Our Terms & Conditions | Our Privacy Policy
Four-member group welcomes guest John York for Up on Cripple Creek: The Music of The Band, Bob Dylan and the Byrds on Oct. 11
A four-member edition of Alberta’s Front Porch Roots Revue will swing by the Arden Theatre on Friday, Oct. 11 and rock the house with Up on Cripple Creek: The Music of The Band, Bob Dylan and the Byrds.
Front Porch Roots Revue (FPRR) boasts four core musicians: Ron Rault (bass/vocals), guitarist/vocalist Gordie Matthews, harmonica man Dave “Crawdad” Cantera and drummer Thom Moon.
They are veteran players whose collective experience includes associations with heavy hitters such as k.d. lang, Powder Blues Band, Gord Bamford, and the late, great Ian Tyson.
On a side note, Matthews, a former St. Albert resident, last played on national television during the Canadian Country Music Awards performing with k.d. lang as one of The Reclines.
“Being at the CCMAs was surreal. It’s been 30-some years since I stood on the stage with her. It was a pretty exciting moment. She was thrilled to do it and what she said was sincere and meaningful,” Matthews said.
Joining the key players at Up On Cripple Creek is special guest John York, a former member of The Byrds. Despite only performing with The Byrds for one year, York’s bass playing and singing appears on two of the group’s studio albums – Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde and Ballad of Easy Rider, as well as the non-album single Lay Lady Lay. He also appeared in The Byrd’s album Live at the Fillmore.
Together these five musicians will sing a cherry-picked roster of songs that range from The Band’s hits such as Ophelia, Shape I’m In and The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down to a selection of Bob Dylan and The Byrd’s blue-chip catalogues.
FPRR producer Peter North did some serious planning and consideration in choosing the songs. They weren’t just three-chord blues. The songs required intricate, detailed finger work for skilled musicians that mix well together.
Matthews, who has performed with FPRR for more than a decade, describes The Band’s music as in the same league as rock bands Steppenwolf and Creedence Clearwater Revival.
“You still hear them on the radio. It’s roots music. It’s country blues and rock, but it’s ’70s rock — not heavy. In some ways The Band sounded like a ’70s rock band playing country,” said Matthews.
“There have been many versions of songs done. For example, everybody did Dylan. We’re emulating the original record. We try to recreate the music and the sound of the day,” he said.
Matthews still has memories as a youth listening to The Byrds ’60s psychedelic rock.
“The thing about The Byrds that made their sound unique was a 12-string guitar and John plays a 12-string. He’s really got it. He was from that era and adds authenticity to the show.”
North created the FPRR core lineup in 2009 with the broad goal of invigorating folk, blues, country and bluegrass for every generation. Music fans responded with sold-out shows and by 2011 North arranged a tribute show to The Band called Up on Cripple Creek.
The concert was so popular, its core artists started touring it. Performances have taken place at soft-seaters and classy cabarets across the prairies such as Sherwood Park’s Festival Place and Calgary’s Ironwood Stage. In addition, the band performed at the Vancouver Island Music Festival and Wild Mountain Music Festival.
“Our goal for the audience is to enjoy themselves and feel like we’ve represented the music of the bands and done a good job, and everyone had a great time,” Matthews said.
Up on Cripple Creek takes place Friday, Oct. 11 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $52.50. Call 780-469-1542 or go online at tickets.stalbert.ca.
Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.
Aggregated From –
Comments are closed.