White Rock Blues Society: Press

FEAR NOT, FATHEAD IS HERE

Fathead is considered one of the best blues bands working Canadian tundra
these days, so it's a big deal for White Rock Blues Society to book the
Toronto-based band for a Saturday-nighter (May 1) at Pacific Inn's Rhumba
Room bar.

The gig probably wouldn't have happened here without some luck of the
logistical kind, reports the society's Rod Dranfield. "Because Fathead are
in B.C. to play at a festival (in Harrison Hot Springs, among other places),
we were approached by their management to see if we could put on a show,"
Dranfield told me. "Over the past three years, we (the blues society) have
garnered a solid reputation back east, and the word is out that we can
deliver.... As you can no doubt appreciate, there would be no way we could
fly (Fathead) in ourselves."

It's a similar tag-along scenario for the society's Friday, June 4 show at
the same venue, featuring L.A. blues-harmonica veteran James Harman.

The five guys of Fathead, meanwhile, are on a high following the spring
release of Where's The Blues Taking Me, which could give the band even more
attention from the Juno Awards caretakers next year. The band's sound has
evolved over the past couple of decades to include straight-up blues,
'50s-framed rock 'n' roll, funk, gospel and even some cabaret-style soul.

"We rarely play a song the same way twice, so we kind of keep our crowds
guessing," Fathead bandleader Al Lerman told me this week.

In this quintet, Lerman plays harmonica, tenor sax and vocally backs up lead
singer John Mays. Original guitarist Teddy Leonard last year returned to the
fold, with Omar Tunoch on bass and drummer Bucky Berger.

Tickets are $25 at the door for Fathead's dance party Saturday at the Rhumba
Room, 1160 King George Blvd. Call 604-542-6515 for info, or browse
www.whiterockblues.com.

tzillich@thenownewspaper.com

The Scene

Fathead
Tickets are available now for a show by Canada’s blues “all-star team,” Fathead, which comes to the Rhumba Room at the Pacific Inn, 1160 King George Blvd., May 1 at 8 p.m. in a CD release party show presented by the White Rock Blues Society.
Featuring John Mays (lead vocals), Al Lerman (harp, tenor sax, vocals), Teddy Leonard (guitar, vocals), Omar Tunnoch (bass, vocals) and Bucky Berger, drums, percussion, vocals), Fathead has just released a much-anticipated follow-up to the Juno award-winning Building Full Of Blues.
Where’s The Blues Taking Me? takes the band’s sound to a new level with the group’s most fully-realized recording to date, produced by B3 master Lance Anderson.
Stories woven into song by the band’s long-time tunesmiths Lerman and Tunnoch, soul-baring vocals, sterling musicianship and superior production values highlight Fathead’s constantly-evolving sound, which encompasses everything from straight-up blues, to R & B, ’50s-style rock ‘n’ roll, funk, gospel and even torch/cabaret-style soul and blues.
The Pacific Inn gig is a welcome stop-off during extensive touring in support of the current album, giving local audiences a chance to hear a stellar Canadian band in their own backyard.
For tickets ($20 advance, $25 at the door) and information, call 604-542-6515.

Fundraising Event Helps Group Attend Maple Blues Awards

The White Rock Blues Society is presenting a fundraiser on Monday, Jan 1 at the Yale Hotel in support of blues band The Twisters, who’ll use the proceeds to cover travel costs they’ll incur getting to a couple of prestigious gigs.

The Twisters, who are five-time nominees for the 2010 Maple Blues Awards, will head for Toronto to participate in and perform for the annual awards ceremony on January 18th. The group is slated to perform during the 13th annual gala event at Koerner Hall.

From Ontario the group heads for Tennessee, where they’ll attend the International Blues Challenge Jan 20-23 in Memphis.

