Harem Scarem

From Toronto to Japan

Harem Scarem formed in Toronto in 1987 around the guitarist Pete Lesperance and the singer Harry Hess, who had been in Blind Vengeance; the name came from a Bugs Bunny cartoon, and the drummer Darren Smith and the bassist Mike Gionet completed the first line-up. A demo issued on CD in 1990, unusual then, sold well and led to a deal with Warner. Harem Scarem (August 6, 1991) was produced by Kevin Doyle with the band, and its singles "Slowly Slipping Away" (Canada 25), "Love Reaction", "Honestly", "With a Little Love" and "Something to Say" followed. Honestly, with a video starring Judge Reinhold, was a large Canadian hit, and Wikipedia reports eight songs from the album were featured in Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High. Mood Swings (June 11, 1993) became popular in Japan, where the debut was later issued, and Voice of Reason followed on September 25, 1995, when Barry Donaghy replaced Gionet.

Karma Cleansing (1997) and Big Bang Theory (1998) were followed by two albums as Rubber, Rubber (1999) and Ultra Feel (2001), after Big Bang Theory did poorly; Creighton Doane replaced Smith around then. Weight of the World (2002) was the first for Frontiers and restored the name, followed by Higher (2003), Overload (2005), Human Nature (2006 or 2007) and Hope (2008), announced as the last. Doane said on the split, go out while it's not a complete mess and you're still making good music. Hess released Just Another Day (2003) and, with Smith, the Frontiers project First Signal.

They reunited at Firefest in October 2013 and released Mood Swings II (2013) and Thirteen (2014), then United (May 12, 2017), Change the World (March 4, 2020) and Chasing Euphoria (April 25, 2025), with a European tour in April and May 2025. The 14-CD box The Ultimate Collection appeared in 2019, and a Real Gone vinyl reissue of the debut in February 2023, its first North American vinyl pressing. Wikipedia counts over a million records sold, 16 studio albums including two as Rubber, and the band's own claim in 2017 was over a million records in 43 countries. Setlist.fm lists 131 setlists, mostly Canada and Japan, with Club Citta in Kawasaki the most frequent venue.