Junkhouse guitarist dies
HAMILTON, Ont. — Dan Achen, former lead guitarist for the Hamilton rock band Junkhouse, has died of a suspected heart attack.
He was 51.
Achen, the owner of Catherine North recording studio in downtown Hamilton, was playing a game of pickup hockey with friends at Oakville’s Glen Abbey arena late Monday when he suddenly dropped to the ice.
Duke Foster, a sound engineer at Catherine North and one of Achen’s hockey teammates, said there were paramedics on the scene within minutes but they couldn’t revive him.
During the ’90s, Achen was a key part of the band Junkhouse, which scored international success with the hit Out of My Head.
Achen was part of a close knit crew of music industry insiders who had been getting together for the past 10 years to play a friendly game every Monday and Thursday.
“We realized we shared a love for both rock ’n’ roll and hockey and we quickly became friends,” said Andy Curran, a prominent artist manager with SRO Productions.
“Our most recent addition to the team was (former Canadian Idol contestant) Rex Goudie. Dan was slotted to produce Rex’s next record.”
Achen, originally from Regina, moved to Hamilton in 1981 and became part of the local music scene.
“He rode from Regina on his Kawasaki Ninja (motorcycle) all the way to Hamilton, recalled Junkhouse frontman Tom Wilson.
“He stopped at the Gown and Gavel and that’s where he met Colin Cripps. That’s basically how we all met him.”
Achen formed a band called the Go Devils living with Cripps, who is now a sought-after session guitarist for artists such as Bryan Adams. Eventually both would play together in Junkhouse. Achen was part of the wedding party when Cripps married internationally known singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards.
“Dan Achen was a fireball redhead and his personality was a pretty good match for that red hair,” recalls Edwards. “He was a great guitarist. He loved guitars.”
Several internationally known artists have recorded at Catherine North over the past 10 years, including Achen’s niece Feist. At a concert two years ago at Hamilton Place, the Grammy-nominated singer held up her favourite red guitar and proudly announced that it was a gift from “Uncle Dan.”
In 2008, Achen co-produced a Juno-winning album Bring Me Your Love, a solo project by Dallas Green of the platinum-selling rock band Alexisonfire.
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