We live in a wonderful community that never ceases to tease my taste buds with live music. Varied tastes can be satisfied on a fairly regular basis, be it jazz, folk, country, choral, concert band … the list goes on.
There are a good bunch of “crazies” in this town, you know. I say “crazies” because I wonder, sometimes, if people actually realize why and how events end up here in our faire shire and the amount of work involved.. Who in their right mind would, on their own time after a busy day at work, dig down to help organize? Varied venue sites ranging from church sanctuaries or halls, school auditoriums, studio theatres, parks to pubs, restaurants and coffee shops create opportunities for us, so inclined, to attend and be entertained by something more than the TV and its growing assortment of accessories.
When living in a small community that offers so much, it doesn’t take long to realize most happens thanks to individual “crazies” and groups of “crazies” who, for no other reason or personal payoff than their own passion for the Arts and their desire to share their love for whatever discipline catches their heart, causes them to give so much personal time and energy. At events, the artists glean most of the recognition but generally, behind the scenes, it’s those “crazies” who really make it happen.
These “crazies” work on booking events that can entail negotiating costs of acts, working with schedules of space availabilities for practice, set ups, load ins and outs. They’re busy creating programs, securing proper equipment, arranging advertising, the selling of tickets, rounding up other crews of “crazies” to do the little things that make it all work. Yeah, we take a lot for granted when we rush in and plunk our butts into the seat to take it all in. Thank you and God Bless all you “crazies” out there. Your zeal creates a pulse throughout Perth that keeps us alive and well!!
Speaking of honouring the “crazies”…. I heard four of them recently at O’reilly’s. The band ‘Guthrie House’, made up of seasoned, on their own time, musicians, provided quality entertainment performing original tunes. Daring to share their passions, Steve Hanna on lead guitar / vocals, Marty Crapper on bass / vocals, Dave Balfour on acoustic guitar and lead vocals and Stuart Pike on drums have been getting together for the past 2 years, once a week (or whenever their families and work would allow). They’ve created a sound that, though sometimes hinting of their respective musical hero’s, when blended, have morphed it into a pleasing auditory product. Nice licks, strong rhythms, stand up lyrics with spills of harmony show these guys have worked hard. They’re back again in June so keep an eye out and go have a listen.
We went to Gananoque on Saturday night to hear The Laws, a husband and wife duo made up of John and Michelle Law, I’d heard briefly last October. Based out of Seeley’s Bay, they play full time, spending more and more time in the States and Australia. We caught them at Stoney’s Bar and Grill and they’d recruited a drummer and an ol’ Blue Skies picker, Ken Lunn, to play some super covers that kept the crowd dancin’ and clappin’. John was part of Four Way Street, a well respected Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young tribute band for eight years and his harmony hasn’t been lost. A fun evening for the 2-fer weekend.
By the way, if you enjoy Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler’s guitar work and writing style and you love Emmylou Harris, check out their new disc, “All The Roadrunning”. It took them seven years to put this exquisite piece of work together, squeezing in sessions whenever they could and using familiar stables of support musicians. Just go buy it, listen to the backgrounds and you’ll be hearing an artful creation that makes my ears rejoice.
Support Live Music