The Weekenders
Band: The Weekenders
Year: 2006
Formed: 2001
Genre: ’50’s and ’60’s covers.
Home: Chatham, Wallaceburg
Members:
Tim Nishimura – Bass, guitar, vocals
Jeff Vercauteren – Guitar, vocals
Jeff Emerson – Lead Guitar, vocals
Matt Daudlin – Sax
Grayling Church – Drums, vocals
Scott Galloway – played keyboards for the band in the earlier years of the band.
Watch videos of the band in the comment box below.
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Venue: Chatham Capitol Theatre
City: Chatham Ontario Canada
Year: 2010
Address: 238 KING ST W
Visit their website here.
The Chatham Capitol Theatre is a 1214-seat entertainment venue in the heart of downtown Chatham, Ontario. The theatre first opened as a movie house in 1930 and has recently undergone a reconstruction to become a first-rate destination for live entertainment. The theatre will open its doors to the public in summer/fall of 2010.
The Capitol features a deluxe new balcony with 455 seats in addition to 759 seats on the orchestra level. The 65-foot fly tower and state-of-the-art rigging allows for larger scale and more technically advanced productions. The orchestra pit is designed for the optimal acoustic experience and can also be raised to floor or stage level as desired.
The theatre features art deco detailing throughout with gilded décor, opera boxes, an ornate ceiling, and much more. It is equipped with three lounges, an elevator, and is fully accessible.
2010 performers include: Bill Cosby, Howie Mandel, Great Big Sea, Chantal Kreviazuk, Michelle Wright, Josh Turner (Country Star), Corb Lund, Colm Wilkinson, The Rankin Family & more.
History:
Late 1927 – The dream of a new modern theatre in the downtown core of Chatham was begun by Charles Hadley, a prominent businessman in the city.
April 11, 1930 – Mayor Burton L. Bedford formally opened the new Capitol Theatre and dedicated it as the Palace of Pastime to a sold out audience. With a seating capacity of 1500, it was one of the largest theatres in Western Ontario. The opening night feature was the musical comedy “Sally” staring Marilyn Miller.
The next 20 years – The Theatre seating capacity was reduced to 1,000 seats and many minor renovations were undertaken, such as the relocation of the ticket booth from inside to outside the theatre.
1975 – The largest renovation took place when the theatre was split down the centre into two cinemas of 472 seats each, thus bringing the total seats down to 944.
1992 – Famous Players Theatre abandoned the property as a viable movie theatre and the City of Chatham purchased the property.
November 1995 – The Chatham Capitol Theatre Coalition made a proposal to save the theatre and restore it as an entertainment venue. The Coalition was later incorporated as a not-for-profit organization and obtained Registered Charitable status in August 1996.
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Band: Blutonium
Home: Chatham-Kent Ontario
Style: Rhythm & Blues covers
Year: 2010
Members (L-R in above picture)
Jeff Mifflin – Guitar
Bob Wilson – Bass
Rick Chrysler – Drums
Phil Caron – vocals, harmonica and guitar
Notes: The music is high energy R&B, BLUES, SOUL and MOTOWN.The band is getting very popular in London, Sarnia and Windsor. Bob and Rick put this band together with the intention of playing the music they love,and trying to be different than any other band currently on the scene.
Currently performing @
London – WORTLEY ROADHOUSE
Sarnia – UPS N DOWNS
Chatham – RibFest, Big Shots, The Jazzbah
Visit them online @ http://bluetonium.ca/
Watch the external video below.
If video does not appear, watch it here. Video working as of oct. 1, 2010.
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Band: Dead End Charlie
Genre: Rock
Home: Chatham-Kent
Year: 2010
Members
Frank E. Fitz: Lead Vocals, Guitar
Aug Polowick: Lead Guitar
Paul Demars: Drums, Backing Vocals
Dwayne Purdy: Bass, Backing Vocals.
The group put out a Demo CD in 2008 that was a good solid rock record. This time around, Paul exchanges his lead vocal duties to play the drums where he feels most at home. So who is the new singer? No problem… the group scooped up Phil Smith (A.K.A. Franklin Edward Fitz) from one of the best local underground bands in Chatham “The Grave Misunderstanding“.
The groups new found talent, and fresh creative juices means nothing but good things for them right now.
Note: Paul also currently drums for the band Finding Core.
Aug also performs with The Southwest Blues Review.
Visit them online here.
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Venue: Rossini’s Restaurant
Year: 2010
Live entertainment: Rossini’s often has performances from local jazz, classical, and acoustic musicians.
Address: 634 Grand Avenue East
Phone: (519) 352-2920
Web: http://rossinisrestaurant.ca/
About: Rossini’s is one of Chatham’s oldest restaurants. Founded in 1948 by Carlo and Amalia Rossini, the restaurant has grown from the original 30 to 150 seats.
Amalia, “Mamma Rossini” longed to recreate the warmth and ambiance of the family home in the Fruili region of Italy, and hence, our “fogolar” or hearth was built in the new dining room.
In Italy, this fireplace gave light to the house as well as warmth, a fire to cook on, and a place to gather; relax and share the events of the day.