The Twisters are David “Hurricane” Hoerl (vocals, harmonica), Brandon “Yukon Slim” Isaak (guitar, vocals), Keith Picot (bass) and Chip Hart (drums).
Admission to the quartet’s show at the Yale is $10, 7:30 p.m.

for more info visit www.twisters.ca

Beat Goes On For Blues Musician
Lloyd Jones plays the Rhumba Room June 20.
Published: June 11, 2009 12:00 PM
Updated: June 11, 2009 12:03 PM
When singer and blues guitarist Lloyd Jones was leading Brown Sugar, most popular blues band in Portland, Ore. in the early `70s, he had the opportunity to work with many of the touring blues greats.
One of them, S.P. Leary – who had worked with Muddy Waters and was playing drums with Big Walter Horton at the time – leaned over to Jones as he was about to leave town and confided in the younger musician.
“Man,” he said, “I’m getting old. You gotta keep it alive. It’s a struggle sometimes, but if you love it, you keep on struggling.”
Leary’s words have been adopted as a mantra by the versatile Jones, who bills his current band The Lloyd Jones Struggle.
The band will make its Semiahmoo Peninsula debut June 20, 8 p.m. at the Rhumba Room (Pacific Inn), 1160 King George Hwy., featuring sidemen Mike Klobas (drums), Willie Barber (bass), Glen Holstrom (keys), Robbie Jordon (tenor and baritone sax) and Terry Townson (trumpet).
Jones, who describes his music as “storytelling with a Memphis groove,” was born in Seattle to a musical family which moved to Portland soon afterward. He grew up hearing his father’s Dixieland jazz records and being taught to play drums by his older brother, also a musician, who took his sibling to band rehearsals and started him playing gigs at the tender age of 13. Before he graduated high school, he had seen, and been mesmerized, by such artists as James Brown, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.
After starting Brown Sugar, Jones was privileged to work with such musicians as Charlie Musselwhite, George ‘Harmonica’ Smith, the Johnny Otis Show and Big Mama Thornton.
“That’s how we learned, and that’s really when I first picked up the guitar,” he recalled.
“A lot of times these people would stay at our homes and teach us music and history. Some of them have passed, now, so I cherish those memories.”
Over the years, Jones also played with such legendary figures as Albert Collins, Robert Cray, Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Dr. John, John Hammond, Etta James and Junior Wells; and even his earlier idols Guy and King. In the `80s he joined former Cray singer and harp-player Curtis Salgado in a band named In Yo’ Face.
Tickets ($25 in advance, $30 at the door) are available from 604-542-6515, Tapestry Music, North Bluff Music and the Pacific Inn.

Monday » April 27 » 2009

Blown away by the blues

Tom Zillich
Surrey Now

Friday, April 24, 2009

Rod Dranfield, a co-founder of the White Rock Blues Society, responds to Tom Zillich's 10 questions:

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CONCERT-GOING EXPERIENCE?

"Summer of 1966 in Dorval, Quebec, a local promoter by the name of Donald K. Donald brought in The Shadows Of Night, who had a major hit with Van Morrison's 'Gloria.' There were a couple thousand people, all standing and cheering. The crowd encouraged them to play the song three times that night.... I realized nothing beats the real thing, live music. I think it was the only hit they ever had. Someone recently posted the tune on YouTube with a picture of the album cover. I still own the album."

WHEN DID YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH BLUES MUSIC?

"In the summer of 1968 I attended an evening outdoor concert. The Paul Butterfield Band opened the show for James Cotton. I and my buddy Norm were taken by the music, as were the thousands in attendance. Everyone was dancing up a storm.... Montreal fans have always had a soft spot for the blues. I was hooked on the sound of the harp (harmonica) after that, and migrated to Slim Harpo and Jimmy Reed. Lately, it's been Charlie Musselwhite, John Lee Williamson and Watermelon Slim."

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE ERA OF THE BLUES?

"The man that really turned my ear to the blues Texas-style was Johnny Winter. Our university student council booked Johnny into Place des Arts for our winter carnival. What a night. Johnny was guitar-dueling with Rick Derringer all night. I was captivated by the energy coming from the stage -- all that talent and incredible sound. The 3,000 audience members' response was deafening. Suddenly, blues was front and centre, with my generation's spin and energy added. But where was all this music coming from? Who was Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf? No one was telling us the history; there was no internet, no books and no first-hand information, but there was Rolling Stone magazine and its interviews with the likes of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, who referred to the original blues greats. They kept telling us to listen to the originators, the creators of the blues and to go to their shows, buy their records and experience what excited them when they first heard the music, on records carried into the U.K. by merchant seaman or purchased in France, where the first European blues records were produced. God bless the French for their early appreciation and passion for the blues in the 1950s; they helped stimulate the British music invasion."

WITH THE SOCIETY, WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE GIG SO FAR?

