Information/Write-up
Anvil Chorus was a short-lived but powerful chapter in Vancouver’s evolving soul-rock underground. Best remembered as a continuation of Jason Hoover & The Epics, Anvil Chorus marked a significant creative evolution for frontman Jayson Hoover and his bandmates—Jim Harmata (guitar), Bob Kidd (bass), Bill Gibson (keyboards), and Dave McPhail (drums). With a name reflecting a sharpened edge and a shift toward heavier, guitar-driven sounds, the group fused gritty soul with psychedelic blues and West Coast rock experimentation.
The band originally formed in 1967, rising from the ashes of The Epics—a popular Vancouver R&B outfit that featured former members of The Vykings and saxophonist Gunther Klaus. Anvil Chorus quickly established itself as a force in the city’s shifting musical landscape, releasing a series of singles on Tom Northcott’s New Syndrome label. Their live sets blended the passion of soul with the raw power of rock, drawing inspiration from acts like Sly & The Family Stone, Santana, and early Led Zeppelin (whom Hoover would open for in 1968 at the Pacific Coliseum).
Despite their increasing momentum, the band underwent another transformation in 1968. Hoover, Harmata, and Kidd rebranded as The Trials of Jayson Hoover, incorporating a more overtly psychedelic and socially conscious approach. Yet some of the heavier sonic textures first explored under the Anvil Chorus name would carry through.
As the Trials project dissolved around 1970, Hoover released a final single—“Freedom Train”—under the Anvil Chorus name. A driving anthem with themes of liberation and determination, the track reflected Hoover’s deepening personal and political vision. Though it didn’t chart nationally, it has since become a cult favorite among collectors of Canadian psych-soul.
Ultimately, the Anvil Chorus name faded as its members moved into new projects: Hoover began a celebrated solo career on Mushroom Records, while Harmata and Kidd co-founded the prairie rock band Scrubbaloe Caine in 1971. The trio would reunite once again in 1977 as R&B Delivery, and the original Epics line-up would stage a special reunion at Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom in 2001, just a year after Bob Kidd’s untimely passing.
Though fleeting, Anvil Chorus remains a fascinating bridge in Jayson Hoover’s career—an ambitious, genre-blending experiment that helped pave the way for Canadian soul, funk, and psych-rock crossovers in the decades that followed.
-Robert Williston
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