the buzz LIVE MUSIC

While this past week was a lot slower than usual thanks to the South Country Fair, things pick right up immediately beginning July 20 with two great shows happening.
Rockers Econoline Crush hit Essies with special guests Sleeping with Tuesday/the Coal Creek Boys. Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $15 in advance and $20 at the door.
The Slice hits the ground running after taking a few days off for the fair, with country rockers the Weber Brothers, who are looking forward to returning to Lethbridge to play the Slice on July 20.
They are continuing to build their fan base in southern Alberta, winning over new fans and putting on an energetic show which will include classics, songs from “Left Right, Left Right,” as well as some new songs.
“Everybody is always so worried all the time today. We provide an escape from that for the three hours, or two hours or one hour, however long we play,” said bassist Ryan Weber from a tour stop in Saskatoon. “People can just put away their cellphones and stop worrying. Just celebrate with some rock and roll. That’s what we bring and we will bring it.”
The Peterborough-based, Maryland-born roots rock band are building something big. As well they should living on the road.
“It’s going good. It’s been really positive and a lot of fun,” said Weber.
“We’re building slowly. That’s the hope we have. And I feel it. We’re growing all the time.”
 They have done a lot in their 10-plus-year career including being Ronnie Hawkins‘ backing band.
 Their latest CD “Left Right, Left Right” is doing well and earning them new fans.
“We’ve been doing this forever. Sam got a guitar when he was eight and I got a bass when I was 10,” he said.
On a whim they emailed Ronnie Hawkins back in 2001, moved to his farm and soon joined his band, taking advantage of the opportunity to learn at the feet of one of the masters.
“The more we do it, the more I feel it’s something positive we’re doing. And we’ve been gradually building it. We have experienced a hell of a lot in the past 10 years,” he said.
He can’t choose just one best experience, from playing with Ronnie Hawkins or Johnnie Johnson, Chuck Berry’s piano player.
“We’ve had a chance to learn and work with the real masters,” he said.
The show begins at 9 p.m. There is a $10 cover.
July 21 will be huge for the blues, too, with Hal Brolund playing the blues on the ukulele.
“When people think of the ukulele, they think of grass skirts and hula or novelty songs like Tiny Tim. And while Eddie Vedder released a solo ukulele album, there still isn’t a lot of authentic blues being played on the ukulele. It is an instrument still possessed by a huge amount of melancholy,” Brolund said.
He calls Shelburne, Nova Scotia his home though his roots are in Winnipeg.
While Brolund is a pretty impressive guitar player, a year or so ago, he decided to just concentrate on ukulele.
“I still play guitar, though not in the live show. I’ve gone to the dark side and have just been playing ukulele. I find it is much more unique. Lots of people play guitar and lots of great songwriters use a guitar, but there are not a lot of good ukulele players,” he said.
“It’s more of a standout instrument. It’s something unique I can bring to the table,” he said. He said he decided to make the switch after talking to a fan after a show, who asked him what he does to make him happy when he is at home.
“I found I played ukulele. That made me happy. I didn’t even take the guitar out of it’s case until the next tour or record. So I thought ‘this is what I do, so I should share it.’ This time, I thought I’d leave the guitar at home. It’s less to pack,” he said.

Pack A.D. promoting new CD
If you like your blues with a touch of garage rock, don’t miss Vancouver duo the Pack A.D. who will be playing one of their few summer shows in Lethbridge at the Slice on July 21. They have a new CD coming out in September called “Unperson.” So this will be the last tour on their popular CD “We Kill Computers.” They will be taking August off to get ready for a busy fall beginning in September.
They have a solid schedule and a new CD, “Unperson” to be released Sept. 13 so they plan to take off the month of August.
“‘Unperson’ comes out on Sept. 13, so we’ll do a fall release tour then. We’re just playing a few shows in July for ‘We Kill Computers,’” said drummer Maya Miller.
“We have a couple festivals in July like the Nakusp Music Fest and the Gateway and Northbynortheast, but we’re going to take the month of August off so we can feel like people again, and get rested up and get ready for the fall.”
The duo, completed by guitarist/vocalist Becky Black, are looking forward to playing the Slice again on July 21. They have played there twice and Henotic as well.
“This will be the last tour on We Kill Computers, so we’ll be playing a lot from that and a couple from the new one. But it will be a proper send-off for it,” she said.
“In Lethbridge we’re going to play a lot from that album and songs from all three, but predominately from the last couple. And some new songs.”

A little bit of country
It has also been a while since the Phantom Creeps and the Smokin’ Pistols have played locally, so fans of psychobilly/punk and outlaw country should check them both out at the Slice on July 22.
 The Tongue n Groove also have a couple excellent acts this week including Folk Thief who play with my Boy Rascal on July 26.

The week that was
Thanks to the Slice and the Owl being closed for South Country Fair, it ended up being a pretty slow week in Lethbridge.
But one big highlight of the week was country superstars Big and Rich and Gretchen Wilson bringing their road show to the South Pavilion on July 14. They had a fair amount of people, but it wasn’t packed to the rafters like I thought it would be. I also wasn’t expecting to go deaf at this one out of all the concerts I go to. Johnny Cash it wasn’t. But it was a lot of fun and did I mention loud?
 Big and Rich opened up with their upbeat new single “Fake I.D.” Big and Rich, with Big Kenny sporting a top hat and sun glasses and John Rich wielding a cherry red Flying V and also sporting sunglasses.
 The lovely and talented pint-sized firebrand Gretchen Wilson dressed in four-inch stiletto boots, ripped jeans and black, sleeveless shirt, joined them midway through the song. Man, that woman has a set of pipes that would have brought down the walls of any other poorly constructed building. Wilson sang her big hit “Here For the Party,” which set the tone for the rest of the hour-and-a-half-long show as Big And Rich provided all of the nauseatingly sugary sweet new country ballads all the “redneck women” in the audience could handle after tearing into their other big hit “Coming To Your City.” On the other hand, Wilson beamed ear to ear and provided plenty of sassy swagger and rock and roll attitude mixed with with back country snarl and pure charm on newer songs like “I’ve Got Your Country Right Here,” plus a scorching version of Heart’s “Barracuda” that was nothing short of ear bleeding and jaw dropping, thanks to their super tight band, which both acts shared as they alternated between playing a handful of songs each.
Wilson showed her dangerous side on “Homewrecker,” then her softer side on an acoustic guitar powered version of John Prine’s “Angel of Montgomery.”
 But she showed she was indeed not only “Here For the Party” but that she was willing to “Work Hard and Play Harder.” She completely dominated the stage. I can’t rave enough about this woman’s voice. So powerful, so distinct. Such a twang. Beautiful. She was watching the crowd and observed how cute one young, pre-teen cowboy was in his shirt and cowboy hat and gave the lucky little guy a kiss on the cheek.
 As for Big and Rich, they were pretty amusing and were there for a good time, bringing out a bottle of Crown Royal to share with the people in the front row after their hit ballad “Lost In This Moment” and in the middle of an uptempo rocker “Love Train.”
Big and Rich closed the show with their big hit “Save A Horse, Ride a Cowboy.”
Wilson wound down her part of the show by getting the crowd “All Jacked Up, ” though she returned for an encore of “Redneck Woman,” leading to a roar of cheers from the redneck women on the floor.
Big and Rich brought out big, black, towering Cowboy Troy (who also appeared on stage a couple other times to lend his big voice) to show their hick hop side, as he rapped a medley of popular rap hits including “Big Butts” and “Jump Around,”plus several freestyles, plus and a couple bars of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Give it Away” to end the show as Wilson grinned and shot autographed T-shirts into the crowd with an air gun.
Good times despite the hearing loss, could have used more Gretchen though.

