, Stingaree, The Irish Rovers, Cassandra Vasik, The Dexters, and the George Olliver band.

He has recorded and toured with a wide range of talent like The Irish Rovers, Doug Riley, Ian Tyson, David Clayton-Thomas, Rhinoceros, and Long John Baldry.

And, he has proudly performed with Hall of Famers Domenic Troiano, Ronnie Hawkins, John Kay, John Sebastian, David Cassidy, and Rush’s Alex Lifeson.

LaBarge earned a Canadian Juno Award nomination in 1984 for Most Promising Male Vocalist for his album, “Barging In” on the Sony label.

Then, LaBarge won the Canadian Songwriting Contest in 1986 (Best R&B Song category).

His song "Dream Away" was produced by famous producer Daniel Lanois.

LaBarge kicked off yet another decade in 2020 by rocking a reunion of the much beloved band, The Dexters, who were originally founded in 1994 in Toronto.

And, fellow guitarist Alex Lifeson, whose legendary Canadian band Rush were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, says of his pal's career: "Bernie is my brother. We've shared so many happy, fun times together doing what we both love most. I have learned from his guitar playing and I think it's made me a fuller player. His sense of rhythm and dynamics is a strong suit I admire."

LaBarge was born in Ottawa, Ontario, also home to two other musical giants: Canadian Hall of Fame singer/songwriter Paul Anka and multiple Grammy-winning rocker Alanis Morissette.

His family then moved to Burlington, Ontario, and he grew up in a musically inclined house, listening to everything from show tunes to Motown.

While he dropped music lessons after six months, something else inspired him, explaining, “When the Beatles and the British Invasion came around, I'd hang around a record store, Music Village in Burlington, and learned guitar from listening to records.

That store shaped who I am.

Much of that time—Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘10,000-Hour Rule’—was spent alone in my parents’ basement with a record player and a guitar.” He quips, “I'm the proud owner of hundreds of heavily scratched vinyl records!”

Most noteworthy, his real inspiration was seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show with hundreds of girls screaming.

He recalls, “I was no different than a million other guys when I saw The Beatles— the band blew our minds.

But my desire to become a musician was really George Harrison’s fault.

I loved the way he hung back and played all the interesting parts—a guitar solo and the little licks here and there.

That's when I knew I wanted to be a guitarist and make a career of it.

Even though I'd never picked up a guitar, I wanted to be just like George Harrison.”

Similarly, like The Beatles to Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Jack White today, LaBarge was mostly self-taught, and was fortunate to have a musical ear and good hand/eye coordination.

On top of that, from that day he saw Harrison and visualized becoming a working musician, LaBarge stuck to a plan—his modus operandi