SEPT. 11 UPDATE... IN THE NEWS... Thank you to Sarnia This Week for coverage of Drop # 1 and it's success. Now onto Drop # 2 on Saturday, Sept. 26th. CLICK HERE to read the story on Sarnia-Lambton This Week. MONDAY, AUGUST 31 UPDATE... HOW DROP # 1 WENT... Record Store Day Drop # 1 went very smoothly we felt. Turn out was less than a normal RSD, but that was part of the point of there being 3 Drop dates. There was still a line up outside, doing their best to social distance & all wearing masks. Line up looked as long as most years, but that was an optical illusion. They were not all bunched up like other years. We allowed 15 people in to start, than as one left another was admitted. Thanks to our volunteers, we were able to have a door greeter making sure masks were on ...
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Powerful Set From a Strong Band: Big Highway at the Cheeky Monkey for Sarnia First Friday March 2020 by Brian Hay The energy that Big Highway projected throughout their set last night was the work of a band that’s strong in all areas. Frontman James McNaule has excellent control of his voice and also contributes strong rhythm playing that reinforces their musical foundation. Drummer Ric Brown provides timekeeping that’s solid and provides dramatic markings for their musical shifts. Up front, lead guitarist Andrew Germain combines strong rhythm playing with lead playing that’s delivered with impeccable restraint. Bassist Dave Johnston is their Rock of Gibraltar and the importance of his role in their scheme of things can’t be overstated. James, Ric and Andrew all have points where the main focus falls on them. Brown steps out of the pocket with flourishes that are thrilling. Andrew keeps his solos short but his imaginative concepts and ...
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Beer Store Money Warms A Cold February First Friday At The Cheeky Monkey by Brian Hay Cold or not Sarnia’s downtown was still the place to be — the events hosted by local merchants guaranteed that. At the Cheeky Monkey the musical offering was good (as always) because Roland and MaryAnne know their stuff. More on that subject in a bit. Beer Store Money, the band featured for the evening, is an ensemble that has a lot to recommend them. Singer/guitarist Khrystopher Luther-Heath is strong on both guitar and lead vocal. His playing combines subtle lead ornamentation with a solid rhythmic foundation and his singing is never less than fiery. Melissa Miller is a phenomenal vocalist. In addition to having a great mezzo/alto timbre she makes good use of expressive shadings and has exceptional control over her pitch. The pair also harmonize well, which is always a plus. Marcus Moyneur is an acrobatic drummer ...
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Prose And Song For December’s Sarnia First Friday: John Gardiner and Karen Morand At The Cheeky Monkey by Brian Hay There’s times when the Cheeky Monkey seems tailored to showcase the fact that some of the most interesting things in the world of music fall outside of the mainstream. With author John Gardiner reading from his collection, ‘Memories For Sale — Tales From A Small Town’, and musician Karen Morand performing between his narratives this was one of those times. Together, they illustrated the connection between literature and music in a way that showed how close that bond really is. John Gardiner’s prose is concise and to the point. Redundancies, run-on sentences and embellishments that would bog narratives down have been assiduously avoided. That spareness creates a directness that stimulates listeners to explore the layers surrounding the text whether they be listening or reading. His subjects resonate with the lives of anyone who’s ...
MoreIT'S COMING!!!! Record Store Day BLACK FRIDAY is on November 29 and yes we will be loading up on the exclusive releases. Keep in mind we do not take orders ahead of time for these items. That is partly because, despite ordering pretty much every title, we do not know until the deliveries come in what we are getting exactly (yes they are that limited & exclusive). Plus we have signed a pledge saying we will not take pre-orders and we take it seriously. We do however, encourage you to look at the list in the link below to get an idea of what we might be getting in and let us know what interests you. CLICK HERE for listing of the Canadian & International releases we will be ordering from. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13 UPDATE... A WORD ABOUT a couple of BLACK FRIDAY TITLES... THE WEEKND My Dear Melancholy. This title ...