The Owl Acoustic Lounge had a full house, July 13 for Behind Sapphire and Jasper Yip.
 I only caught Jasper Yips laid back set of indie pop music. He looked like a Japanese Buddy Holly with his thick glasses. He sang pretty melodies and his violinist added some pleasant textures, though they were, for the most part, being drowned out by the chattering crowd. His violinist helped turn things up a notch behind the drum kit for a couple numbers, but for the most part it was a pretty sedate set of melodic music.
Great music was afoot at the twenty-fifth anniversary South Country Fair, this past weekend. Thanks to an impressive line-up and beautiful weather, other than a Saturday night lightning storm, they had one of their best years yet. Organizer Trent Moranz estimated 2,300 people came through the gates.
 While I had evening commitments all weekend, I missed all of the evening entertainment.
 However, it is a credit to the organizers for booking a line up with such depth, that I caught most of the acts I wanted to see during the day, Saturday, July 16 and Sunday, July 17.
I arrived early afternoon, Saturday in time to see parts of impressive sets by Clapping Monkeys on the East Stage as well as Po Girl’s Allison Russel.
 it was an impressive study in contrasts as the talent on the main stage was more laid back and folky. Like Russel, who accompanied herself of guitar and banjo, played her laid back originals as well as some songs off her CD with JT Nero.
On the East Stage, Clapping Monkeys had a good sized crowd dancing with themselves in the sweltering heat in a set so cool, it made you forget the temperature.
The money set for me was Calgary/ B.C. acoustic blues duo Bill Hills and Ray Lemelin. They played several new songs off a new CD to be released in the Fall and some crowd favourites like their rooster song, which had the crowd calling “cock-a-doodle-do” in time with the chorus.
Hills captivated the crowd and danced in his seat while blowing incredible harp like Big Dave McLean as Lemelin kept the beat strong. there were some upbeat instrumentals and a new one called “Pepper Jig.” I especially liked another new song called “Itch I Can’t Scratch.
 They took turns singing lead vocals. Lemelin’s jazz tinged guitar took the audience back to the ’30s.
 As they were ending their set, another of my favourites Oh Susanna carried on with the mellow vibe on the main stage. She told stories and strummed guitar backed by a pedal steel player enhancing her traditional folk/ country music. She warned the crowd to “cover the ears of your tender ones,” as she dropped an F-bomb on a cool old song she wrote about teenaged boys growing up in a small town. Her song called “Long Black Train,” also captured my ear.
This ended up being a marked contrast to the East Stage again, where Fernie’s Shred Kelly was tearing up the stage with their first South Country Fair appearance.
 Their banjo powered, rock edged folk had the crowd frenetically dancing up the dust in front of the stage.
 They played a couple new songs as well as crowd favourites from their debut CD, including “I Hate Work,” and “Ghost In My Head” sung by Sage McBride who added haunting harmonies and keyboards throughout.
I had to leave for the opening of my art show at the Bowman Arts Centre, so I missed an incredible evening of music. However, Sunday was my day at the Fair.
Sonis McAllister and the Barracuda Orchestra won over a lot of new fans with their jazz, percussion powered weirdness on the South stage at just after noon. They were all dressed in white and brewed a concoction of unique music with saxophone, cello, violin and assorted hammers, pipes and megaphones.
The East Stage was rocking from the get-go with Toques and Beards who played an upbeat set of catchy country tinged rock music with excellent melodies. I figured the brief break in between acts on both stages would be a good time to check out some of the creative camps in the campground. The Oldman River was full of bathers who frolicked in the water in front of a new tent city town which springs up every year for the fair. Some of the more creative camps including a massive skull backdrop.
 The campsite is perfectly placed as from certain camps, you hear both stages going strong with Edmonton country quartet jessie Dee and Jacquie b fighting for the audience’s attention with Vancouver’s e.s.l.
 I had to check them both out, beginning with e.s.l. These girls, pianist Marta Jaciubec-McKeever, cellist/bassist Cris Derksen, violinist Diona Davies, trumpet player Tess Kitchen and drummer Joy Mullen won my heart blending jazz, pop and Carribean influences and beautiful melodies.
 But Jessie Dee and Jacquie B drew my attention with a fun set adding keyboards and accordion to guitar and stand up bass powered ’60s/’70s style country mixed with some jazz. They came across sounding quite a bit like Twilight Hotel in places during their enjoyable set.
The big show for me was ‘master of the Telecaster’ Amos Garrett. I’d never seen him before, but play him a lot on my Saturday night blues show on CKXU.
 He didn’t play any of his own songs, instead treating the enraptured audience to guitarified versions of music from jazz greats.
 He played an array of jazz from many different eras, including bebop some jump blues from Louis Jordan,  a couple Thelonious Monk tracks including the beautiful “Misterioso.” He played some Wes Montgomery as well as Miles Davis, punctuating the songs with stories of hitchhiking to Indianapolis to see Wes Montgomery before he recorded his first record and about the big band era as well as jokes about playing the wrong intro to one of them, though his bassist as well as guitarist were all set to follow him no matter what direction he wanted to take. Garrett was an affable host singing in an immediately appealing baritone, his face scrunched up in concentration as he dug in and played beautifully tasteful leads. Throughout, his guitarist played some gorgeous harmonies.
Having Fred Eaglesmith close off Sunday kept the massive crowd in front of the stage until the end.
 Eaglesmith shows are akin to a religious experience for blue collar folks and hippies alike, if only because you never know what Fred you’ll get, be it the cranky irascible Fred or the fun loving always joking Fred. Sunday’s Fred was more on the fun loving side as he cracked jokes, tapped his mic to see if it was on when he didn’t feel people were laughing. He made good use of his hour some set, starting with some newer songs including “Sweet Corn” and “I Pray Now” from his “Tinderbox” CD, as well as “Careless” the “big song from last year’s album “Cha Cha Cha.” He took a couple shot at some of the louder members of the audience and then played some older songs like “Old John Deere” and “Pontiac” plus classics like “I Like Trains,” and the set ending “49 Tonnes.” before “I like Trains” he joked about Allan Jackson recording it saying he said “ I like how that old Eaglesmith does it.” “I’m only one year older than he is,” Eaglesmith laughed. He was called back for an encore of a solo acoustic number.
Several songs from his brand new CD “6 Volts,” were also included. They show he is moving back to his country roots.
The Fabulous Ginn Sisters opened his show with a couple songs and added flute, mouth organ and harmony vocals to Eaglesmith’s set.
 I was pleasantly surprised to see Eaglesmith had a new mandolin player, Mike Zinger, on stage. While nobody can ever replace the late, great Willie P. Bennett, mandolin is an integral part of Eaglesmith’s music. It has been missed over the past few years.

