Kate Fenner

Chris Brown and Kate Fenner were both founding members of the eight member Bourbon Tabernacle Choir, who formed for a battle of the bands appearance at the Masonic Temple in Toronto in 1985. The band was named after a dream that Chris Brown had. The Bourbon Tabernacle Choir played the club circuit in Toronto, and continued to release cassettes independently. In total, they released three recordings between 1987 and 1990; the last, Sister Anthony, was produced by the legendary Bob Wiseman, and was the one that got the band noticed. Because of their independent success, the independent label, Yonder picked them up and they released Superior Cackling Hen. They later released Shyfolk which would prove to be their last album as an entirety. The band decided to move to New York and try to make it there; this would prove to be their undoing. Chris Brown and Kate Fenner were the only band members to stick it out in the Big Apple. Both Chris Brown and Kate Fenner worked on side projects; Chris Brown collaborating with Tyler Stewart of Barenaked Ladies, and Gordie Johnson from Big Sugar to form Don't Talk...Dance! Kate Fenner appeared on Barenaked Ladies' Gordon, as well as the solo album of former Bourbon Tabernacle Choir member, Dave Wall. The two of them released their first album as a duo, Other People's Heavens in 1997. They toured extensively in support of the album. Chris Brown was called upon by the Barenaked Ladies to play keyboards for them when permanent band member Kevin Hearn fell ill. This was a great opportunity for Chris and Kate, who as a result got to open up for the Barenaked Ladies numerous times on tour. Geronimo is their second album as a duo. It was recorded in the fall of 1998 by Scott Harding at Orange Music in Orange, New Jersey. Tony Scherr (bass), Mike Mazor (drums) and Michael Blake (saxophones) support Chris Brown (vocals, keyboards) and Kate Fenner (vocals) on the album. Most of 1999 was spent touring to support Geronimo, which was released on their own label, b-music, and distributed in Canada by D.R.O.G.