"It's hard for me to pick one because I enjoyed each one so much for what they bring to the audience. I have but one measure of success: How many people are on the dance floor? We've had some amazing players perform for us. The 20-year-old Hank Shreve from Eugene, Oregon, was mesmerizing on the harp and vocals earlier this month at our first International Harmonica Showcase.... It was his first international gig, (on) our humble stage, and he really appreciated the response he received from the audience."

WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE RHUMBA ROOM THAT MAKES IT WORK AS THE SOCIETY'S HOME BAR/CONCERT VENUE?

"It has the biggest dance floor in White Rock/South Surrey and our blues fans love to dance. It also has a Yale Hotel feel to it, long bar down the left side, some elevated seating at the back, elbow room for 250 people and it is attached to the Pacific Inn Hotel, which has two restaurants and reasonably priced rooms. We have people coming from Chilliwack, the North Shore and as far as Seattle, so they like to get a room for the night. Eric Steiner, the president of the Washington Blues Society, came up for a show in support of our society and he promotes our events below the 49th parallel."

DO YOU EVER GET THE ITCH TO GET UP THERE AND JAM WITH THE MUSICIANS?

"Yes, but fortunately I know my limits as a harp player and reserve such behaviour for local blues jams and house parties. I have yet to play on the Rhumba Room stage. I do get a kick out of shooting some video of each show and have about 35 videos up on YouTube."

Finish this sentence: I'd rather stick a tuning fork in my ear than listen to...

"Rap music, and more than one Bluegrass tune."

WHAT'S THE MOST RECENT CD YOU BOUGHT (OR DOWNLOADED)?

"Floyd Jones' Trouble Monkey, from 1995, because he and his six-piece band are coming to town in June and I was told this was his breakthrough album. I always like to hear the bands we are booking, to become familiar with their sound."

CAN YOU DESCRIBE TROUBLE MONKEY HERE, IN 10 WORDS OR LESS?

"Driving, dancing beat, mellow ballads, clear vocals and a story to tell about love and life, because the blues, as Willie Dixon said, 'are the facts of life put to music'."

WHAT'S NEXT ON THE CALENDAR FOR WHITE ROCK BLUES SOCIETY?

"In Memphis, I was a proud Canadian watching MonkeyJunk, from Ottawa, perform as one of the final 10 bands in the 25th Annual International Blues Challenge at the famed Orpheum Theatre on Front Street, one block from B.B. King's club on Beale Street.... The band plays the Rhumba Room on Friday, May 22 (and they) will blow you away."
© Surrey Now 2009


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Blues musician has impressive resume

By Alex Browne - Peace Arch News

Published: December 20, 2008 10:00 AM
Updated: December 22, 2008 6:50 AM

A master of blues bass is heading to the Semiahmoo Peninsula.

Russell Jackson and his band will headline the last dance/show of the year for the White Rock Blues Society at the Rhumba Room, 1160 King George Hwy., Saturday Dec. 27 at 8 p.m.

Doors open at 7:30 p.m.

The stage will also be shared by local legends, The Mud Bay Blues Band, who are currently celebrating their 30th year as a group.

The evening follows up the society’s successful second annual Yuletide Blues Benefit bash at the Rhumba Room, which raised $3,755 for Peace Arch Community Services Food Bank.

That gig also included The Mud Bay Blues Band, along with such luminaries as Jerry Doucette, Johnny Ferreira, Mud Dog and such local performers as Jason Buie, artistic director of the society’s program, Leanne Coleman, Blue Voodoo, Yukon Slim, Glen Pearson, Sam & Luke, David ‘Boxcar’ Gates, Ellie Johnson and the James Shepherd Band.

The next show should gain added sizzle from the presence of Vancouver-based Jackson, who describes his music as “honouring the tradition of the blues with a contemporary twist.”

Equally adept at both electric and acoustic (stand up) bass, Jackson has been known for years as a monster player who can stir up any room with his slap-string style, powerful sense of rhythm and innate showmanship.

His history is inextricably linked with one of the all-time blues greats, guitarist B.B. King.

In 1979, at the age of only 25, Jackson was invited to join King’s orchestra. He stayed for the next seven years, absorbing a thorough education in both the substance and style of the blues, as well as playing on two of King’s albums.

Born in Memphis, Tenn., Jackson did most of his growing up in Wichita, Kan.

With relatively little formal musical education, but plenty of playing experience, he had already acquired a strong reputation as a bassist by the time he got the call to join King.

