A one-time musician who turned her attention to running a business for more than a decade is back on stage and prepared to rock with a pair of accomplished friends Friday night at Smoke ’N Water Restaurant in Nanoose Bay.
Oh My, a trio comprised of local players Debbie Ryan, Jim Baron and Jim Ritter, will play beginning at 7 p.m. Feb. 26. After an hour of dinner music, Oh My will ramp things up for dance from 8-11 p.m.
“We’ve got an eclectic mix of soulful grafitti rock, pop and contemporary hits, from the 50s to today,” said Ryan. “The goal is to get people on the dance floor and have some fun.”
Ryan played in a variety of folk, jazz and rock groups in her younger years, including the Rockin’ Rebels and the jazz duo Roy and Estelle. She went on to open the Shoe Inn store in Qualicum Beach for 13 years. After selling the business, she began pursuing her music again, starting low-key as a single act with appearances at coffee shops and open mic nights.
It was at ann open mic at Smoke ’N Water that she met Baron, a veteran guitarist who toured Canada with the Legends of Rock & Roll.
Ritter, a veteran of studio recording and touring who moved to the mid-Island from Ontario, rounds out the group on bass.
“I realized I wanted a band again and started putting feelers out,” said Ryan. “I met Jim Ritter and we started putting our heads together.”
After meeting late last summer, the three began playing and rehearsing in the fall.
“Right away, as soon as we started playing, we went, ‘This is it,’” she said. “It just worked.”
There is no cover charge for Friday evening’s show. Smoke ’N Water is located at 1600 Stroulger Road in Nanoose Bay. Info at 250-468-7192 or info@smokenwater.com.
