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Howard Bailey

Guitar, Vocals

Guitarist Stages Comeback

It's been about 4 years since Howard Bailey has been to Powell River, but the 35 year old musician will be coming to town Friday and Saturday, October 8 and 9 (1999), to perform at the Beach Gardens.

Bailey first came to Powell River 20 years ago and he immediately started playing with the local band, Renegade.

He only lived in town for a few years, moving to other places on the coast and back to Powell River, but he said he still feels like this is his hometown.

"I lived there in my teen years so I really grew up in the area."

Throughout his music career, Bailey has played with a number of bands, in and away from Powell River. For the last 10 years, he has made a living as a solo artist playing guitar and singing with the accompaniment of electronic music which he performs and records himself.

"I like the versatility of the different things you can do when you are playing on your own," he said. Still, he is looking at joining a band again in the near future, for something different.

Bailey plays a little bit of everything, but mostly pop that ranges from the 1950's to the '90's. He also writes his own music, and occasionally plays some during his sets. He has recorded four CD's, one album is cover material....the rest are original, since he left Powell River.
Howard's Homepage: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Howard_Bailey_Music/
Howard's e-mail address: BuriedBone@mindlink.bc.ca

Mike Brooks

Electric Guitar, Classical Guitar, Bass

I started playing the guitar on my 13th birthday and immediately began lessons with Andy Enz. Andy exposed me to my earliest influences such as Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Toni Iomi.

In 1997 I moved to Nanaimo to attend the Malaspina Jazz Program. There I spent 3 years studying jazz with guitarists Myron Makepeace, Colin Mcleary and the great Pat Coleman.

I performed with various jazz ensembles while in Nanaimo including a Jazz Duo with tenor sax player Dave Blinzinger Jr. I also picked up the bass guitar in Nanaimo. Players that have influenced my Bass playing are Flea and Jake Krauss. I am currently living in Powell River were I teach guitar and bass at the Powell River Academy of Music. My main influences are Joe Pass, Nuno Betencourt, Charlie Parker and John Petrucci.

Al Brown

Electric Guitar

Tom Dowding

Guitar, Bass, Drums, Piano

16 years old, Guitar player in the band Cellophayne. Been a member of 4 bands, bar experience and many shows around town in last 4 years. Played piano for 12 years, guitar, bass and drums for 4 years.Influences are Stevie Ray Vaughn, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Smashing Pumpkins.

Steve Formosa

Electric and Acoustic guitarist

I started as a folk singer- acoustic guitarist. Played as a regular coffee house performer (some paid gigs). I met up with a bass player and other vocalists.........one of us had to be the lead guitarist. I enjoyed it the most so I just practised and got better.

Neil Young was my biggest vocal influence. Eric Clapton was the recording artist that influenced me as an electric guitarist. But my enthusiasm stems from my jamming with Mike Kennedy as high school buddies in a friends basement on our Silvertone guitars. We sounded like crap but we just kept playing. I recently jammed with Mike at the Westview Hotel and judging from the crowds response we have gotten a little better.

I started playing when I was 14 and continued diligently until 24. After a few solos, duets , a great band , a record, and a disastrous audition with the CBC, I hung up the guitars for 12 years. Then boom, pre-mature mid life music crisis......and here I am.

I write my own tunes. One was released by the City of Prince George for the North BC Winter Games and an other on the local Elnino Ambience Album in 1996.

I wrote a new song after reading a "Missing Person" poster on a local business' window. It was a young run away girl. Having my own daughters and having had a few clashes, I was charged up with sentiment one night and wrote "Sorry about me" (4.39mb)
3406 Caribou
Powell River, BC
V8A 5H3
604-485-6265
My e-mail address is: sformosa@shaw.ca

Brandon Gleave

Electric Guitar

Growing up with music really interested me. I remember i would sit in my room for hours listening to the different bands and dreaming of playing songs like them. I first started getting into guitar so i could play along with the songs I loved and now i venture into my own songwriting. Guitar and music have no limits on your creativity. It does require great dedication and practice but the end result is well worth it, there is so much you can do with a guitar that you can't do anywhere else. It helps the mind's creative and imaginative process.