Mamma passed away in January 1995. Bill and Jean Rossini continued to run the family operation using her original recipes. Ed, Berta and Devon Prelaz purchased the restaurant in 2003 and will continue to carry on the traditions of Carlo, Mamma, Bill and Jean.
We hope that the fogolar and the decor that surrounds you will recapture the genuine hospitality, warmth and friendship of an old Italian home, where family and friends would gather to enjoy delicious home cooked meals, good wine and happy times.
Every Sunday evening through the summer of 2010, Rossini’s presents live jazz music on their patio.
The band is made up of…
Byron Harrett – Saxes
Andy Tattersall – Guitar
Bob Hiltz – Bass
Ken Crone also performed.
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Click pic to enlarge
Band: Jef Kearns Four
Year: 2005
Genre: Jazz Covers
Home: Chatham
Members:
Jef Kearns – Wood wind
Andy Tattersall – Guitar
Bob Hiltz – Bass
Scott Meriano – Drums
Sarah Hiltz – Vocals
Notes: The band can be found playing the Metro Lounge (Chatham) every Thursday. The band includes highly skilled individual players who have come together to perform Jazz music.
Visit Jef online here.
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Click on pictures above to enlarge them
Band: Southwest Blues Review
CD Release: Under the Covers
Year: 2009
Home: Chatham-Kent Ontario
Genre: Blues
Members:
Tony Meriano – Drums
Aug Polowick – Guitar
Rob Watson – Guitar / Vocals –
John Gardiner – Bass
Byron Brunton – Harmonica / Trumpet
Leia Weaver – Vocals
Pictures:
Live band pic above: (L-R) – Aug, John, Leia, Tony, Rob, Byron.(Ridgetown 2009)
Drum pic: Tony setting up his pink drums for a gig, talking with his good friend Dennis Tatchell.
The CD: A collection of 10 tracks of old and modern groovy blues standards.
Notes: “The Southwest Blues Review formed in spring 2006, bringing together talent from all corners of the county. From Ridgetown, Leia Weaver and Rob Watson made the journey to meet in Cedar Springs at Barnyard Studios with Tony Meriano and Aug Polowick, The band was brought together thanks to the vision of John Gardiner from Wallaceburg. A year later, they firmed up the lineup with the addition of Byron Brunton of Blenheim.
The Southwest Blues Review became a local favourite for community festivals, fundraisers, art openings and any all around good time. Their influences and inspirations include Big Mama Thornton, John Mayall, Etta James, Motown and Stax sounds, the Downchild Blues Band, Daddy Longlegs, Irma Thomas and many many more.
The Southwest Blues Review lost their drummer and founding member Tony to a sudden illness in 2010.
Below is a link to an external video of the bands perfomance at Ribfest in Tecumseh Park, July 2009. Links works as of March 2010.
http://www.youtube.com/user/agridome#p/u/4/u76GnXlzDB8
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Click to enlarge
‘BAND’ING Together
Posted By ELLWOOD SHREVE
Chatham Daily News Nov.14th 2009
If you have a favourite local band still playing or from when you were younger, try checking out the website www.chathammusicarchive.com created by Shawn Beaulieu.
In a short period of time, the 35-year-old Chatham resident has compiled an impressive amount of information on local bands and musicians, including photos and small biographies, which are listed by both name and year released.
Beaulieu began the project about four or five years ago as a blog, but since being laid off six months ago, he has been able to devote several hours a day to the website.
“All of a sudden it turned into more than a hobby and all of a sudden it got bigger and bigger,” Beaulieu said.
He has been a part of the local music scene as a member of the band Foster Child, which became the Janet Theory.
Beaulieu credits the help he has received from Jeff Mifflin, who works at Strings N’ Things and is the guitarist with The O’Hara Brothers band. He said Mifflin was able to access photos of several local bands that have been displayed at the local music store over the years. He also noted the members of the 1980s group Manpower, which have teamed up again this year, “got me into a lot of this.” Beaulieu said the website is getting the attention of several local musicians, past and present, noting people have been coming to him with information. Beaulieu is impressed with the wealth of musical talent and the wide range of genres that has come out of the Chatham-Kent area, and wanted a way to show that to the world.
He has done extensive research at the Chatham Public Library, gathering information dating back to 1889 with the formation of the Chatham City Band. There is plenty of interesting information on well-known older bands, including the Melody Ramblers, which once boasted current country music star Michelle Wright as its lead singer. When Wright left to pursue a solo career, she was replaced by Wendy Jenkins, who also enjoyed success with the popular band. Then there is The Missing Links, including members John, Fred and Eddy Larson and Bill McGrath, whose 1966 album “It’s Link Up Time,” was produced by Paul Shaffer, best known today for his long stint with the David Letterman Show.
The site is also filling up with information on several local bands from today’s era. Beaulieu said the website can also serve as a resource for bands that are looking for musicians with certain skills or local clubs that want to hire local bands to play. “I only knew about 10 per cent of the bands when I started doing this,” Beaulieu said. “There’s a big scene going on, but nobody knows each other.”
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Chatham Music Archive 