'He epitomized cool': Gord Lewis' brother speaks on the Teenage Head guitarist's murder
“I grew up in awe of him. I don’t remember not listening to the music.”
Like most younger siblings, Brian Lewis always looked up to his older brother. Ten years his junior, he remembers the days when his brother Gord would fill their Hamilton home with music, slouched on a couch, wearing a pair of ripped jeans, his long red hair hanging over his electric guitar.
“I thought, and still think, it’s the coolest image of rock ‘n’ roll that I still have ever seen,” he told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday.
Gord Lewis, one of the founding members of the Canadian punk rock band Teenage Head, was found dead inside his Hamilton apartment on Sunday.
Jonathan Lewis, 41, was charged with second-degree murder in connection with his death. Brian confirmed that Jonathan is Gord’s son and his godson.
“Our family is conflicted. We saw Gord and Johnny love each other and be loyal to each other all their lives,” Brian said.
He described Gord and Jonathan as inseparable, but added that each of them was “dealing with their own demons.”
“My wife and I were involved in the situation between Jonathan and Gord up until last week. There have always been concerns with the health of both Gord and Jonathan. But things did exacerbate in recent weeks and months,” Brian said.
News of Gord’s passing reverberated through the Canadian music scene and beyond.
The band paid tribute to their axe man in a post to social media Monday evening, saying that they were “heartbroken” to hear of the tragic loss.
"We are heartbroken and still trying to process the loss of our friend, bandmate and brother Gord Lewis," the band wrote. "Our hearts are with his family and all that knew and loved him."
Since then, Brian says he’s been thinking a lot about his older brother and the impact he’s had on the lives of those who knew him or heard his music.
“Gord was gentle, humble, giving and, on stage, f***ing incredible,” Brian described.
“Like, I was not the only one who stood repeatedly at hundreds of gigs staring at him playing guitar because it was such a unique sound, such a pioneering way of playing. He epitomized cool.”
Despite the tragedy, Brian said that Gord’s untimely death “wasn’t a shock” and spoke about the difficult circumstances concerning Jonathan.
“He is really, really sick. It’s such a sad and horrific situation,” he said, adding that he and his family still care for Jonathan and his future.
Brian said that tributes to his brother and the support his family has received since he died have been overwhelming and have helped to carry them through the grief.
“The outpouring of love also, oddly, wasn’t unexpected because we all knew what he was. Everybody around him knew what he was. He was what everybody is saying,” Brian said with a laugh.
“Gord and music and Teenage Head were intertwined. They were one in the same. There wasn’t a separation.”
Gord was 65.
Teenage Head's guitarist Gord Lewis has died, the band says. (Facebook / Teenage Head)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Competition bureau finds 'substantial' anti-competitive effects with proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.