The frist person that gave me a push into getting a guitar and actually wanting to start this was Mik Nuotio. He is a great guitarist and friend i met from school a couple of years ago. For my birthday i got my first Acoustic guitar and started taking lessons at the Powell River Music Academy under Mike Brooks. Seeing Mike play really inspired me to want to learn, he is an excellent guitarist and an even better guitar teacher. In 2001 i bought my first electric guitar. I was so excitied i could finally have distortion and play music i liked like Everclear and Metallica. Having an electric guitar really opened up new doors for me. A year later i found myself buying yet another guitar, this time a 7-String. By this time i have really gotten into Industrial Metal, mainly Fear Factory. That band has been my biggest inspiration to date. Their guitar playing combined with lyrics really connect with me and i love to play their songs. A 7-String is all i really ever wanted in a guitar and now that i have it i am exploring home recording and the creation of Drum tracks to back up my recordings.

Brandon's email address is Musico_67@hotmail.com

Cris Greenwell

Electric and Acoustic Guitar, Vocals

I play acoustic and electric guitar. I started playing at about 10 years old and took lessons for about 1.5 years. I was very influenced by British rock. I remember listening to tapes that my uncle would send from England of the Beatles. I was very influenced in my teens by progressive rock such as Deep Purple, Bowie, Jethro Tull, Genesis, Yes and Pink Floyd. I have also liked Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Nazareth etc. I was very influenced acoustically in my late teens by Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Joni Mitchell and America. I was in a band for 1.5 years.

I enjoy going to local jam sessions. I am a rhythm player and a singer. I am working on developing my lead playing. I love to play blues, R and B, Jazz/Blues and some Rock. I have done some solo guitar gigs and love to play finger style acoustic.

I am interested in playing with other musicians that enjoy similar music.

Elaine Hugenschmidt

Acoustic and Electric Guitar

Honestly the reason I chose guitar is because it gives u a sexy personality almost, people don't realize how dedicated you have to be to be a musician... talent is one thing but dedication to your instrument is the icing on the cake.

My family on my dad's side is very musically orientated; we all have a tallent for music so it just felt natural to play guitar.

Click here to play my music (1.81mb 3:57 playing time)

My E-mail address is: marjuana18@hotmail.com

Sam Hurrie

Electric Guitar and National Acoustic Guitar

By Kate Spanks, Reporter

Childhood influences grow stronger
Folk blues musician sees revival

A chipped and twisted National guitar on display in a Vancouver consignment shop gleamed like a jewel to the eyes of folk blues musician Sam Hurrie. The steel acoustic guitar, manufactured in 1931, embodied for Hurrie the historic context of the musical genre he loves.

As the current owner of the re-fretted and straightened instrument, Hurrie offers his listeners a traditional blues sound. "This is what a lot of the early music was recorded on." The National company built their famous guitars from 1927 to 1950. "They started making new ones in 1990."

Folk blues is defined by the age of the music. "Most of it was done prior to World War II, from the mid '20s to the 1940s." Because the word folk is used to define this particular era of blues does not mean that it is related to folk music, says Hurrie. "It's called folk blues almost for lack of a better term. Folk is white and blues is black. Folk has some blues influences but blues has no folk influences."

For Hurrie, folk blues is much more than music. "It's history-it's something from people who were so down-trodden and so oppressed, the music they created helped them rise above their circumstances-and it still speaks to people today."

Folk blues is currently enjoying a revival. "(There's) quite a boom, (although) not so as you'd notice on mainstream radio." The resurgence is apparent to those who frequent music festivals and clubs.

According to Hurrie, there is a worldwide revival in hand-made music in general, which he defines as "music that's made with your hand on an acoustic instrument."

The trend appeals to Hurrie. "I'm going to retire from electric music and just do folk blues-except for occasional one-nighters."Folk blues is a basic 12-bar progression. "Every blues tune has rules." Although a lot of rock tunes adhere to the same rules, Hurrie says, blues has an unmistakable sound. "There is an intangible something that makes a blues tune a blues tune and I can't tell you what it is."

