Todd Kerns (vocals, guitar)
John Kerns (bass)
Ryan Dahle (guitar)
Kurt Dahle (drums)
Todd Kerns started out back in the 80's with a band called the Wicked Infants. The band changed their name to the Infants and performed around the Saskatoon area playing cover tunes by Platinum Blonde and Honeymoon Suite along with a handful of original songs.
After the Infants, Todd Kerns joined another cover band called Bladerunner, but it amounted to nothing. He moved to Calgary in 1989 and began writing songs (some of which would end up on the first AOE release).
Brother John Kerns formed a band called Tremor and also played with an early line-up of the Infants. John Kerns went on to play with some Saskatoon musicians during mid-1988.
The core of the Kerns brother and another set of siblings - Kurt and Ryan Dahle - assembled as Electric in 1989 to play a lot of LA glam era covers. At gigs they sold a 5-song cassette which included early versions of future AOE songs "Aphrodisiac Smile" and "Rapid City".
The name Electric sounded derivative of the hardrock genre so they changed their name to The Age of Electric and released 1991's 'The Latest Plague' which included remakes of "Aphrodisiac Smile" and "Rapid City".
The Derek Horn indie video for "Aphrodisiac Smile" attracted the interest of mega-producer Bob Rock who attached his distinctive style to five songs.
Then nothing. Lack of response to 'Latest Plague', no record deal prospects and tenuous management left the Bob Rock recordings and the fate of the band in limbo. The group drifted for most of 1993 until they could scrape together enough money to press the 'Ugly' EP in 1994 on their own. It sold well, independently, but the band was having a hard time keeping up with the demands to press the record and digging up cash to do so. The band hooked up with Tim Law at Cargo in 1994 to distribute the EP and the title track debuted on the Canadian album charts at #73.
New York based Invasion Group Management took control of their affairs and a promotional push finally got the band video airplay on MuchMusic with the song 'Ugly'. Still, no major label deal was forthcoming and the band decided to continue as they had before and record another independent LP called 'Untitled'.
1995 saw AOE showcasing at Music West in Vancouver where they were spotted by Ed Eckstein and Peter Lubin of Mercury Records who promptly signed them to a worldwide deal and re-issued 'Untitled' as 'The Age Of Electric'. The band won a Canadian Rock Award for 'Best West Coast Independent Artist'.
In March 1998, the band was nominated for "Best New Group" at the Juno Awards.
The Dahle brothers have been moonlighting in another band called Limblifter who also achieved a major label deal through Universal Records since 1996. Age Of Electric became dormant in the summer of 1998, until the Dahle Brothers could fulfill their Limblifter obligations. Age Of Electric was seen touring once again in 1999 opening large stadium shows for Our Lady Peace.
Singles
Albums
1990 Electric [cassette] (God's Teeth Ethel!)
1991 The Latest Plague (God's Teeth Ethel!)
1994 Ugly EP (God's Teeth Ethel!)
1995 Untitled (God's Teeth Ethel!/Ugly)
1995 The Age Of Electric [re-issue of 'Untitled'] (Mercury)
1997 Make A Pest A Pet (Universal)
Video
1991 Aphrodisiac Smile
1991 Damned [as yet unreleased]
1994 Ugly
1994 Untitled
1995 Enya
1997 I Don't Mind
1997 Don't Wreck It
1997 Remote Control
Compilation Tracks
Submit corrections, additions and feedback