July 20
Ric’s Grill — Randy Epps
Slice — The Weber Brothers
Owl — L.A. Beat open jam
Essies — Econoline Crush with Coal Creek boys

July 21
Slice — Pack AD with Smokestack Jacks
Tongue N Groove — Manitoba Hal

July 22
Mocha Cabana —Dale Ketcheson
Slice — Phantom Creeps with the Smokin’ Pistols
Casino Lethbridge — Tom and Curt
Tongue N Groove – Barefoot band with Gary Bailey
Jimmy’s pub — open mic with Cory Oryniak and Dave Tillsley
Ric’s Grill — Davidson Porter Trio
Average Joe's — dueling pianos

July 23
Mocha Cabana — Dale Ketcheson
Casino Lethbridge — Tom and Curt
Ric’s Grill — Cal Toth
Scores Thirst and Grill — Beach party with Daylan Delaney

July 24
Owl Acoustic Lounge — plugged in jam

July 25
 Mocha Cabana — Third Annual White affair United Way providing milk for the kids in our community with Dale Ketcheson 6 p.m., wine 6:30 p.m., tickets $30 appetizers, silent auction
Owl Acoustic lounge — open mic
1010 Pub — open mic
Tongue N Groove — Elizabeth

July 26
Tongue N Groove — Folk Thief
Slice — open mic
Bo Diddley’s — open mic

July 27
Ric’s Grill — Bridgette and Evan
Owl Acoustic Lounge — L.A Beat open jam
Tongue N Groove — Ken Tizzard from the Watchmen
 

With the South Country Fair happening this weekend in Fort Macleod, two of the biggest live music venues will be closed — the Owl Acoustic Lounge and the Slice. It makes sense as most of their patrons and, indeed, most of the local musicians who play there, will be at the fair.
 But there is a big country show on July 16 at the South Pavilion in Exhibition Park. The “Redneck Woman” herself Gretchen Wilson will be playing with Two Foot Fred and Big and Rich.
Wilson has a number of hits including the aforementioned “Redneck Woman,” as well as “Here For The Party” and “All Jacked Up.” Recently, she parted ways from her record label and started her own, releasing “ I Got Your Country Right Here” featuring the hit single “Work Hard, Play Harder.”
Big and Rich are best known for blending hip hop and country and their quirky hit single “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” as well as “Comin’ To Your City.” Both artists collaborated on their single “Fake I.D.”
The show starts at 7:30 p.m. at the South Pavilion. Tickets are $70 for the floor and $60 in the upper stands.
Before the Owl closes for the fair, they feature Vancouver indie-rock/jazz/folk band Behind Saphhire on July 13.
The experimental pop band doesn’t mind experimenting with their music or their appearances.
“For this tour, we dyed our hair white. We all have dark brown hair, so it took about four times,” laughed guitarist Matthew Mazankowski from a tour stop in Calgary.
“We like to be spontaneous, but the change has drawn some odd attention,” he said.
 That spontaneity translates to the music as well.
“We are kind of an acoustic driven, experimental pop band from Vancouver,” he summarized.
They wear their influences on their sleeves, ranging from ’60s harmonies-driven pop like the Beatles and the Beach Boys to modern singer songwriters like Jason Mraz.
“We write music that is easy listening but still upbeat. It’s easy listening, but you can also dance to it. We like to make things interesting for ourselves,” he said.
The band has played Lethbridge twice before, once at the Slice and the second time at the Owl Acoustic Lounge.
“The first time, our singer Grant lost his voice because he was doing something silly with it, making weird sounds. So he couldn’t sing. He only did one or two songs. The second time at the Owl, it was packed. We were pretty shocked to see so many people,” Mazankowskisaid.
There is no cover for the show, which also features Jasper Sloan Yip and his violin player.
If you aren’t going to the fair, check out local blues/R and B band Indagruv who play the Tongue n Groove on July 16.
For classic rockers, Nazareth returns to Average Joe’s for a July 19 show. They are best known for hits like “Holiday,” “Hair Of The Dog,” “Love Hurts” and “This Flight Tonight.”
Local band Gravity Crash, who won Average Joe’s Open For the bands contest recently, will be opening the show. Tickets cost $40.