But after leaving King in 1986, Jackson knew he wanted to develop his knowledge and technique even further.

He was admitted to the prestigious Dick Grove School of Music in Los Angeles, where he studied both electric and acoustic bass with world-renowned tutor Joel DiBartlo.

In 1987, he became part of famed rhythm section Silent Partners, and wrote the title track on their critically acclaimed debut album, If It’s All Night, It’s All Right, released on the Antones label in 1989.

Jackson has also toured and recorded as a sideman with such blues greats as Charlie Muselwhite, Katie Webster, Matt Murphy, Kenny Neal and Roy Gaines, Luther Tucker, Frankie Lee and Long John Baldry.

After he left Silent Partners in 1990, Jackson relocated to Vancouver where he formed his own band.

In 1994, it recorded its debut album, The Alley Man, on the StoneBluz label, and in 1996, it was featured in the music video Show Me The Door, which received heavy play on the Bravo! network in the U.S. and Canada.

Jackson has also continued to compose, refining his own distinct brand of blues that was showcased on his album Becoming The Blues. His band continues to tour across North America.

Current band members include drummer Ivan Duben Jr. and guitarist James Rogers.

His list of musical heroes includes B.B. King, Willie Dixon, Major Holley, Ray Brown, Marcus Miller, Jerry Jemmott, James Jamieson and Larry Graham.

Jackson can be seen in the YouTube videos Kenny Wayne at the Yale featuring Russell Jackson, and Gangster Of Love - Russell Jackson Chicago Blues Festival 2007 on tour.

Events generate cash and food for charity
Surrey Now
Published: Friday, December 12, 2008

Sunday's second annual Yuletide Blues benefit in South Surrey raised $3,755 in cash and 701 pounds of food for charity.

The White Rock Blues Society-hosted event was organized to give a hand to the Peace Arch Community Services (PACS) food bank.

Jerry Doucette, Johnny Ferreira and many others played to a packed house at the Pacific Inn hotel's Rhumba Room,

"Jason Buie did a masterful job putting on the greatest blues shows in the history of White Rock/South Surrey," raved the blues society's Rod Dranfield.

"Many thanks to Anthony Intas, a driving force in promoting this wonderful community event. Congratulations to Ruth Chitty and her band of volunteers for handling the door and donations. A warm thanks to all the musicians who donated their talents and time to make the evening a resounding success."

November 7, 2008
White Rock Blues Society Presents Jerry Doucette

Written by
cindy mcleod

Jerry Doucette
Saturday, November 8
Rhumba Room
White Rock, BC

Doucette set to rock Rhumba Room

The White Rock Blues Society presents Canadian guitar great Jerry Doucette on Saturday, November 8th at The Rhumba Room in White Rock. Doucette will be backed for the performance by The Jason Buie Band, with Marko Ibara (drums), Brian Scott (bass) and Sig (keyboards). Opening the show is Mud Dog with Steve Sainus and Christopher Allen.

Vancouver based guitarist and composer Jerry Doucette is described as one of Canada’s most influential and under-rated performers. Over the last thirty-plus years he has carved his name in the music industry as a pop-rock giant. Best known for his monumental hit record Mama Let Him Play (1977), which saw him touring North America opening for the likes of Bob Welch and Meatloaf, Doucette has gone on to release a handful of records that showcase his guitar prowess and a keen pop sense, as well as doing session work with the likes of Aldo Nova and Prism, and live performances opening for the likes of The Atlanta Rhythm Section, The Doobie Brothers and The Beach Boys.

Ongoing legal battles over control of Doucette’s music were finally laid to rest in the early ’90’s and he re-emerged from the experience with the Price of an Education (1995). His most recent release is his Vintage CDRom featuring a collection of 17 of his best tunes re-mastered, 3 live cuts, and a rare audio interview accompanied by a slide show featuring over 60 photos, promotional items, billboard charts and more.

for more info visit www.jerrydoucette.ca

December 9 Blues Benefit for the PACS Food Bank Surpasses All Expectations

On Sunday December 9 2007 at the Rumba Room of the Aston Pacific Inn, the White Rock Blues Society held its First Annual Yuletide Blues Benefit Concert for the Peace Arch Community Services (PACS) Food Bank.

Over 525 pounds of food and $3,400 in donations were collected on behalf of the 2,000 clients, 1/3 of whom are children, in White Rock and South Surrey who the Food Bank serves each month.