Hurrie started out with folk blues, drifted into rock and roll, yet was always drawn back to the blues. "My influences are almost exclusively black. As I get older I find that the (musical) influences I had as a child are probably my strongest."

Hurrie first picked up a guitar at the age of 12, when he took lessons for six months and learned to sight read. Robert Johnson is one musician Hurrie listened to as a youth and reacquainted himself with years later. "The music still resonated and still had something to say to me. It speaks down the generations."

Blues evolved from the enslavement of blacks in the American south. "What is called a blue note was unknown to white musicians until the slaves brought it over (from Africa)." Called a minor third, a blue note is produced by "slightly bending the string."

Music from the 1920s can almost be described as pre-blues. "They had eerie-sounding music. Some of the earliest blues sounded African." The seeds of folk blues were field hollers and work songs, referred to as call-and-response. "A field hand would call a line and the workers would call out a response." This structure remains standard in blues. "You sing a line and you play it back."

Twice a year, Hurrie visits Mississippi, the birthplace of the blues. "Mississippi Delta blues were born right there on the plantations," says Hurrie. "They ultimately gave birth to rock and roll." This summer he went as a performer as well as a listener. "It's kind of like making a pilgrimage."

The Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival where Hurrie played was held outdoors at the old train station in Clarksdale, the town that gave rise to bluesmen such as Muddy Waters, Sam Cooke, John Lee Hooker, Charley Patton and Son House, the latter being a major influence on Hurrie's music. "Unfortunately Ike Turner is from there too," says Hurrie, who is not impressed with the musician's reputation for wife abuse. In spite of Ike's personal problems, adds Hurrie, "he's probably the greatest blues piano player alive today."

This summer, Ike Turner headlined the festival with Little Milton Campbell. Attending the festival is an experience that recharges Hurrie with new material and inspiration. "And it's a chance to play with people whose records I listened to when I was a child."

Hurrie willingly shares his understanding of music with anyone who asks, just as other musicians have done with him. "I found that the bigger they are, the nicer they are."

In his travels, Hurrie has encountered musicians from every walk of life, including those who lived the lyrics they sing about. "I love those old guys. I've met quite a few of them who lived through those (oppressive) years. They're still playing and still standing. It's humbling."

Hurrie's brand of blues can be heard most Thursday and Friday evenings downstairs at the Seahouse Restaurant. Hurrie also plays rock and roll with the Tequila Bedspins, who have a regular gig at the Coast Town Centre Hotel.

Bands: Sam Hurrie Band, and many others

Mike Kennedy

Acoustic and Electric Guitar, Vocals

I was born in Vancouver in 1952 and we moved around the coast a lot to Sooke, Alert Bay, and Thurston Bay. In mid '59 we moved to Lund and into Powell River in mid '66.

I feel very lucky to have been around the radio in those years because in the late '50s and very early '60s I could hear pop,folk,and what I feel was the very best country stuff. Then we got surf music, and soon after that the Beatles,and so on.

I was a late starter on guitar,but in '66 I started to play chords on Bob Dylan and Donovan songs.

Counting through simple blues and rock patterns took a lot of work, as Ron Campbell knows.

After a lot of folk stuff and basement rock and blues I got the chance to play in a carnival at school with Brian Eccles, and after that in the revived Crystal Ship with Dan Richard, Rod Wilen, and John Gallagher. It was scary! The first night was warm-up for Mock Duck at the school dance,and the next night was for The Dynatones (Danny Tripper,Bono) at Dwight Hall.

Later in '70 and '71 I had The Mike Kennedy Blues Band with Greg Pattrucco-drums, Dennis Edmondson-rhythm. guitar, and Mike Egberts-bass. Later as a 3-piece with Ron Campbell on bass. On a trip to a party on Vancouver Island we met Lenny Nelson and asked him to move to Powell River and he did. We had some good times playing dances all over the place.