The week that was

There were excellent shows this week.
 The Great Willy Mammoth, Bill Durst was in town at the Tongue n Groove on July 5 to entertain an intimate crowd.
 This show actually started on time at 9 p.m., so I missed most of it. But I caught his all-too-brief second set which included classic blues like Wilbur Harris’ “Work Together.” He also played a beautiful acoustic version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing.” He also played “Porcelain Bus” and a cool version of Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock.”
There were tough choices to be made on July 6 with a couple great, late-starting shows.
The show I really wanted to see was the return of the Heartbroken.
These rising country/pop/folk stars featuring guitarist/vocalist Damhnait Doyle, drummer/vocalist Blake Manning, bassist Peter Fusco and lead guitarist Stuart Cameron.
They played to a “small but mighty crowd” of about 20, which is about twice as many as they had back in February.
They started off slow with Doyle playing some pretty mandolin and slowly building up the energy.
They played a lot of tracks from their debut CD “Tonight, Tonight.”
She donned a beautiful old 1963 Gibson SG for a couple numbers including the likely next single “The Truth,” then a couple more.
Doyle and Manning supplied beautifully haunting vocal harmonies.
They switched instruments throughout, with Fusco picking up the mandolin and Cameron adding lap steel guitar for another sad, slow song.
 It was an excellent show which deserved more people. I left about the time they slowed things down, because I didn’t want to miss Shotgun Jimmie at the Owl Acoustic lounge.
I missed a new Paul Lawton band called Summer on July 6 at the Owl Acoustic lounge, but arrived at the tail end of a country tinged indie-rock set by Forest Tate Fraser.
They had a packed house of about 80 people dominated by most of the familiar faces from the University of Lethbridge radio station CKXU, 88.3 FM.
They finished with an upbeat rocker including some steel guitar, bass drums and vocals.
But I wanted to check out Shotgun Jimmie’s new trio bassist Ian Kehoe who is best known for being part of “Attack in Black” and Ladyhawke drummer Ryan Peters.
They locked in and played a tight set, coming and across as Joel Plaskett mixed with a touch of Weezer.
Shotgun Jimmie (Jim Kilpatrick) sang a set of upbeat, quirky and immediately enjoyable rock, including music from his latest CD “Transistor Sister” as well as a couple brand new songs.
“Suzie” was just one of many catchy highlights.
The Slice brought back northern B.C.-based roots/folk musician Miss Quincy on July 7. This time she was backed by a hot drummer and stand-up bassist, who made her uptempo folk/ roots music sing.  She sang in a beautiful smokey, sultry, jazz-tinged voice and played guitar during a laid-back set, while her bassist, her fedora pulled down low over her eyes, danced to the sexy groove she laid down as the be-hatted drummer set down the beat.
The small but mighty audience applauded appreciatively as she played much of her debut CD “Your Mama Don’t Like Me.”
Over at the Tongue N Groove, Matthew Hornen was playing some Newfoundland-style folk on July 7. By the time I arrived around 11 p.m., the crowd had thinned considerably but I still enjoyed his superb voice and laid-back acoustic folk feel.
He played several originals as well as a Stan Rogers song and much more.

It was eclectic rock night at the Slice on July 9.
 While I missed the Ketamines, I arrived in time to see a solid set of droning Brit-pop/ indie rock from the Concrete Hearts. It featured ethereal female vocals, all sorts of screeches and effects laded guitar backed by grooving bass. They were a touch of the Pixies, a touch of Sonic Youth noise and a lot of ’90s post grunge.
 The act I wanted to see was Axis of Conversation.
 They created vast soundscapes with cello, violin, guitar and a lot of Kaoss pad. the incorporated a lot of influences into their sound including pop, R and B, electronica and rock backed by rock solid drumming and bass along with some excellent pop tinged vocal melodies. They even a had a couple dancers on the floor. out of the 50 or so people there.

Everybody and his dog was at a sold out performance by Bedouin Soundclash at the Stone, July 9.
the dance floor was packed with people crammed shoulder to shoulder in front of the stage, watching the ward winning trio wind through a variety of familiar songs.
 Thew trio, who played tighter than the skin off a grape, laid down a rock solid reggae groove which had most of the audience singing along with them.
 Lead singer Jay Malinowski, didn’t say much in between songs, as one blended right into the other.
“12:59 Lullaby” was a slower paced highlight that evolved into an extended groove.
By the time 1 a.m. rolled around, they wound down their set by playing a few bars of “Stand By Me,” before segueing into their big hit “When The Night Hears My Song” which had most of the crowd singing along. They were called back for a couple encores.
The Necessities were also happy to play to a new audience. While I missed most of their set, I caught their last number, their upbeat carnival song, which had the packed house swaying with the beat. Penny Fortune was also on the bill.

Slice— Rocking Reg
Owl Acoustic Lounge— L.A. Beat open mic with Behind Sapphire and Jasper Sloan Yip
Ric’s Grill— Bridgette and Evan
July 14
South Pavillion— Big and Rich, Gretchen Wilson with Cowboy Troy and 2 Foot Fred

July 15
Casino Lethbridge— Who’s Yer Daddy
Mocha Cabana — James Oldenburg
Jimmy’s Pub— open mic
 Ric’s Grill— Porter Davidson Trio
Average joes— Dueling pianos

July 16
Casino Lethbridge— Who’s Yer Daddy
Mocha Cabana — James Oldenburg
Ric’s Grill— Cal Toth
Tongue n Groove_ — Indagruv
July 18
owl— open mic
1010 Pub— open mic
July 19
Slice— open mic
 Bo Diddly’s —open mic
Average Joes— Nazareth with Gravity Crash
Tongue N Groove— Flying Foxes
July 20
Ric’s Grill— Randy Epps
Slice— The Weber Brothers
Owl— L.A. Beat open jam
Essies— Econoline Crush with Coal Creek boys
 

Greg Gomola, who usually plays lead guitar with Paul Kype, is excited about his new project Zojo Black, which features Kype and a variety of local talent playing on Gomola’s songs. They released their debut CD at the Slice on July 2 for a good-size audience.
“I’m a huge Jimmy Page fan. I misread the name on his CD ‘Soso’ but liked the name,” he said explaining the band’s name.
The core of the band features Tyson Maiko on bass, Paul Kype on guitar and drummer Brady Valgardson though the CD features a who’s who of the Lethbridge blues scene, including Taylor Ackerman, Darryl Düus, Brady Valgardson, Earl McAuley on keyboards, Brent Hutchinson on sax plus Steve Keenan and Greg “Bear” Melvin. It is more than just a blues CD, though the blues is prevalent. It features a variety of blues-tinged, hooky pop music that sounds a lot like Los Lonely Boys.
He has been working on the CD for about eight months, but whittled down the 10 tracks (including a version of Deep Purple’s Hush) from a pool of about 40.
“It’s my first real CD and I actually love it. It has passed far beyond my expectations,” he said.
While the band members are involved with a variety of other musical projects, it is unlikely they will tour on the CD any time soon.
“We’re going to try to get some dates in bigger places and see what we can do,” he said.

