TRAIL — Juno Award winners, The Downchild Blues Band, will be touring British Columbia in October, and they will be making a stop at Trail’s Charles Bailey Theatre on Thursday Oct. 19.
Led by guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Donnie “Mr. Downchild” Walsh, the Downchild Blues Band has earned the reputation as the premier blues band in Canada.
Their saxophone-driven jump blues provided an inspiration for Dan Aykroyd and the late John Belushi’s Blues Brothers, who included Walsh’s tunes “Everything I Need”, (Almost) and “Shotgun Blues” on their debut album, “Briefcase Full of Blues.”
For more than four decades now, this Toronto powerhouse, has been tearing up stages with its rollicking sound.
About the reasons for Downchild’s success, Walsh is succinct and unequivocal.
“First, it’s knowing your audience and knowing when to give them what they want,” he says.
“As for keeping the band together for as long as Downchild has been around, it’s an unspoken thing, finding a balance between what I need and what I know each musician can give.
Every member of the band is well-equipped to do what each of us wants and needs. Downchild has always been bigger than the sum of it’s parts, and I can’t really can’t explain why”.
However, musicianship of the highest order, sharp arrangements, strict adherence to its legitimate sources, slick pacing and a steely fix on the moods of its audiences have always set Downchild apart.
Singer Chuck Jackson, tenor sax player Pat Carey, drummer Mike Fitzpatrick, bassist Gary Kendall, and pianist/organist Michael Fonfara- have been Walsh’s compadres for the past decade and a half.
The Downchild Blues band has recorded 17 albums in their long and storied career, and are a member of the Canadian Blues Hall of Fame. Walsh and his band-mates have won countless music industry awards including the Juno for Best Roots and Traditional album in 1991. They also received a Juno Nomination in 2005 for “Blues Album of the Year,” for their album “Come on In”.
In 2007, Downchild was named “Entertainer of the Year,” at the Annual Maple Blues Awards.
“Flip, Flop, and Fly” with the legendary Downchild Blues Band Thursday Oct. 19 at Trail’s Charles Bailey Theatre. Tickets on sale now at the theatre box office, or call 1-866-368-9669 or get your tickets on line at Trail-arts.com. All seats are reserved and priced at $45 including GST (service charges extra)