• '72 played dances in Duncan and a bit in Victoria.
• '73 went to Vancouver with Doug Saunders, and Ron Campbell with no success.
• '74 Back to Powell River and that was a good time.
• '75 Tried multi track recording with Gary Wooten, in P.R.
• '76-'77 Lots of bands Lift, Eagle Creek, and Flintlokke.
• '78 I tried Vancouver again with a bit more success, but not enough.
• '79-'85 Back in Powell River with Paul Murphy, Dennis Fox, and Jim Inkster in New Directions.
• '86- In Victoria with Gerry Karagianis, and Twin Creek Band
• and now visiting P.R. with The Blues Train

Brian Lamacraft

Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Guitar Teacher

I started playing guitar at 16, after hearing Jimi Hendrix on the Radio. I've been playing for 20 years now. Music has become one of the driving forces in my life. I always try to put my heart and soul into everything I play.

I play electric and acoustic guitar. Early on, I was influenced by Led Zeppelin, Cream, Deep Purple, Metallica and Black Sabbath. As I progressed and grew up, I discovered the Blues and began to listen to Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughn, as well as many others. I took lessons for a couple of years and then taught myself the rest of the way. I'm always open to new ideas, and listen to all forms of music.

I currently don't have a band, but would like to form one. I am currently busy teaching guitar here in Powell River, so if your interested please feel free to contact me. I teach beginning and intermediate levels with an emphasis towards rock and blues styles. Currently teaching guitar at Decibel's Music on Marine Ave.

Brian's e-mail address is: balcr@shaw.ca

Visit Brian's Website: http://www.guitarriffin.com

Mike Lane

Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Electric Guitar, Vocals

I picked rhythm guitar because Keith Richards is God. My influences are ...Sam Hurrie, Keith Richards, Mark Knophler, SRV, Albert Collins, Luther Allison.

I learned 3 chords in high school....started playing 6 years ago.

Glen "G-Mac" McMurray

Lead and Rhythm Guitar, Bass, and Vocals

G-Mac has been playing music professionally  for over 30 years, starting in grade school. A recording artist and songwriter with the band Diamondcutters through most of the 90's, he is also writing and recording his and others' material at his digital home studio, Beachhouse Recorders in Powell River, B.C. where he relocated to from Vancouver some 3 years ago. He plays a variety of instruments, including guitar, bass, keyboards, harmonica, mandolin, fiddle and drums (with varying levels of expertise).

With an interest in the "new swing "and "cocktail nation" movements in Vancouver in the late 90's, upon moving to Powell River, he helped form ZOOT SUIT RIOT, that cities premier dance band. He is also currently performing with a harder rock outfit, This End Up.

Mike Percey

Electric Guitar, Vocals

Mike took up guitar at the age of 13 when he asked his parents if he could take lessons. Unfortunately, he ended up enrolled in the Conservatory of Music in London, Ontario which taught Hawaiian guitar. After about six months, Mike let his parents know that this is not what he wanted and dropped out of the Conservatory.

He joined the Air Force when he was 17 and after basic and trades training and a short stint in Winnipeg, he was transferred to Ottawa. There he met some "down homers"and they took him under their wing and proceeded to play him guitar the "right way" using just his bare fingers without a steel. After a few months, an all night session in the barracks was in order to see if Mike had been practicing. After 11 hours of playing, the instructors felt that he had learned his chords well and his bleeding fingers proved it.

From here was marriage and a transfer to Baden-Baden, Germany. TV in Germany was not an option in 1967 as he didn't speak the language. Out came the guitar and the practicing began in earnest. Fortunately, a "new guy" was posted in and Mike was his sponsor. The friendship blossomed and Don, the "new guy" wanted to learn guitar. To make it even easier, Don and his wife Shirley moved into the apartment upstairs!! This made for many nights of guitar playing and partying and with the influences of the Ventures, Shadows, Beatles and CCR, Mike had plenty to learn and pass it along to Don.

In 1970, the boys decided that it was time to move up to electric guitars and a trip to the American PX in Heidelberg was inevitable. There they found their Framus guitars (the same one Mike STILL plays!) and the partying got louder and the music got better! (or so we thought!!).

