We would like to thank all the customers and music fans that braved the cold weather to join us at the first First Friday of 2014. Those that were here, felt if was well worth coming into Cheeky Monkey to hear the local band of ELEMENT OF SURPRISE PROJECT play and view the photographic artwork of CHRISTINE ROENSPIESS. The band played two hours of crowd pleasing classic hit songs. Starting off with Neil Young's 'Cinnamon Girl', we all knew we were in for a good night. ESP's versions of Steppenwolf's 'Born To Be Wild" and Jeff Beck's 'Freeway Jam' really caught my ears too. Darren Diamond on lead guitar and vocals (he's our mechanic from Best Automotive - talented in many ways apparently), Neil Whittle on guitar and vocals (formerly played here for the Streets reunion), Graham Dalley on bass and keyboards and Gerry Ostrihon on drums (played here last July with Cross ...
MoreTUESDAY DECEMBER 31, 2021 ... what a great way to end 2013. Loyal Fred Eaglesmith fan, Julie Wilbur stopped in to pick up her winning auction item of a 'Fred Eaglesmith Winter Festival' poster. Julie's winning bid of $50.00 is being donated to Operation Smile - the same charity Fred & band raises money for at every one of their shows by holding pie auctions. MONDAY DECEMBER 23 UPDATE... The silent auction for the charity Operation Smile is now over. CONGRATULATIONS and a big THANK YOU go to the winning bidder - Julie W. with the high bid of $50.00 THURSDAY DECEMBER 19 UPDATE... Just got in a bid of $50.00 - woohooo! TUESDAY DECEMBER 17 UPDATE... Newest bid is $45.00 - Auction ends Dec. 22 - so get your bid in soon. SATURDAY DECEMBER 14 UPDATE... new high bid is $40. I am so pleased to see these bids - Operation ...
MoreRoland has been working on a new permanent art piece for display in the store and thanks to Mike Blackmore, it is now hanging on the wall of Cheeky Monkey for all to see and admire. Over the years, when we buy record collections from customers, we come across LP's made by local musicians. We have been setting them aside and trying to come up with a way to display them for all to see. We finally did come find a good way and it is now hung up as one of our permanent works of art. Stop in to see it for yourself. It is a true conversation piece - and just the first one - there will be more to come. P.S. - if you own a LP of a local band or musician you don't see here and would like to add it to our collection, we will gladly accept ...
MoreIt is not unusual for us to get requests to use our store inside and out for video shoots or as backdrops for weddings etc. We are also accustomed to having musicians perform live in our store on First Fridays and the occasional Saturday afternoon. Once in a while though, we do get a request out of left field even by our standards. What I am referring to come in the form of a Facebook message asking for permission to use our store to photograph a performance art project by Keith Hunt. Apparently, he has been going to various locations and "performing" in many different ways. He did karate in front of Clearwater Arena where he used to attend classes, read passages aloud from Hamlet in front of his former high school as well as walked the streets wearing bright pink headphones. What he wants to do here, at Cheeky ...
MoreFirst Friday participants who stopped into Cheeky Monkey quickly realized that Cross Tie Walker were just as hot and steamy as the weather outside on this July 5th evening. One customer said he was drawn into our store by the vibrating sidewalk. Yup they were rattling the windows & walls right out onto the sidewalk under people's feet! The four piece dynamic band playing covers of familiar rock 'n' roll classics from the likes of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Deep Purple and Jimi Hendrix held nothing back. a personal stand out for me was a rendition of a Stevie Ray Vaughan song. To be honest, I don't remember the songs name. I just know it was so awesome I did NOT want it to stop. These guys really put everything they've got into their singing playing. Recently formed as Cross Tie Walker, they are all seasoned musicians coming from several well known and ...
MoreWe feel very fortunate to have so many good friends in this city including the many talented musicians and artists that live here. One of them is Mike Blackmore. Along with an array of his fellow musicians he has played many times for our in-store events like First Fridays. For June 7th First Friday, the musician we had booked well in advance unfortunately had to cancel at the last moment. A few quick phone calls and the short notice vacancy was filled by Mike and the band he chose to call, for this time, 'The Animations'. With Dave Thomas on keyboard, Wulf Von Waldow on saxophone and Mike playing guitar, d'jembe and siren (yes siren), we along with his fans old and new, had a great evening of live music. The band played some their own compositions as well as covers they truly make sound like they wrote due to the ...
MoreJenn Kee is no stranger to Sarnia. She is not from here, but told us she loves playing in the city. Beside performing at this First Friday, she was at Coffee Culture last month as well as she was a cast member of 'Classic Albums' and StarBright Theatre groups that have played at The Imperial Theatre. After her stellar show last night, it is evident that Sarnia loves her too. There was a real sort of electricity in the air all day leading up to the May First Friday evening. Maybe it was the perfect spring weather. I think it was the anticipation of all the events happening in the downtown combined with the warm sunshine. The number of people here to listen to Jenn was impressive. Little wonder. With her pure voice, expert guitar playing and strong delivery of not only cover songs, but her own songs as well, she wowed everyone. She ...
MoreWhat is 87 years old and still going strong? Sarnia's own version of the Energizer bunnie, artist and humanitarian, JESSIE J. RABBITT. Starting May 3rd First Friday, Jessie will be celebrating 52 years of creating her artwork with an exhibit running 52 days at Cheeky Monkey, Sarnia's downtown music store. You could call this exhibit a "Works of Art Clearance Sale," with the intent to find new homes for as many of her creations as possible. This time-frame of downtown events includes the May 3rd First Friday, ArtWalk on June 1 & 2 and the June 7th First Friday. Jessie has planned a couple of her own special events during the 52 days: the first is a live auction on Saturday, May 18 starting at 1:00 pm, and the second is a silent auction of entirely different works, starting on May 25 and running until June 15. All other pieces not in ...
MoreFirst Friday of March 2013 marked the return of Erika (Sit) and Sara (Campbell) to the Cheeky Monkey Red Carpet Stage. Erika and Sara's first performance here was almost 2 years ago I believe. They were and are two very talented young ladies we have had the pleasure of watching develop and grow as musicians over that time. Along with that, their fan base is growing quickly - and for good reason. Our original impression of them was that they had some talent - Erika as a singer and Sara on guitar. BUT they were so shy to the point of looking a tad awkward in front of a microphone. With a few gentle suggestions from us, encouragement from their biggest fans and advice from seasoned bands like CD/DC they now command the audiences attention and respect as musicians. Along with the confidence in performing, has come their writing skills. Their list of ...
MoreWhile out for a sunny Sunday afternoon walk, Roland and I decided to have an unplanned visit to the Judith and Norman Alix Art Gallery downtown. It was a wise decision on our part. We have been several times to the new gallery, including during one of it's grand openings complete with a tour guide. We were impressed, but not overwhelmed with what we saw. You have to remember, these are our opinions and the enjoyment of art of all kinds is very personal. This visit was totally different. There are two new big exhibits up currently. The first we viewed is called "Fluid Explorations". It is an exhibit of mostly watercolour paintings from 4 well respected local ladies. They are stunningly beautiful. I would LOVE to have any one of them hanging in my home. Sadly, they are not for sale through the gallery and even if they were, ...
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