I'm a country girl with a rock and roll heart...and every now and then I get out of the country and head to the big city. This October I had the opportunity to go to Calgary, Alberta on business. With that opportunity I had the excuse to trade in my jeans for a pretty (tight) dress and my leopard boots and catch some weekday night life! Don't be so quick to laugh....
I headed to a neighborhood bar, Shooter's Bar and Grill, to catch a new friend of mine perform on open mic night. Let's get something clear right off the bat....open mic night is not fucking karaoke night...it's an opportunity for talented musicians to jam and to try out new stuff in front of a live audience....it's fucking awesome! I met Curtis Butala, my new friend, in Lethbridge this fall when rock band Kingdom of Few performed along with Punk Metal band Silo. Curtis's amazing lead vocals, backed up by John Clarke on drums, Reno Serani's awesome fucking guitar, and Alex Parks' cool bass guitar make up Calgary rockers Kingdom of Few. All the guys sing back up vocals and the band has a very solid rock sound. I loved their fucking sound and I had told the guys then, that if I was in Calgary I would definitely check out a show in the city.
I didn't have to wait too long for the excuse to travel to Calgary to present itself. The only downfall was I was only going to be in the city during the week...what were the chances that Kingdom of Few would be playing anywhere? Well, turned out they weren't playing anywhere in Calgary that week, but Curtis mentioned he did some solo stuff and would be at Shooters on Wednesday night. Curt really does have amazing vocals, so I knew I wouldn't be disappointed. And I wasn't at all, because as I came through the door I couldn't help but notice Kingdom of Few were playing!! Fucking A!
The boys were tearing it up, playing originals "On the Corner", "Rich Man" and "All Night Long". I would find out after their set that they were practicing for a big gig the next night. They were going to be competing in the Battle of Bands competition in Olds, Alberta. Again, fucking A! I loved it that these boys were seeing some great success and I loved it that I that I had been lucky enough to see the whole band perform live again! By the way....they fucking won that competition the next night!
But the fun doesn't stop there, boys and girls, oh no....
Kingdom of Few weren't the only ones to play open mic night. Danny Nix was next to take the stage..fuck man, what a treat! Danny started performing 20 years ago, when he was 14 years old. Fuck, he's been playing the piano since he was 4 and writing his own songs since he was 8! His performance of his original song "Lucky One" was enough to impress me, but then I was fucking delighted as he covered favorites of mine from Tom Petty, Def Leppard, The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd. Kingdom of Few gradually joined him, starting with Curtis on the tamborine and backing vocals, John joining on drums, and then Reno and Alex on guitars making it a full accompaniment. Fucking A!
And yet there is still more! Do you remember in the movie, Roadhouse, the skinny chick that slings beer in the bar gets up and rocks out with Jeff Healy....and blows the fucking place away. Well, that came to mind when Tiffany the chick who was serving me, strapped on a fucking guitar and started singing. Oh my god...she has a incredible husky voice that would give Sheryl Crow a run for her money! Sorry girl if I spelled your name wrong...or fuck, got your name wrong! Yikes, I hope not.....I did had a little bit to drink that night...
Next up was Barbie....Barbie is the persona of good and light! She is the cutest, sweetest, most positive person I've ever met. And the chick can fucking sing and play too! I couldn't believe my luck, being there, listening to great music and chatting with the artists after. Fucking A! I wish these artists all the luck in the world, because they already have all the talent.
Kingdom of Few is having a CD Release party in Calgary on October 28th at Original Joes Avenida, where they will be performing live along with Danny Nix and Silentpanic! Congrats guys!! You fucking rock \m/ ...............; )
Kingdom of Few links:
http://www.kingdomoffew.com/fr_kingdomoffew.cfm
http://www.facebook.com/kingdomoffew
https://twitter.com/#!/KingdomofFew
http://youtu.be/28MuPkMqiGo
Danny Nix links:
http://www.myspace.com/dannynixmusic
http://youtu.be/fEz-seVI-58
Hey Danny...what happened to the fro, man? Nevermind...way too windy here :).
Shooter's Bar & Grill:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/3wu5h35
http://shootersbarandgrill.ca/
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