Cheeky Charlie was so excited to meet 2 of the members of the Lambton Crude Oil Crushers today. Caitlin MacSwain AKA Anita Cold One and Francie Fortier AKA Franarchist, were in the downtown area promoting their upcoming bouts. Their home rink is in Port Edward with an upcoming bout on June 23. The doors open at 5:00 pm and the wheels roll at 6:00 pm. For only $5.00 each you can have tons of family entertainment watching this sport.
MoreCheeky Charlie felt very honoured to have a chance to meet and chat with Sean Hogan recently when he stopped in to drop off some of his CD's for us to sell and buy a CD for himself. Sean is back in his home town of Sarnia to perform at The Stubborn Mule on Saturday June 9th with opening act Whiskey Rain. Advance tickets are only $12.00 - so get them while you can at Cheeky Monkey. They will be more at the door. We here in Sarnia are very proud of Sean and all he has accomplished to this point in his career. He is the winner of multiple Country music awards, nominated almost every year since his first CD came out. His uniquely authentic blend of “alt-country” and “modern rustic pop” immediately caught the attention of country radio and music fans across Canada, leading to his first Canadian Country Music ...
MoreWOW! what a great event ArtWalk 2012 turned out to be. Despite the potential rain during the day, the sudden downpour just before headliner Hawksley Workman came on stage and the many gusts of wind that sent some tents and items flying, it was amazing! I was set up outside with a table of used DVD's and CD's for sale along with my own creations, 33 1/3 and 45 rpm records I melted to form decorative bowls, and my mother-in-laws hand crafted baby blankets. Rarely did I have a moment to sit and rest there were that many people downtown and at our booth. On Saturday afternoon we had 2 different bands play out front of the store for the passing crowds to enjoy. First up were Erika and Sara. For those of you who keep up with what live music we have here, you will certainly recognize their names. We have ...
MoreThat's DJ Squared - stands for the names of this dynamic trio of ladies. - Danielle, Janet and Joanne. Janet is the lead singer and joke teller of the group. Her sparkling personality shone through not only in the songs but in her banter between songs. Danielle on keyboards and backup singing along with Joanne on guitar, round out their sound. They play a large cross section of faniliar favourites, current hits and a few jazz numbers. They had the audience singing and dancing along, which we don't see happen all that often during a First Friday. Due to the damp, chilly weather, the crowds for First Friday were smaller then normal, but the ones that were here had a really good time. Thanks DJ2 for making it a fun evening. The artwork on the walls of Cheeky Monkey are by Sarnia's RE-Generation Gap Collective. The group consists of Janette Hewitt, ...
MoreRachel Loerts, a young singer songwriter from this area, played for her second time on the Cheeky Monkey Red Carpet Stage on Saturday May 26 afternoon. Her mix of orginal music was interspersed between cover songs from the likes of The Decemberists, Neil Young, Nirvana, Johnny Cash and Tom Petty. She introduced a few first time performed songs she was a bit neverous of playing, but did a very good job of them. Most notable was Don't Fear The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult that she truly made her own. Besides being a full time student in high school, Rachel is doing a co-op stint at Blackburn Radio, but always finds time to play her music before an audience. In the fall she is heading off to the University of Windsor to study music further. Watch for many good things to come for this young songstress.
MoreThe early afternoon of Saturday May 19th was the perfect day for singer/songwriter Paul Federici to perform outside in front of Cheeky Monkey. Our famous Red Carpet was spread out on the sidewalk under the windows, the heavy duty extension cord was plugged in, the rugged old bar stool was positioned just right and the weather was better then perfect. Paul was all set up with his 2 favourite acoustic guitars to play for the passer-bys both on foot, in cars or motorcycles. Many a green light was missed by drivers who wanted to linger a little longer to hear Paul playing. He did a wonderful mix of cover songs from Bob Dylan, Neil Young, City & Colour and Tragically Hip to name a few, along with his own penned songs. Cheeky Charlie very much enjoyed his cover versions, but preferred his originals. Paul has a very sensitive soul and a ...
MoreWe were fortunate enough to work out a date for Erika and Sara to return to the Red Carpet Stage at Cheeky Monkey. Since the last time the ladies were here, we noticed a change in their performance. A change for the better. They are both very young and relatively new to playing live shows. This is no reflection of their talent, which they have tons of. As they have been getting more chances to play live, they are growing in being more comfortable in front of an audience. On top of the confidence, they are both now singing which gives more fullness to the songs. Also they have added in harmonica and tambourine creating more texture and variety. These ladies will keep improving as time goes. Can't wait to see them play during ArtWalk weekend in less then a month. I am sure you will enjoy them too.
MoreThe air may have had a slight chill to it outside during the May 4th, 2012 First Friday, but the atmosphere was hot inside Cheeky Monkey thanks to Jim Chevalier, special guest Dave Miner along with the art of Adam Miner and Wendy Starr. Jim is always a true pleasure to hear perform but adding in Dave's guitar work and harmonies made the night's music even sweeter. Going one step further, Adam Miner joined in with his guitar and vocals on a fab version of The Stones 'Wild Horses.' Adam's paintings also added to the heat of the night. We at Cheeky Monkey were thrilled to host THE first public showing of Adam's vibrant Neo expressionist styled art. Not many of us knew that Adam even painted. We thought his talent was in the music field as a writer, performer and producer. His approach to painting is polar opposite to the way he ...
MoreKevin Morningstar of Edmonton, Alberta and Josh Hughes of Ottawa, Ontario wandered into Cheeky Monkey while on a stop over for lunch. They are 2 of the members of the Pacific Life Bible College on a 6 week tour performing song and dance in both the U.S. and Canada. Sarnia was their stop between coming from Fort Wayne Indiana and going to Toronto for the Four Square Churches of Canada Conference. From there they head to New York, Boston and the Maritime provinces. As the young men were looking around, we overheard one of them say "I've found heaven". Which made us smile since we know he meant music store heaven - a very special and rare place. Just as this blog was being typed up and photo editing done, Kevin and Josh came back in with the whole gang of performers! They wanted them to see what a real record store looks ...
MoreCheeky Charlie has many friends and relatives residing with him at Cheeky Monkey but none as big as Otto. The Race to Erase mascot is a BIG gorilla that dwarfs little Cheeky Charlie. Despite the size difference they are kin and enjoyed a nice visit together. CC took time to show Otto around the store and encouraged him to do some shopping while here. The reason Otto dropped by, besides meeting Cheeky Charlie, was to see where the Race had been before. Several years ago, Cheeky Monkey was on of the check in spots for the annual event. Who knows, maybe it will be again this year. For those of you not familar with Race to Erase it is an annual fundraiser involving teams of four adults traveling through Lambton County by car and competing in fun-filled events along the way. These events are designed to be not only be entertaining, but ...
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