Once again there are all kinds of things happening in Lethbridge the week. Plenty of familiar faces return to the city this week. One I’m really looking forward to seeing is the Heartbroken, who return to the Slice on July 6.
The Toronto-based rock/country/pop band featuring drummer/vocalist Blake Manning, who along with bassist Peter Fusco, guitarist/vocalist Damhnait Doyle and lead guitarist Stuart Cameron, are riding high on the surprise hit “Seventeen,” which is getting play on modern country radio and CMT.
“Seventeen” from their independently released debut CD “Tonight, Tonight” is about to enter the Top 40 on the Canadian Country music charts. And they are beginning a busy summer at the Dauphin Country Music Festival. It wasn’t something they expected.
“Not really. I guess there are enough country elements to it. This week we’re in the Top 40 and we’re the only independent album there. CMT has really got behind us,” said Manning.
“We’ve been friends for 20 years and we usually work for other people usually on major labels,” he said.
“We have a lot of influences in country, especially traditional country and we use traditional instruments like banjo and mandolin.”
Heartbroken has country in their roots, listening to a lot of George Jones, Willie Nelson and Patsy Cline.
They are pleased with how well “Seventeen” has been received.
“It feels really good and people have embraced it. So to that I say ‘thumbs up,’ that people are liking it,” he said.
“When we went in, we didn’t expect to make any particular type of album. The first time we sat down together, we cracked a bottle of wine with the four of us strumming acoustic instruments and the next thing we knew we had our first song within two hours
Everyone contributed whatever they felt was needed during the writing process.
“That’s the great thing about this band being a democracy. I’m a drummer, but I picked up the banjo for one song and I’m no banjo player. It was just the four of us strumming acoustic instruments. It’s all very traditional,” he said.

Another much-anticipated show also happens on July 6, this time at the Owl Acoustic Lounge when Shotgun Jimmie aka Sackville, New Brunswick-based country/rock musician Jim Kilpatrick returns with a full band, bassist Ian Kehoe who is best known for being part of “Attack in Black,” and Ladyhawke drummer Ryan Peters.
“I’ve toured with both of them,” he said, describing the band as an all-star band.
“I’ve played with them both before. Ian and I have collaborated. I play in his band. And Ryan plays drums on “Transistor Sister,’” he said. He is touring as a duo until Winnipeg, when he will pick up Peters for the tour which will take them to Lethbridge.
“We’re pretty excited about it. It will be the best rock and roll show,” he said.
He is also excited about his CD “Transistor Sister,” making the long list for this year’s Polaris Prize.

“It was pretty unexpected. It’s the first time we’ve received recognition from the man or the industry. So I’m excited about it. For everybody it’s just great,” he said.
Shotgun Jimmie and his band will be playing with Forest Tate Fraser at the Owl Acoustic Lounge, July 6 at approximately 8:30 p.m. There is no cover.

The big show of the weekend will be the return of superstars Bedouin Soundclash, who play the Stone, July 9.
“We’ve been there three or for times in out career. We always have good shows there,” said bassist Eon Sinclair. The Juno award winners have blended a variety of musical genres into huge hits like “When The Night Feels My Song,”Walls Fall Down,” and “Until We Burn In The Sun (The Kids Just Want a Love Song). ”
“I might not like the same music you listen to, but there’s something for everyone. But we’ve had great response to it. We mix a lot of different genres, so that makes it appeal to more people rather than if we were just a rock band or just and R and B hip hop band,” he continued. Bedouin Soundclash’s sound isn’t a matter of deliberately blending genres.
“We just mix everything we like into something we like,” he continued.
“We’ve been working on developing our audiences in these markets,” he said. The band is also discussing the next CD which they hope to record in the Fall.
He is excited not only about bringing brand new arrangements of Bedouin Soundclash’s hits, but also introducing new drummer Sekou Lumumba to Lethbridge audiences.
“He’s great. He’s a really calming presence. He’s a really nice guy and it’s great to have him part of bedouin Soundclash,” he said.
He is looking forward to the Lethbridge show which will include the hits as well as re-arranged versions of Bedouin Soundclash songs.
“We have a bunch of new songs, but it we’ll be playing new arrangements of older songs. I think a lot of people will be excited to hear them. We want to create a great atmosphere for people to enjoy,” he continued.
Tickets for the show, which also features the Necessities and Penny Fortune, cost $25. Doors open at 9 p.m.

Edmonton-based progressive rock band Living Illusion will be bringing their muse to the Tongue N Groove, July 8.
The band includes lead guitarist Shane Lamotte, vocalist/ guitarist Jason Lamotte, bassist Dave Stoten and drummer Cal Beaudoin. They formed in 2002 and released their self titled debut CD in 2007.
If you were looking forward to Flo Rida at Pulse, July 7, unfortunately the show has been cancelled due to circumstances beyond his control, he had to cancel the entire tour.
It is Streetwheelers weekend, so look for live music all over downtown and along Mayor Magrath Drive. Fast Times will be playing Backstreet Pub South on July 8 and 9. And Jackson E plays the 1010 Pub, July 9.
Leeroy Stagger returns to the Slice, July 8 and Axis of Conversation return to the Slice with the Concrete Hearts, July 9.

While I missed Canada Day celebrations owing to illness, there were several really good blues shows happening July 2.
Australia’s the Re-Mains paid the Owl Acoustic lounge their first visit, July 2.
Their drummer didn’t make the show, so they performed as a trio blending beautifully tasteful steel guitar with harmonica and acoustic guitar and upbeat country groove bass. There weren’t many people in the audience, but the ones impressive got the show.
Over at the Tongue N Groove, Edmonton keyboardist/vocalist Jennie Thai played to an intimate and enraptured audience, July 2. She beamed ear-to-ear and danced in place behind her keyboard, playing boogie woogie and jazz tinged blues on her keyboard, which she had set to a beautiful organ/electric piano sound. She delivered soulful vocals and scatted a little in between lines.
She played a variety of originals as well as old blues tunes and even covered Serena Ryder’s “Melancholy blues,” almost nailing Ryder’s inimitable warble.
She observed she had never played to such a quiet and attentive crowd before. I enjoyed her quirky lyrics and sense of humour, not to mention watching her dance, I was impressed with her vocal range, but more-so by her keyboard playing skills.
She ended “with a song I wrote a couple days ago,” called “Michigan,” which was another soulful blues number.
As I expected, most of the blues crowd and a lot of people I didn’t recognize were at the Slice for the Zojo Black CD release party. Greg Gomola and some talented friends including Paul Kype on lead guitar, Tyson Maiko on bass and drummer Brady Valgardson were jamming up a storm with keyboardist Earl McAuley and saxophonist Brent Hutchinson. While I missed the set where they played the CD I caught their upbeat last song. I hung around for their tight second set — a freewheeling jam of upbeat covers which showed Gomola’s influences. They began with an unusual arrangement of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” then blasted into Three Doors Down’s “Kryptonite.” before dedicating Eric Clapton’s “Cocaine” to the absent Tim Mulgrew.

