Protected: More Photos From the Blues Jam At Straiton Hall
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A Mother Of An Afternoon With A Deceivingly Bluesy Feel
Posted by Musician | Filed under Performances, Photos
On the afternoon of May 9—Mother’s Day—we turned the normally quiet little community of Straiton, on Sumas Mountain, into a rockin’ blues spot. Deception hosted a small blues jam, which was really more of an opportunity for us to work the kinks out, and try out our new line-up in a venue larger than our rehearsal space.
Last year Deception underwent a major line-up change. Our bass player Steve Fultz, left us, as did our drummer, Gary Huntbatch. Both players had been with Deception since the band began in the mid 90s. Only Art and I were left, and Art undertook the task of finding new players to fill the empty spots.
The drumming position was filled by Art’s longtime friend Randy, who Art used to play with in the 70s. The bass slot was filled by Charles, who had in the past subbed for Steve in an emergency. Then earlier in the the month, Art had the opportunity to audition a very experienced keyboard player. If all goes according to plan, Deception will be a 5 piece blues band that includes the sounds of a Hammond organ.
For our Mother’s Day jam, my friend Ray Myers came out from town, and he let another sax player know about it as well. So between Ray, Freddy, and myself, Deception had one hell of a horn section!
Here are some shots from the event. It was a lot of fun, and a really good chance for us to work the kinks out before playing our first live show with our new line-up.
Photos by: M. Margison & H. Kahlke
Downtown Abbotsford Rocks With The Sound Of Electric Blues
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For the second straight year we were fortunate enough to be asked to play the annual Abbotsford Berrybeat Festival. This 2-day event closes off the historic downtown core of the city to cars, as local farmers, merchants, and community groups set up shop on the main streets of Abbotsford for a street festival.
At the centre of the 4 city blocks that the Berrybeat Festival takes place in, sits the entertainment stage. For 2 days you’ll see and hear acts as varied as: country, opera, funk, gospel, Flamenco guitar, pop, and of course blues.
We very much appreciate & want to thank the Abbotsford Downtown Business Association for inviting us back again this year. It’s always a pleasure to play for the residents, and the visitors to the city in which we live. Judging by the crowd’s reaction, they liked what they heard.
Thanks to everyone who was there, and applauded wildly & cheered between songs. (Yes, we heard you. 
) Putting together a set of music for a group as diverse as those attending a street festival is always a challenge. We’re glad that you liked what we had to offer.
A special thanks also to the combined sound crew from Tom Lee Music and A&D Music. These great folks make our job so much easier. All we have to do is show up and play. Their job is to make us sound great. Thanks to all of you. You were fantastic!
Here are some photos that were taken during our show on Sunday, July 5. The weather was quite hot, and there was some humidity. The audience was mostly sitting in the shade under the tents, or standing in the shade of the buildings to escape the worst of the heat. Luckily the performance stage has a good-sized canopy over it, so we were sheltered from the sun.
Photo by M. Margison ©2009
Here is Deception’s founder and leader, Art Panchishin. Art has been well known in the musical community around these parts for many years. His blues playing is second-to-none.
Photo by M. Margison ©2009
Gary Huntbatch has a most impressive resume when it comes to drumming. It goes back to his days as a young man in England, when the band he was in had its own TV show.
Photo by M. Margison ©2009
Steve Fultz has been playing bass with Deception since the band started in the mid 1990s. He, like Art, has been a constant in the musical community in Abbotsford for many years.
Photo by M. Margison ©2009
Saxophonist Helen Kahlke, while maybe the newest member of the band, certainly isn’t a wall flower. She has many years of pro playing experience under her belt both here on the West Coast, and in the Maritimes where she lived for 8½ years.
Photo by M. Margison ©2009
Photo by M. Margison ©2009
This is a nice shot of Helen’s most commonly used horn: her Selmer Mark VI, tenor sax.
Photo by M. Margison ©2009
This was the view the sound crew had from their vantage point.
Photo by M. Margison ©2009
Sunday Blues Jam At The Church Of The Blues
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On the afternoon of the 28th, we had a great time hosting the Sunday blues jam at the Church Of The Blues, in lovely downtown Dewdney. Although some of the regulars were missing, we had some new people come out and jam with us.
We had 2 drummers, 2 guitar players, and 1 saxophonist all come out and share their blues talents with us. It was a great afternoon that ended much too soon.
Photos by M. Margison © 2009
There really are many talented musicians “out there”. Blues jams are often one of the only opportunities where they get to either play a different style of music, or get to play with others at all. That’s why supporting live music is so important.
If we don’t go out and support the places that offer live music, eventually those places will offer nothing but, god forbid, karaoke. And that would be a freakin’ shame!
Saturday Night In The Hot Spot Of Dewdney
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On weekend of June 27th & 28th we played at the Historic Dewdney Pub, AKA The Church Of The Blues. What we lost in sleep that weekend was certainly made up for in good times, and lots of blues music.
Here are some pictures of our show on Saturday night.
Photos by M. Margison ©2009
We had heard that the Saturday nights had been quite slow over the last few months, but the joint seemed to be hoppin’ on the night we played. It helped that a friend of Art’s decided to bring a table of 20 out to celebrate his birthday in true blues fashion.
Summertime is always a hard time to fill a club. BBQs, family vacations, perfect deck weather: these are all very good reasons why people don’t go out to the local watering hole. Any band that has been working for a while knows how tough it is to draw at this time of year.
So here’s to fall…Cheers…
Deception is the Abbotsford-based blues band formed in the mid-90s by guitar player Art Panchishin.