Of course, all good things must come to an end and in July 1970 Mike was transferred to Penhold, Alberta. The Framus went into semi-retirement until the Junior Ranks Mess needed a guitar player to fill out a band for a Winter Carnival Extravaganza. Things went well and in 1971, Mike was asked to fill in at the local hotel when a guitar player quit unexpectedly. Shaking in his boots, Mike gave it a shot. Fortunately the female keyboard player knew every song known to man and wasn't hard to look at either! After getting through that weekend, a meeting transpired and Mike, Audrey the keyboardist and John the drummer became "The Pen Trio". It was decided that Mike and Audrey would alternate as the lead singer and sing all the duos.

Soon bookings were made at the local Legions and hotels; a real eye opener!! Ironically, Don was transferred to Penhold from Germany in 1971. What could be better than having someone you taught and played your style play in the band. It was decided that the name "The Pen Trio" just didn't cut it with four players, so the group became "Reversyde" (pronounced reverse side). They were booked in the Windsor Hotel in Red Deer for every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night for three months at $80 a night (for the group, not each!!). Things went along well for that gig and but after some discussion, it was decided that dances was where the money was. This decision resulted in the group getting paid a whopping $120 a night!

After a year of playing, Mike decided that his family life was suffering, so hung up the Framus for a few years. A transfer to Trenton came in 1973 and Mike joined the Canadian Forces Base Trenton Brass and Reed Band as a volunteer. Being tall, Mike was assigned the biggest bass drum in the world which he carried around to parades in Toronto, Belleville, Teeswater and on most of the Base parades. A new Bandmaster saw Mike also becoming the bass guitar player (after he learned to read music!), but a transfer to Ottawa in 1977 put an end to that.

In Ottawa, the acoustic would come out occasionally around the campfire or at parties, but that was a rarity due to him working full time, part-time and renovating the house. Mike got separated in 1983 and after an adjustment period, he took up skiing. There were many ski trips which involved a 3 or 4 hour bus ride and the acoustic guitar started coming along for entertainment. It got a real workout on the annual 4 day ski trip to Vermont.

In 1988, Mike was transferred to Nanaimo, and became the President of the Military Camp Music Club. A band was formed, the Framus dusted off and Corn Roasts and Mess Functions were the main venue. As they were sponsored by the Camp by the whopping amount of $200 per year, the group "Almost Live" (most of the group were over 40) only played for the drinks but they had a blast.

Yet another transfer to Ottawa in 1992 and guitars once again were relegated to the basement where they remained until Mike moved to Powell River in August of 1995. After attending a jam session in T.C.'s Bar at The Coast Hotel, Mike decided to shovel the dust off the Framus and give it a try. It is evident that playing with REAL musicians sure makes amateurs like Mike sound SO MUCH better!

Note: The musicians of Powell River are a friendly and relaxed group and they welcomed me unconditionally. The are patient, eager to help and make a newcomer feel right at home. I salute them and thank them for their friendship and for sharing their knowledge.
My e-mail address is:mikali-dtp@shaw.ca

Andrew Riggs

Electric Guitar, Vocals, Songwriter

I'm English born, my parents moved to Montreal when I was about 2 years old, then we moved to Powell River B.C. when I was ten. I started playing guitar when I was 14, bought my first electric guitar(the telecaster) when I was in grade twelve with money earned from working weekends in the local paper mill. I start jamming with other musicians when I was about 18 or 19, but I didn't have a steady band.

I moved to Calgary myself when I was 20, where I've lived ever since.

For the next 6 or 7 years I played and sang with three "power trio" type bands covering material by Cream, Hendrix, Doors, Allman Bros., Lynyrd Skynyrd etc. We had occasional community hall gigs and played at parties.

I've never had an interest in playing "Top 40" type music, and my bands have always been weekend, part time groups.

About the same time as moving to Calgary I started to write songs, most of the early songwriting attempts will never, I hope, see the light of day, although I also started doing recordings about this time, and still have all my material on tape. None of the original material was added to my bands repertoire at the time, by my choice.

What I consider to be my current, mature writing style didn't start to gel until I was about 28. About this time I formed an original music band with another songwriter/guitarist. We played occasionally in some local bars that featured original music but these generally featured "alternative" type bands, we didn't really fit in that well.