Throughout the course of the night, hundreds of people came to support those in need and enjoy the wonderful performances of the Mud Bay Blues Band, Dave 'Hurricane' Hoerl and Brandon Issak of the Twisters, Al Webster from the Jeff Healey and Colin James bands, Glen and Gordon Pearson, Jason Buie, Leanne Coleman, Dave Webb, Rodney Senft, Brian Scott and others. Sound and lighting were generously supplied by Gordon Brown, James Wahl and John Laird of Brown Sound.

'All of these individuals came together for a common cause', said Rod Dranfield, President of the White Rock Blues Society. 'There is something about the Blues and hunger, not just about food but about suffering in life. There are not too many Blues musicians out there who have not been hungry at some point. These guys have good hearts'.

Jason Buie, Artistic Director of the White Rock Blues Society, who performed that evening and was instrumental in getting his friends to join him said, 'The Blues is a Universal language. Everyone has had the blues at some point in there life -if they know it or not. Blues music is a healing form of music....when we're down it can lift us up, make us feel like everything is gonna be all right....it can renew our hope at the end of a bad day. Blues music is timeless.....it is not a fad...it is here to stay. Everyone from 18 to 88 can relate to this music...it will always be 'cool'. Musicians and folk that are involved in the blues community/world are generally a caring, understanding, soulful group of people. With this being said it is inevitable that a function such as 'Yuletide Blues' would not be a great success. It's all about brotherly love.'

'I am overwhelmed by the generosity in this community', said Anthony Intas, Community Relations Coordinator at Peace Arch Community Services. 'The musicians, the organizers, the volunteers and the public all came together for a truly magical event'.

The White Rock Blues Society was established this year to promote, share and advance blues and related music in the community. It puts on a number of concerts throughout the year. Its next one will be held on Saturday December 27 at the same venue and will feature many of the artists who donated their time for the Food Bank Benefit Concert. For more information contact Rod Dranfield, Society President at 604 542-6515 or www.myspace.com/whiterockbluessociety

Added Wednesday, December 12th 2007

Another Success for White Rock Blues Society and the Traveling Performer Rob Lutes; 'Ride The Shadows' New CD
March 1, 2008 - 20:34 — Johan Sandstrom
Friday night February 29th the White Rock Blues Society put on distinctive "roots" music show that was a departure from the format of past events.

Instead of a Saturday night and a two to three month interval between events this show was on a Friday and only 13 days since the sell out "Lady Sings The Blues" Valentines tribute show starring Cat Wells.

The featured artist was award winning singer songwriter Rob Lutes from Montreal. Rob is just beginning his national tour to promote his third CD, "Shadows Across Canada".

The CD was one of the top-10 in Canada last year. The Pacific Inn Rhumba Room was his second stop on his western leg that will see him playing Victoria, Kelowna, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon and Winnipeg before returning to Ontario and then on to the Maritime provinces.

Rob MacDonald who accompanied Lutes is an excellent guitar player who played a Dobro throughout the two sets to open the evening’s night of Blues/Roots music.

Both sets were a series of poetic lyrical journeys of song and rhythm. Each song told a story by taking you to places and reminding you of feelings that we all share.

From the start with the warm White Rock welcome the audience was attentive and reacted enthusiastically to every song.

If CD sales are a good measure of the audience reaction it is clear that Rob developed a number of new fans.

There were two couples in the audience who first saw him in Powel River at a 2001 festival that just had to see him perform again.

Between songs Rob shared with the audience something about the origins of the song he was about to perform. One story was particularly memorable.

A few years back Rob was doing research for a book he was writing about the professional golf association caddies of the 50’s and 60s’. Years ago the Ben Hogans of the world tended to have African Americans from the southern states as caddies.

Itinerate workers they were paid very little money. One gentleman Rob interviewed was named Dolfus "Golf Ball" Hull from Jackson Mississippi. He worked for Raymond Floyd, Jack Nicholas and Calvin Pete among others.

He was well on in his years and had difficulty walking do to arthritic pain and poor eyesight. When Rob asked him what it was like not being able to walk the course any longer Dolfus passionately stressed to Rob not to count him out.

He was confident he would return to the course next year. Rob wrote a song about him and called it "Jackson" and introduced it as a "blues song about golf". That got quite a reaction from the audience. It seems many have experienced some kind of woes on a golf course.