I was sick this week, so missed a couple excellent shows, but I made a point of being out Thursday night for a couple reasons. First of all, Canadian classic rockers Honeymoon Suite were back in Lethbridge to bring Average Joes back to 1986.
Honeymoon Suite provided the soundtrack to a lot of our early years, with hits like “New Girl Now,” Burning In Love,” “Feel It Again,” and “Stay In the Light.”
So they were happy to play them for a packed room, June 30 for a pre-Canada Day party. They began their set with a couple obscure, uptempo rockers before launching into “Stay In the Light,” the first hit of the night, followed by numerous other which kept the dance floor rocking. Lead singer Johnnie Dee showed he could play tasteful, bluesy leads on one of my favourites “Wave Babies,” which had the audience singing along. He also added rhythm guitar throughout. He also showed he still has a pretty good set of pipes, still hitting all the high notes he did back in the day.
They had the dance floor filled during their hit ballad “What Does It Take?”
Lead guitarist Derry Grehan showed off his inner Van Halen with a couple big riffs played on an Eddie Van Halen Music Man Wolfgang guitar, which he alternated with a battered Les Paul.
And it wouldn’ be an ’80s party if everyone didn’t get a chance to show off in their solo spots.
Grehan played a complicated Van Halen tapping riff during his spotlight which lead into “Bad Attitude” and even bassist Gary Lalonde got a chance to solo which lead into “Looking Out For Number One.”
For something a lot different, the Plaid Tongued Devils returned to Lethbridge to play the Tongue N Groove, June 30.
There was a lot of minor keys, an eight stringed guitar, boundless energy, a lot of fine fiddle playing from Roxanne Young and a lot of fun thanks to charismatic frontman Ty Semaka, who didn’t seem to think things were going well as he offered to fire himself from the band no less than four times during the show.
They played my favourite Devils’ song “ Help I’m A Logo,” and ended their set with an extended jam on “Bag of Snakes,” which had the enthusiastic crowd calling for more.
A beautiful week began with an outdoor concert with the Sadies, The Sheepdogs and Treeline, in the parking lot of the Geomatic Attic, Monday June 27.
It is always a pleasure to see the Sadies live, but The Sheepdogs almost stole the show which was rescheduled from February. While Treeline opened with a typically strong set of original country music, Saskatoon’s the Sheepdogs showed why they are finalists in Rolling Stone magazine’s “Choose the Cover” contest.
The Sheepdogs started off slow, setting a laid back, soulful ’70s groove and slowly picked up the tempo. There were harmonized guitars and vocals aplenty, a beautiful groove, excellent, soulful melodies and southern rock riffs that brought the 200 some people in attendance, getting eaten alive by mosquitos, back to the mid ’70s.
“I Don’t Know,” was a highlight of their set which ended with the Lynard Skynardish “Southern Dreaming.”
The Sadies, who had to reschedule the show back in February because Dallas Good broke his leg, didn’t have much time for talking.
“We’re trying to play as many songs as possible before the sun goes down,” said Dallas Good midway through the set, which ran the gamut from Ventures/ Shadowy Men From a Shadowy Planet style twangy instrumentals to the Sadies brand of original psychedelic country. They were good as their word, blasting through 30 some songs while barely pausing for a breath.
They played a lot of music from their latest CD “The Darkest Circle.” Dallas and Travis Good also showed their country roots during several scorching country originals showing they are their father’s (Bruce Good from the renown Good Brothers) sons.
Travis Good looked possessed as he sawed away at his amplified fiddle for a couple gospel and then wound down the set just before sundown with a couple old country tinged numbers.


July 6
Owl Acoustic Lounge — L.A. Beat open jam
Slice — The Heartbroken
Ric’s Grill — Bridgette and Evan

July 7
Slice — Miss Quincy
Pulse — Flo Rida cancelled

July 8
Mocha Cabana — live music on the patio with Jack Davies
Slice — Leeroy Stagger
Jimmy’s Pub — open mic
Ric’s Grill — Porter Davidson Trio
1010 Pub — Who’s Yer Daddy
Backstreet Pub South — Fast Times
Average Joe's — Dueling pianos

July 9
Backstreet Pub South — Fast Times
Mocha Cabana — live music on the piano with Tristan Skretting
Slice — Axis of Conversation with The Concrete Hearts
The Stone — Bedouin Soundclash with Penny Fortune and the Necessities. 9 p.m., $25
Ric”s Grill — Cal Toth
Mocha Cabana —Tristan Skretting
Owl — Family jam

July 10
Owl — plugged in jam

July 11
Owl — open mic
1010 Pub — open mic
Slice — The Fight

July 12
Slice — open jam’ Bo Diddly’s— open jam

July 13
Slice — Rocking Reg
Owl Acoustic Lounge — L.A. Beat open mic with Behind Sapphire and Jasper Sloan Yip
Ric’s Grill — Bridgette and Evan