Keeping drummers was a major problem, we'd rehearse until we were ready to play gigs, do a few, then the drummer would quit. The music wasn't simple so it would take a number of months rehearsing, one or two nights a week to get a drummer up to speed.

The other songwriter was a prolific lyricist, but a marginal musician, I have a surplus of musical ideas but am slow producing lyrics. This might seem an almost ideal situation, but the other songwriter felt that any of my music that didn't have lyrics was free for him to use without my permission and without requiring him to give me credit for it. This issue brought that musical partnership to an end.

It was never my ambition to become a "solo artist" I wanted to be part of a band; sharing songwriting, vocals etc. I'm uncomfortable with the term "artist", it sounds pretentious to me, but I'm getting more used to the idea as time goes on.

The CD "Axiology" was released in the fall of 1998, the recordings on it were done over a period of about 4 years prior to that.

My guitar playing has been influenced by many of the rock guitarists from the 1960's and 70's-Santana, Clapton, Steve Howe(Yes), Hendrix, Allman Bros., Andy Powell(Wishbone Ash), Jeff Beck and numerous others, as well as players from the jazz and blues genres. However, I don't attempt to imitate anybody. I consider myself to be a musician first and songwriter second, the songs I write partly to challenge myself as a musician.

I didn't start writing songs until I'd been playing about 6 or 7 years. The Jazz-Rock song "Opportunity" is the one on the CD that I consider the most challenging because of its multiple key changes. I try to find musical ideas that have not, (or at least have not often) been explored, within the rock genre.
My e-mail address is: ariggs@arcispro.com
My Homepage URL is: http://andrew-riggs.tripod.com

Doug Rugg

Electric Guitarist, Sound and Lights

Mike Seale

Electric Guitarist

I've been playing the guitar for about 3 years now and I'm self-trained. My mother showed me some chords and I read a lot of how to play guitar books. I'm influenced primarily by underground/grass roots musicians and bands. I feel that I can really connect musically with these people because they are in it for the same reason I am; the music, not the money. I enjoy everything from acoustic folk to hard core punk.
My e-mail address is: emomike@hotmail.com

David Spragge

Electric Guitarist

A west-coaster born in North Vancouver and raised on Texada Island, I have lived and partied in just about every town on the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island and most of the islands in between.

Although my first musical training was on piano, and I played bass drum in the school band, I am almost exclusively a guitar player now. I enjoy almost all genres of music, and have murdered songs in many styles from country to jazz; however I am a blues, funk and r and b freak and I usually can be found in a band playing that type of music.

I'm not above playing a little dino-rock or fun/surf classix. Influences range (to quote Neil) "from Hank to Hendrix". Most of my guitar was self-taught, jamming with stereos and peers, but I also learned at the feet of "the Master of Time and Space", Mike Kennedy, and worshipped at the shrine of the legendary Sam Hurrie.

Bands I played in include, but are not limited to: Fools, Peak (featuring the late, great Don Profili), Buster and the Cacaphones (featuring the incredible Greg Bannoff), Band in B. C. (featuring the nimble-fingered Al Brown and the kinetic Dennis Dubeau), Elkhorn (featuring the personable Pat Shonwise), Fast Forward (not the East Coast one) (featuring the hyper-energetic Pete Howey), Linda and the Lazyboyz (featuring the lovely Linda Fleury), Mark Beaumont and the Acadians (all of the last 4 bands featuring the unsinkable Mark Bowman), the Four Players (featuring the indestructible Garnet Avery), several differently named bands featuring the ultra-perspirative Brent Nicol, Applecores, and the Doors tribute band Unhinged (featuring the captivating Dennis Fox). Many of these bands also featured the excellent bass playing of the unparalleled Doug Saunders and the drumming of the unsmiling Mr. E.

As of: 4:10, January 1, 1997 I am musically underemployed, but this is a rare occurrence, soon to be rectified. Keep in touch for the next installment.
My e-mail addresses are: dfroggy1@hotmail.com

Jim Venables

Electric guitar (rhythm), Electric guitar (lead), Voice (lead)

Once upon a time I was a guitar player and I still am
483-4346