Blues band celebrates longevity
Donnie Walsh, third from right, founded the Downchild Blues Band 40 years ago. They mark the milestone with a tour, including a show at the Port Theatre Saturday (Oct. 10).
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Updated: October 07, 2009 4:54 PM
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Donnie Walsh didn’t know that he’d still be playing with his Downchild Blues Band 40 years after it formed.
But 40 years from now, he knows he’ll still be playing music.
“I can’t imagine that I’d do anything else – and I don’t have to", Walsh said.
At the start of those four decades, Walsh was at his girlfriend’s 16th birthday party when a guest plunked a Jimmy Reed album on the turntable.
He learned Reed’s music inside and out before moving on to Muddy Waters and Robert Junior Lockwood.
“I really dug the grooves", Walsh said. “Some of those guys were great poets."
The Downchild Blues Band formed in 1969 in Toronto with Walsh’s late brother, Hock. Over the years, players have come and gone but the current lineup of singer Chuck Jackson, Pat Carey on tenor sax, drummer Mike Fitzpatrick, bassist Gary Kendall and pianist Michael Fonfara have been together for more than a decade.
“Everyone’s pretty much a road warrior", Walsh said.
The group recently released its 16th album, I Need a Hat, of original music, featuring guest artists like Wayne Jackson of the Memphis Horns, Canadians Colin James and Colin Linden on guitar, plus Dan Aykroyd on harmonica. The Downchild Blues Band was the inspiration for the Blues Brothers, which Dan Aykroyd was a part.
Some of the guest artists will join Downchild on their cross-Canada tour, including Linden, who performs with the band at the Port Theatre Saturday (Oct. 10).
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Linden isn’t the only guest artist on stage. Sam and Luke Remedios, ages 17 and 15 respectively, won the Downchild Blues Band Make Me a Star contest and will perform one song with the blues band at the Port Theatre. The brothers from Vancouver submitted a video of a performance to the contest, which was hosted by the Port Theatre, and were picked as winners. “They look real cool", Walsh said as he checked out their video on YouTube. He added that they now have to decide what song to play with the young musicians. “We decided it would be nice to get some of the young guys playing", Walsh said. |
Downchild Blues Band performs at 7:30 p.m. Tickets $40; $36/members; $17/students. Please call 250-754-8550.
arts@nanaimobulletin.com
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