Who says things slow down during the summer? In the music community they don’t. I was only able to hit a fraction of all the cool things happening this week. But this week only gets better as there are a couple great shows coming up in addition to big bashes at Henderson Lake and Galt Gardens for Canada Day.
To get you in the mood for Canada Day, check out some wicked Canadian music.
Honeymoon Suite is back in town to play Average Joe’s on June 30.
Honeymoon Suite has come a long way from a bar band playing ZZ Top and Genesis covers, thanks to their big hit “I’ve Got A New Girl Now.”
Now, 25-some years later, they have the luxury of playing big festivals on weekends and spending time at home with the kids and writing songs.
“For a classic rock band like us, that just makes sense,” guitarist Derry Grehan said from his home in Bloomington, Illinois, where he has lived for the past eight years. They will be playing every weekend until October.
“We’ve got a lot going on this summer. We’re getting out there. We’re playing every weekend. It’s hot weather. I hate winter. There’s nothing like it, playing rock and roll outside in 80-degree weather and there’s thousands of people. That’s the best feeling,” he said.
 He can’t choose his favourite songs from among a cornucopia of hits such as “New Girl Now,” “What Does it Take,” and “Stay in The Light.”
“Those songs have been really good to me, so playing them never gets old, playing them for 90 minutes and playing my guitar on stage,” Grehan said.
When they aren’t playing, the band doesn’t see much of each other.
“Especially when I’m in Illinois. We’ll see each other at the airport. Everybody has got other musical side projects,” he continued.
“I can’t believe we’re still doing this 25 some years later. It’s still a thrill for me to see the older fans who grew up with this music and the newer fans who are just discovering us. I feel blessed. I’m not ready to retire yet.”
Looking back on their carreer, there have been plenty of highlights.
“Johnnie (Dee) and I demoed ‘New Girl Now’ and sent it to a local radio station Q107 who were running a contest. And that started everything. We put out an album and the next thing we knew is went gold and we were on tour with people like ZZ Top. The year before that we were a bar band playing covers of Billy idol and Genesis, six nights a week.”
Tickets cost $25 and are available at Average Joe’s.
For fans of more modern rock, Juno nominee Jonas Tomalty is excited about giving his band the Massive Attractions more attention.
People know the Montreal-based rock singer Tomalty by his first name, under which he recorded two gold- and near-platinum-selling albums, received “Rock Album of the Year” and “New Artist of the Year” Juno nominations, plus toured with the likes of Van Halen and Collective Soul. However, he insists it has never been a solo effort; it has always been a band effort.
“We’re road dogs. That’s what we love to do, be on the road, getting out there and converting new fans to the music,” said Tomalty while at home in Montreal “for a couple days to do my laundry before going back on the road.” 
They play Essies on June 29.
They band has gelled thanks to the addition of drummer Martin Lavallee, who joined Jonas and the Massive Attractions’ tour back in January.
“He was subbing for us before. He was the drummer for Mobile, then they broke up, now he is with us full time,” Tomalty said.
“He sounds great. He can play the straight-ahead rock and roll, but he can also play those intricate ghost notes. He plays right in the pocket,”
Bassist J.S. Baciu joined full time a couple years ago, subbing in for one of several tours in Afghanistan and is fitting right in as well.
Coupled with longtime songwriting parter Corey Diallo, Tomalty is looking forward to bringing the reinvigorated band to Lethbridge for the first time.
“We’re really looking forward to being there. We’ve never played there, so it will be a whole new public and meeting some new friends,” he said.
“We’ll be playing a lot of stuff off ‘The Big Slice,’ because that’s what’s been on our minds now. It’s going to be a big rock and roll show. We want to have some fun. And Lethbridge should come out and enjoy a good night of rock and roll, if they want to have some fun too.”

What’s happening this week

Other big shows this week include Greg Gomola’s CD release party at the Slice July 2. His band Zojo Black features a who’s who of the Lethbridge music scene including Paul Kype, Brady Valgardson, Tyson Maiko, with Anna Vanderheide, Darryl Düus, Brad Brouwer, Steve Keenan, Jamil Sayegh, Taylor Ackerman and Brent Hutchison. There is a $20 cover which includes the CD.
For a taste of Australia, Aussie country rockers the Re-Mains play the Owl Acoustic Lounge July 2 as well.
For something upbeat and klez-tastic, Klezmer/ Celtic/eastern European rockers the Plaid Tongued Devils are back in Lethbridge to play the Tongue N Groove with the Ammena Dancers on June 30.
 And, if you like ZZ Top-style blues rock, check out Bill Durst at the Tongue n Groove on July 5.
“I spend hours a day in the music business and months organizing this tour, so when I get in the van and get out and play, it’s like a holiday for me,” said Durst, on the road to Stratford.
 He is alternating between full electric gigs with his band for festivals including one in Jasper and another in Horsefly, B.C. as well as acoustic gigs like he will be playing in Lethbridge.
“If you’re coming expecting to hear the band, forget about it. But if you are coming expecting to hear some good songs and seeing a wild and crazy guy, then come on down,” he said.
 He is best known for being part of the band Thundermug, which scored some mid-’90s independent radio hits including “Africa,” plus three hits of their CD “Running My World” including the title track as well as “Blue Water” and “She Said.”
Turning high-octane, ZZ Top-fuelled blues rock into acoustic music is a “no-brainer,” according to Durst.
“My songwriting parter Joe DeAngelis always write our songs around acoustic guitars, so it is natural to play them acoustically,” he said.
There is no cover for the show, which begins at 9 p.m.

The week that was

A busy week started on Tuesday, June 21 with the Ketamines, Play Guitar, babysitter and Fist City playing a pre-Sled Island show at the Slice.
 The Ketamines started off a night of extreme volume with extreme volume and sounded like the MC5 and The Stooges tossed into a blender with a handful of rust bolts and frayed electrical wires, but you could hears some neat guitar riffs. This time loud organ was replaced by loud guitars which drowned out Paul Lawton’s vocals. They had a fantastic Tuesday night crowd of about 50 on their feet and cheering for their tight set of noisy garage rock.
 The band I came out to see was Play Guitar who came out from Halifax for their first Lethbridge show. And while the name makes you expect some sort of Eddie Van Halen style fretboard pyrotechnics, they were in fact the exact opposite.  They laid down intense layers of effects drenched guitar lines mixed with keyboard riffs and a solid groove.
 The vocals and the soundscapes along with a strong pop feel gave them a Talking Heads/ ’80s new wave sound.
I was impressed with the whole package and was actually hoping they’d play longer especially when the lead singer brought out an ancient electric 12 string and created weird sounds with it.
Even Wednesday night was busy with several shows, all starting late. I wanted to hear Minto at the Slice, June 22 and waited around for little while, and caught a tight soundcheck sound. I left to see other gigs, but came back for an intense set by Red Cedar, who were jamming up a storm with a variety of soundscapes and an unstoppable groove.
One show I was glad I caught, as I missed them last time was Australia’s Oka, who returned to the Tongue N Groove, June 22. I arrived in the middle of a hypnotic set which had the dance floor filled with 80-90 free spirits swaying to a mesmerizing percussive beat. Oka was anchored by a rock steady drummer as the lead singer played slide didgeridoo and added an array of percussion to his Aussie soundscape.
 The other member supplemented slide acoustic guitar with a tiny saxophone. They gelled perfectly and kept the crowd dancing.

