I Mother Earth was first started to take shape in 1990 after two brothers from Peterborough, Jagori and Christian Tanna, moved to Toronto to pursue music. After meeting Edwin through a mutual studio acquaintance they recorded a demo with bassist Franz Massini. After only a dozen or so shows the labels came calling and the band quickly signed a deal with Capitol records worldwide. After temporarily relocating to Los Angeles to record with Mike Clink (Guns & Roses), Franz was fired from the band and replaced with Bruce Gordon., who had rehearsed in the same building with them in his previous band Rocktopus.
Even before they released their debut album, Dig, in the summer of 1993, I Mother Earth had already crisscrossed both Canada and the United States several times building a strong grassroots following with their dynamic live performances. During the summer, IME left for Europe to tour the festival circuit. The countries they performed in included Denmark, Sweden, England, Germany, Holland, Belgium, France and Italy. After returning home in the fall, they continued their relentless touring for well over a year taking them right up until the end of 1994.
In January of 1995, after taking a whole week off, IME commenced songwriting for their second album. Over the summer they began working with Paul Northfield (Rush, Hole, Ozzy, Geezer Butler), who co-produced the album with Jag. The album was recorded in Toronto throughout the fall, using mostly their own recording equipment and mixed over December and January at Studio Morin Heights in Quebec.
Scenery & Fish was released in the spring of 1996. Eager to get back on the road and play for their fans, I Mother Earth began their non-stop touring schedule anew with a barrage of coast-to-coast tours across North America. Success for the band was at its highest as IME began to exceed double platinum sales. However, tensions within the band were growing and led to a mutual split with singer Edwin. They agreed to finish off touring with a cross Canada Edgefest tour before they parted ways.
After almost a year of searching for a new singer, I Mother Earth finally discovered Brian Byrne through a mutual friend, Neil Busby, who had played with Brian in a band called Claven. With renewed vigour, IME dug in their heels and commenced writing for their third album. As winter began to settle in, IME once again enlisted Paul Northfield to co-produce the album with Jag at the helm. They returned once more to Studio Morin Heights where Christian began cutting drums for Blue Green Orange. The rest of the album was recorded at Stigsound, the band's own recording studio in Toronto.
David Bottrill was the band's choice to mix the album. Bottrill had previously worked such diverse artists as Tool, Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, Godsmack, Mudvayne and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. He seemed an appropriate choice to handle the band's complex sound.
The new I Mother Earth wasted no time in introducing Brian to the world with the new single Summertime In The Void. The song showcased Brians vocal talents and the video captured his dynamic and energetic presence. IME took back to the road once again and Brian won over the majority of existing fans and helped bring some new ones into the fold. In only a matter of months, BGO was certified gold in Canada.
After returning home from the exhaustive world tour schedule of Blue Green Orange, I.M.E. immediately began work on their last album, The Quicksilver Meat Dream. Several songs in, not satisfied with the initial direction of the writing process, the band decided to shift focus and start from scratch. The result is a powerful album, which concentrates more on the darker and heavier aspect of the band's sound. Having had such a positive experience working with him on BGO, IME asked David Bottrill back again but this time to produce the whole album with Jag. All the recording was done in Toronto and the bands own studio and mixed by Bottrill at the Warehouse in Vancouver.
IME once again hit the road in support of theQMD but after a year they decided to take a hiatus to pursue different projects. There are currently no plans for anything new as a band but individually they all continue their own musical endeavours.
Bruce has recently married and relocated to Orlando, Florida to open up a new Blue Man Group show. In the past few years he has been a co-founder of the live electro-groove project, Ostrich, and been a part of the instrumental spy-go-go-surf-noir trio Experiment In Terror. For more information on this and his other musical projects visit the Bruce Gordon MySpace page.
Brians solo album has been released and his solo career is taking off. For more info visit the Brian Byrne MySpace page.
Jag continues to write and produce with other bands and Christian has been promoting live music events with his company Mobscene. Recently the two brothers have started their own record label/production/management company The Upper Left Side.
And Edwin is releasing another solo record. Information can be found on the Edwin MySpace page.
This profile was edited with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4