The chorus of the song, which follows his description of Dolfus’ refusal to accept that he would no longer caddy, goes something like this.

"Is it bravery or the vestiges of slavery or just his style?"
"Is it hopefulness, or just the fear of loneliness, or just his style?
"Was it confidence he saw some would call a fallacy, or bravery?"
"He said, I will see you next year."

To this, on Dobro guitar Rob MacDonald added one of his many scintillating solos of the night with ear catching licks that complimented the sound and mood of the piece.

After two forty minute sets it was time for the Jason Buie Blues Band to take the stage and rip into some driving dance music.

Dave Webb on piano, Chris Nordquist on Drums, and Brian Scott on base joined Jason on stage.

After a about 20 minutes, Rob MacDonald joined the band on stage and went through a series of guitar screaming tunes with Jason to the delight of the crowd.

Once again there was a lively group of dancers taking it all in at arms length to the stage as these to talented musicians stretched their talents to the limit, sounding as if they had played together for years rather than for the first time.

At one point, as they traded licks back and forth I was reminded of a 1971 Johnny Winter concert at Montreal’s Place des Art with him and Rick Derringer ripping it up to the delight of the screaming audience.

And I got it all on video.

Annual Yuletide Blues bash returns Dec. 7


By Alex Browne - Peace Arch News

Published: December 04, 2008 4:00 PM
Updated: December 04, 2008 4:33 PM

If the lineup of talent participating in the the White Rock Blues Society’s second annual Yuletide Blues is any measure, the society – now a year and a half old – is doing well indeed.

This Sunday (Dec. 7) from 6:30 p.m. the Rhumba Room at the Pacific Inn, 1160 George Hwy., will be rocking to the music of such luminaries as Jerry Doucette, Johnny Ferreira and Mud Dog, plus such well-known local performers as Leanne Coleman, Blue Voodoo, Yukon Slim, Jason Buie, the Mud Bay Blues Band, Glen Pearson, Sam & Luke, David ‘Boxcar’ Gates, Ellie Johnson and the James Shepherd Band.

For such an array of talent, admission is a low $15 – plus two non-perishable healthy food items – and every dime of it is going to a worthy cause, the Peace Arch Community Services Food Bank, which serves the community of South Surrey and White Rock.

“The lineup is great,” said guitarist-vocalist Buie, who is also the society’s artistic director.

“Originally, when we started the society, one of our concepts was to accomplish the same thing that they have at the Commodore with Music For Christmas. We wanted to put together a similar production, and a lot of the artists who play at our events are more than happy to support the cause.”

“It was Jason’s idea and Harpdog Brown’s that we should do something for the food bank,” said society president Rod Dranfield.

“What better association is there than people in need and the blues? The blues has always been the song of downtrodden people and hunger.”

Dranfield noted the event is further evidence of the organizations’ mandate to promote local blues talent. Two of the acts were the top two finishers in the society’s 2008 Roots and Blues Talent Search – winners Sam & Luke and runners up the James Shepherd Band.

“We know that Sam & Luke are playing a lot of gigs now, and a lot of house parties,” he said.

Buie pointed out that the Mud Bay Blues Band is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, making it one of the longest-running bands in the country.

“At our year-end Blues Bash on Dec. 27, they will be opening for the headliner, Russell Jackson.”

Doucette, who played for the society last month, was one of the most popular acts presented by the organization, Dranfield said.

“Once he heard we were doing this, he jumped on board.”

Dranfield also described jump blues saxophonist Ferreira as “a true entertainer,” and recalled an earlier blues society show featuring the Blue Voodoo that was a high water mark of energetic riffing.

“When they were playing at the end of the night and Jason was with them, it was just unbelievable.”

“Brandon Isaak, who is known as Yukon Slim and plays with the Twisters, graduated from Semiahmoo Secondary,” Buie added.

“He played with us at this event last year.”

Another local name is Johnson who, Dranfield said, “can really play that ‘geetar’ great – and she’s got a good voice, too.”

Coleman, who sings at the Sandpiper, has developed a strong following in the community in the eight years she has been here, while the also popular Pearson will perform several songs with his dad, Gordon to open the show, before he has to race off to another gig, Buie and Dranfield said.

The Dobro-harmonica duo Mud Dog – who played the same show as Doucette – have also amply demonstrated their talent, winning a Western Canadian Music Award for best new CD.