Friday

While I missed the Warped 45s first visit to Lethbridge, June 24, I caught a good part of Joshua Cockerill’s set at the Slice.
 Cockerill, brother of popular Calgary musician Greg Cockerill, and his band played a tight set of upbeat country rock.
He sang about horses as well as an ode to Calgary’s beloved and since closed roots/ country bar, A Bar Named Sue.
 In addition to several songs of his previous CD, Cockerill also introduced some brand new songs to an audience of about 20-30 people. One highlight was a new song called “King of Kings.”

Brenna MacQuarrie bared her soul at the Tongue n Groove, June 24. She didn’t have a lot of people in the audience, well not as many as she deserved especially as her music is made for dancing. She sang beautiful soul music, some R and B and mixed in a few covers by the likes of Jill Scott and an excellent version of Aretha Franklin’s “You Make Me Feel like a Natural Woman.”
Her band was superb, with plenty of disco era wah wah guitar and fluid bass-lines from Jory Kinjo, who was to play his own set later on. Throughout they kept a solid groove meant for dancing, though there were none to be seen, at least while I was there.
Bubba Tres and Sonis McAllister Orchestre played their expected sets of weirdness at the Owl Acoustic Lounge, June 24.
I arrived near the end of a tight, upbeat jazz tinged set from the Barracuda Orchestra featuring a lot of saxophone, some sweet violin from Kelsey Jesperson and a lot of percussion and rhythm. They had a good sized audience enjoying the show.
 Bubba Tres and his band dressed in prisoner orange jumpsuits played an upbeat set of unusual music mixed with a little poetry including a variety of instruments including a ukulele, a French horn, synthesizer, a megaphone, a twisted cover of “Like A Virgin,” and a few bars of Black Sabbath.

Saturday

The last time Le Fuzz were at the Slice, they had a full house grooving to their tribute to Paul Simon’s “Graceland” album. Their return visit, June 25, they were playing their own music for a handful of people.
 The took the small, intimate audience around the world in their second set at the Slice, beginning with a modern Japanese folk song. They followed that up with something French, then went Mexican. Throughout there was plenty of percussion, loads of vocal harmonies and a steady beat. They added an array of musical sounds with several different instruments including accordion and keyboards, which were used to create steel drums sounds during the Mexican piece. Throughout the stand up bass was used to add extra percussion as were an array of different drums including bongos and a djembe all of which added to the world music feel.

Owl celebrates first year with Savk and guests

It’s hard to believe the Owl Acoustic Lounge has been around for a year already. They celebrated their anniversary with a full house packed wall to wall with people listening to great local music, June 25.
I arrived in time to hear a typically strong set with bluesman Darryl Düus backed by Steve Harris on bass and Brad Valgardson, who provided and air tight rhythm section, allowing Düus to do all of his usual bluesman tricks, like wandering through the crowd playing slide guitar with beer bottles and saltshakers, then right out the door during “Boot Hill,” then back on stage for “Who Do You Love.” He played a hot set of upbeat blues rock including blues standards powered by his gravely growl.
 Most of the people were on hand to see Savk or Calgary musician Stephen A van Kampen. They played a tight set filled with harmonized melodies, keyboards and guitar. Their last two songs were upbeat folk/ rock/pop numbers which got a lot of people crowd in front to the stage dancing.
 The Necessities, featuring Owl owner Steve Foord, finished the night by getting more people up on their feet with a set of affable, melodic folk/ pop rock which included crowd favourite The Cricket Song (Death To The Sun) and plenty of music from their CD.
Vista Park and Katie Streibel were also on the bill to open the night of celebration.



June 29
Slice — Tom Fun Orchestra
Owl Acoustic Lounge — L.A. Beat open jam
Essies — Jonas and the Massive Attraction
Ric’s Grill — Randy Epps

June 30
Average Joe's — Honeymoon Suite
Slice — New Weather Machine with Treeline
Tongue N Groove — Plaid Tongued Devils with Ammena Dance Company

July 1
Jimmy’s Pub — open mic
Ric’s Grill — Davidson Porter Trio
Average Joe's — Dueling Pianos
Mocha Cabana — Alyssa McQuaid
1010 Pub — Jackson E

CANADA DAY 2011

Galt Gardens:
10:00 a.m. Bridgette Yarwood
10:30 a.m. Smokin Pistols
11:30 a.m. Alyssa Mcquaid
12:00 p.m. Sole Survivor
12:30 p.m. Shocked Standards
1:00 p.m. Steve Keenan
1:30 p.m. Matthew Robinson
2:30 p.m. Desert Winds Belly Dancers
3:00 p.m. The New Weather Machine
4:00 p.m. Whos’ yer Daddy

Henderson Lake:
10 a.m., Red Dress run
Taiko drummers
noon: U of L steel drums
12:40 p.m. Sudanese Dancers
1:10 p.m. Second Time Round
1:50 p.m. Dancers
2:20 p.m. Janni Lee Band
3 p.m Irish Dance Academy
3:20 p.m. Sole Rotation
4 p.m. opening ceremonies
O’ Canada
Greetings from dignitaries
4:30 p.m.: Vista Park
5 p.m.: Rocky Mountain Cloggers
5:30 p.m.: Bent 8
6:10 p.m. Ammena Dance company
6:40 p.m.: Jason and the Diatonics
7:20: Ammena Dance Company
7:50 p.m. DNR
8:30p.m. Fire spinners
8:50 p.m. Texas Flood
9:20 p.m. Fire spinners
10 p.m. Hippodrome
11 p.m. fireworks


July 2
Slice — Zojo Black, Greg Gomola CD release
Mocha Cabana — O’Reely
Average Joe's — yuk yuks
Owl Acoustic Lounge — family jam
Ric’s Grill — Cal Toth
Owl Acoustic Lounge — the Re-Mains

July 3
Owl — plugged in jam

July 4
Owl Acoustic Longe — open mic
1010 Pub — open mic

July 5
Slice — open mic
Bo Diddly’s — open mic
Tongue N Groove — Bill Durst

July 6
Owl Acoustic Lounge — L.A. Beat open jam
Slice — The Heartbroken
Ric’s Grill — Bridgette and Evan