Stonebolt -

Stonebolt was a Canadian hard-rock band behind a 1978 album on Parachute, followed by three albums through 1982 on RCA Victor.

Members: Ray Roper (guitar, vocals), Dan “Danny” Atchison (bass), Brian Lousley (drums), David Jay Wills (vocals, 1973-?), John Webster (keyboards, 1973-?), Lewis Nitikman (keyboards)

Background

Stonebolt formed in 1973 in Vancouver when guitarist Ray Roper, bassist Dan Atchison, and drummer Brian Lousley renamed Perth Amboy, the band they started as North Vancouver schoolmates in the late 1960s. Perth Amboy played high-school dances and small Lower Mainland venues. The trio cycled through singers and keyboardists across the club circuit. Stonebolt added Seattle singer David Wills from Shaker and keyboardist John Webster in early 1976 to complete the five-man lineup.

The group built bar sets around Top 30 material and inserted one or two originals into each set. Lousley pushed Stonebolt toward bookings outside Vancouver, and the group crossed western Canada and the western United States. Stonebolt recorded demos in 1976 with producer Elliot Mazer in San Francisco. An extensive tour then left the band without a recording contract and nearly out of money. Stonebolt nearly split while backing a Vancouver disco singer.

Manager John Iuele approached Walter Stewart in 1977 when Johnny Rivers played the Zodiac Cabaret in Vancouver. Stewart administered Soul City for Rivers and planned a separate production company. Stonebolt recorded a four-track demo for Stewart in Vancouver, and the Ray Roper song “Sail On” drew Stewart’s interest. Stewart took the tape to Los Angeles and sent the group songs by Los Angeles writers.

Stonebolt cut another demo, and Walter Stewart Productions signed the group to a production agreement. Russ Regan finalized Parachute Records under a Casablanca distribution agreement. He offered Stonebolt a label deal that limited group originals to B-sides and album cuts. Stewart urged the band to accept and enlisted J.C. Phillips, whose production credits included Dave & Sugar. Stewart secured the Parachute contract for the debut album. Stonebolt entered Total Sounds West in Vancouver for sessions on the self-titled Parachute debut.

Discography:

Stonebolt (1978)
Keep It Alive (1979)
New Set of Changes (1980)
Juvenile American Princess (1982)

Sources

Marke Andrews, “Seven Years Later Stonebolt Is Making It,” The Music Scene, November–December 1978. Contemporary account of the North Vancouver school origins, Perth Amboy, personnel turnover, Top 30/original-song sets, “Sail On,” Stewart’s Los Angeles song pipeline, the second demo, the production agreement, and Total Sound sessions. (World Radio History)
Richard Skelly, “Stonebolt perseveres on Parachute,” RPM, June 3, 1978. Best source for John Iuele, Walter Stewart and Soul City, Russ Regan, the Casablanca distribution arrangement, Regan’s restriction on Stonebolt originals, Stewart’s publishing contacts, J.C. Phillips, and the Pacific Northwest booking network. (World Radio History)
“New Faces to Watch: Stonebolt,” Cash Box, September 2, 1978. Contemporary account of Lousley’s decision to tour outside Vancouver, the 1976 financial low point, the backing-band engagement, the Zodiac Cabaret, Johnny Rivers, Walter Stewart, and the demo taken to Regan. (World Radio History)
David Wills, statement to Pacific Northwest Bands, May 2002. Wills dates Perth Amboy to the late 1960s, the Stonebolt name to 1973, and his arrival with John Webster to early 1976. This is the clearest evidence against the current JRS 1973 dates for Wills and Webster. (PNW Bands)
David Wills correspondence reproduced by Vancouver Pop Music Signature Sounds. Wills states that Stonebolt played bars throughout the western states and provinces and recorded the 1976 San Francisco demos with Elliot Mazer. (Vancouver Pop Music Signature Sounds)
Ray Roper interview, Goldmine, February 2023. Roper identifies “Sail On” as the song that secured the deal, recalls the four-track Vancouver demo, and describes the subsequent outside-song demos. (Goldmine)
Original Stonebolt LP credits. The reproduced credits identify Walter Stewart as producer, J.C. Phillips as co-producer on three tracks, and Total Sounds West in Vancouver as the recording studio. (La Bible de la West Coast)