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August First Friday At The Cheeky Monkey: Dressed To Kill Brings Hot Blues To Sarnia’s Ace Record Store by Brian Hay The blues band Dressed To Kill has mostly worked as a four-piece group. To be able to perform the cuts on their album ’This Ol’Train’ the way they wanted to however, they added several musicians. That ensemble gave their first performance in March. Their second one was hosted by the Cheeky Monkey and it provided an evening to remember. The core of the band is still the same. Bassist Bruce Sleeuwenhoek and drummer Dallas Labarre form what can only be described as a silk pocket for the rest of the group to work from. Their contribution literally epitomizes front man Keil Simmons catch-phrase “stay classy folks”. Up front Keil and lead guitarist Jeff Turnbull play off of each other intuitively. Both deliver solo and lead passages that provide treats for the ear ...
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First Friday at the Cheeky Monkey: BobCatz Use Colour To Give Classic Songs A Shot In The Arm by Brian Hay “Life is like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re gonna get”. That famous line from a well-known film (the name of which escapes me) is one that truly applies to the acts that the Cheeky Monkey brings to Sarnia’s First Friday Celebrations. They’ve featured performers playing from an array of genres with the only common denominator being that they’re good. With the BobCatz several of the musicians involved were familiar. Vocalist and keyboard player Robert Martin performed with the Casuals not long ago. Wulf Von Waldow brings his excellence on the saxophone to a number of local bands. Clarinettist and sax man Michael Murphy is prominent and anyone from the area who doesn’t know Mike Blackmore probably lives in a cave. Harmony singer Sue Furlotte and Sue Auty, who ...
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June First Friday at the Cheeky Monkey: WarwiK Delivers An Acoustic Set With Punch by Brian Hay Guitarist Ian Wills was the first member of WarwiK to make an appearance. What he came up with before his bandmates joined in made it easy to see that he was very good. Bassist Kyle Carlos was the next to join in and he was impressive as well. This was very promising and nobody ended up disappointed. When singer and drummer Derek Reno completed the trio they lived up to the high standard that had been hinted at. Their presentation went from strength to strength. Kyle Carlos was comfortable with either the bass or the acoustic guitar. Ian Wills shifted effortlessly between lead and rhythm playing. Derek Reno was strong on the drums and marvelous when playing the electric guitar. The musical communication between the members was stellar. All of them were strong time keepers and ...
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First Friday at the Cheeky Monkey, May 2019: The Casuals Become Everyones’ Riders On The Storm by Brian Hay Many of their roles weren’t set in stone. Bob Martin handled the majority of the vocals but the lead singing was also taken up by David Wright and Bill Hines. Hines also delivered some excellent playing on the harmonica and took the lead guitar part a few times. The variety in their three voice types created interesting harmonies and made them a solid fit for classic rock that included material from the Beatles’ early period, chart toppers from the late 1950’s and even Country influenced songs like ‘Harvest Moon’ by Neil Young. The intuitive partnership between bass player Will McCuaig and drummer Al Wallace insured their rhythm section provided a strong foundation for whatever genre they touched upon. That’s just the technical aspect of what they offered though. First and foremost, they were fun ...
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Roland & I wish to thank all the customers who stopped in to shop on Record Store Day. It was quite the event. We had 100's of exclusive releases to offer plus free gifts for everyone and a snack table. Also had several items for free draws. See list below. Have to give a huge heartfelt thank you to our friends and family who volunteered their valuable time. Without you there is no way we could have Record Store Day. In no particular order THANK YOU TO... Ross (Roland's right hand) and Laurissa Ellsworth (on cash checkout) John (door greeter & cookie pusher) & Hanna Hettinga (my right hand) Kevin McHarg (roving customer service & photographer) Our daughter Juanita (on cash checkout & giveaways) Our oldest grandson Dylan (ballot draw & giveaways counter) both of whom made the trip from London to help us out. Mike Blackmore for providing the live music Brian Hay (photographer & reporter) Lastly, thank ...
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