“David Gates is an excellent Piedmont-style, Delta blues, Dobro finger picker,” said Buie.

“He also plays great harp, too,” said Dranfield.

Good attendance at the society’s monthly shows has indicated it is filling a need in the community, and fulfilling its mandate, Dranfield added.

The society has kept things running on a break-even basis, and has paid all of the acts for the shows, he said – which has probably served it better than putting all its eggs in one basket by organizing an annual festival.

“People across the country have heard about us now,” he said.

“We get a lot of inquiries from acts that are going to be touring out west, seeing whether they can hook up a gig with us.

“We’ve done 11 shows now and it’s become virtually a turnkey operation,” Dranfield said.

“Our technical people can set it up and take it down really smoothly.”

Buie said he and one of his musical partners are going to record this year’s show with the hope of producing a compilation album, Live at the Rhumba Room.

“Part proceeds could go to PACS year-round,” Dranfield said.

“And part will go back to the society so we can eventually get to the point where we’re presenting someone of the caliber of a Buddy Guy or a B.B. King.”

It is called the “music business.” Music & Business a convergence that if done correctly can almost certainly guarantee musical success.


Most people though have a CD they tirelessly try to turn their friends on to, because no one seemingly heard of the artist or the band. The usual suspect for such failure is the lack of “business” associated with “the music.”


Meet White Rock’s BLUES BROTHERS Jason Buie & Rod Dranfield. A perfect example of each other’s talents complementing the other. Sometimes like an old couple that has been together for years, Rod & Jason seamlessly finish each other’s sentences.


The beginning of the White Rock Blues Society stretches back to late 1999/2000. “I was living in Vancouver on the east side and I got my first introduction to White Rock when I started playing at Iguanas on the beach” says Jason Buie. “I met Rodney when I started gigging out here, and what impressed me was he was so passionate about music. We started kicking around the idea of setting up a Blues Society and before we knew it, the White Rock Blues Society was formed it has now been a reality for over a year.”


Rodney Dranfiield with an extensive business marketing background takes care of the business but is quick to point out why the situation works so well “I think a real key for the quick success of our blues society is the fact, Jason is on the Board of Directors. Having an artist with the talent of Jason immediately gave us credibility in the music community.”


Rewinding to their first show brings back fond memories for Jason & Rodney. “Our very first show was May 17, 2007 at the now defunct Camp Kwomais in Ocean Park” says Dranfield “Jason and Harp Dog played on a Wednesday evening. We served coffee and cookies and popcorn and the place was packed.” Jason chimes in with a funny anecdote about the show “ An article appeared in the local paper and they mentioned it was coffee and cookies, no alcohol and as a result of it people thought we were in recovery and as a result we got a couple of gigs at rehab centres.”


The stories pour out of Dranfield and Buie as they with great recall list the numerous shows the White Rock Blues Society has created over the past 18 months locally. The conversation though quickly jumps from the past to the present. “We have the second annual Yuletide Blues show this Sunday at The Rhumba Room in the Aston Pacific Hotel” says Buie. “The lineup this year is incredible.” Local musicians BLUE VOODOO, SAM & LUKE, LEANNE COLEMAN, MUD DOG, MUD BAY BLUES BAND, ELLIE JOHNSON the late addition JERRY DOUCETTE and Vancouver’s JOHNNY FERREIRA.


The show will be hosted by JASON BUIE and his house band of Mark, Brian & Zig will supply back up for some of the artists appearing. The music begins around 5 o’clock this Sunday and lord knows when it will end. The whole event is in support of the Peace Arch Community Services Food Bank. “There will be $15 admission charge and we are asking everyone to bring two healthy non-perishable items for the food bank” says Dranfield. “Last year we collected over 500 pounds of food for the food bank. We also have an anonymous donor who has funded the show so unlike a lot of other so called benefits, every cent raised will go directly to the food bank.”


Representatives from the food bank will be on hand helping to collect the food and ensuring the show is a great time for everyone. Dranfield and Buie have set the show in such a manner, anyone wishing to support the food bank and digging some great music, it will be possible to drop in at any point for a couple of hours and hear some incredible music. Yuletide Blues – 2nd Annual Christmas Blues Benefit. Helping to ensure some of our neighbours don’t have a blue Christmas.


Let those guitars ring!