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They landed a deal with Polydor the next year and flew to New York to record their first album with producer Mark Smith. While in The Big Apple, the rock-Gods were smiling. Legendary guitarist Tommy Bolin (James Gang, Deep Purple) happened to be in the studios and ended up working with them on the record. The eponymous debut was released that summer, with "Fantasy" as the first single. When they returned to Toronto they recruited Buddy Caine as a second guitarist and in no time at all they'd become regulars on the Ontario bar circuit, quickly gaining a reputation as a no-nonsense, to-the-bones rock band. MOXY II came out a year later and spawned the hit single "Take It Or Leave It". Their simple and blunt approach to music earned them several 'hot tour pockets', including Texas - where they travelled with Triumph - another Dixie-land fave.
But by the time they were on the road in support of '77's RIDIN' HIGH, Shearman's on-again off-again throat problems resulted in him having to quit the band after the tour. He would try his luck afterwards on his own with Buzzsaw. But the nagging problems also kept him from replacing the deceased Bon Scott in AC/DC. He would later do a duet with Lee Aaron on her solo debut called "Texas Outlaw". Moxy would go on - recruiting Mike Rynowski on vocals. Shearman regrouped with Juric, Caine, Bilan and new guitarists Woody West and Doug MacAskill (ex of the big-band version of The Stampeders) for the early part of the '80's while shopping around for a new record deal. But tragedy struck in 1983 when Shearman died in a motorcycle accident. His wife Valerie was an executive with the indie label Ahed Records and spearheaded a tribute album to her late husband in '84. Caine, Juric, and Bilan formed Voodoo while ex-drummer Bill Wade had earlier formed the short-lived Bongo Fury with Goddo's Gino Scarpelli. Both groups had songs featured on the El Mocambo Records compilation called TORONTO CALLING. A greatest hits compilation called SELF DESTRUCTION was released in '95 on Pacemaker Records. Containing material from the first 3 albums, it also featured the Buddy Caine Band's "Feed The Fire", written in tribute to Shearman. Johnson & Caine weren't doing a whole lot near the end of the decade, so along with original drummer Bill Wade, they added vocalist Brian Maxim, who'd worked with Caine in Voodoo. They decided to give another kick at the cat, releasing MOXY V in 2000. Recorded at Wade's home studio and self-produced, it very much captured the essence of Moxy - wicked guitar riffs heavy on the blues, a thunderous backbeat and a shrieking vocalist. Tragedy struck Moxy once again however, when Wade succumbed to cancer in 2001. Nonetheless, revamped interest in classic rock landed them a deal with Bullseye Records, home to MANY Canadian classic acts, who promptly re-released MOXY V two years after its original release, including two live tracks previously unavailable. Inspired by the renewed interest, the band carried on - recruiting new drummer Kim Hunt, ex of Zon & Urgent. Hunt's rhythm partner in Zon - bassist Jim Samson also joined the troops for MOXY RAW. The band's first full live album hit the stores in 2002, serving up a healthy 16 track dose of what was always considered the band's strongest point - the energy and electricity of their live show. Maxim left the group in 2003 but the void wasn't long-lived. Alex Machin, original vocalist for classic act A Foot In Cold Water picked up the microphone shortly after. Though he wasn't in the camps long, a a new album is still expected in the near future. |
The original version of Moxy was actually one of a number of groups 
Along with new drummer Danny Bilan on drums, they released UNDER THE LIGHTS in the spring of '78. But tracks like "Highschool Queen" and "Sailor's Delight" weren't what was expected - and dismal sales at the cash register spelled the temporary end of Moxy. Rynowski would change his name to Mike Reno and go on to front one of Canada's best-sellers of the '80's,