Night out on Vancouver Town with The Chantrelles

A band that I have been watching closely is Victoria's "The Chantrelles" they played at the Electric Owl on Friday night. I was impressed with their stage show, sadly it was a rushed job, with three bands in 2 hours. However, there are lots of opportunities to see the band on their current mini-tour of Western Canada.


I look forward to booking the band - look for another Vancouver date in the fall either at Cellar Jazz or the Kozmik Zoo.

Considering the average age of the band they pull off a marvelous soul and funk vibe with mostly original tunes. The audience consisted of some older folks, who were around in the first wave of soul - back in the day and possibly their grand children :-) It's great to see people of all ages enjoying a new vibe on an old sound.

The Electric Owl remains a venue that remains in my bad books, crappy sound and the closure of their kitchen [not a good sign] has seen this venue go downhill in recent months. I can only guess the plethora of underage teenagers present as sign of desperation at the door and back office. I can only suspect bad management is at fault.

Here's a little video I took last night.

On a positive note - one of the other band's worth mentioning was Johhny de Courcy and the Death Rangers I was pleasantly surprised by Johnny and the band. I must admit I've always been a sucker for ambiguity, regardless of the art form and Johnny delivered that in spades.

You can find more on Victoria's The Chantrelles here
You can find more on Johnny de Courcy here

Van City Soul Club has lots of events coming to the Cellar Jazz Club in Kits for the month of August - please check the Cellar's web site for details - reservations strongly suggested:
August 7th - Holly Burke
Aug 15th - Skylab Sounds
Aug 29 James Buddy Rogers
Sept 1 Riley Inge Sr. with the Flora Scott Band
 

Say Hello to Coco Jafro and some live dates

Been a while since I posted something, not that I have been lazy elsewhere, things seem to be coming together in many respects.

I've been following local singer Karina Morin since her days with Richard Coleman's "Soul Assembly". I even made it out to a few of their gigs at The Fairview and Lulu's Lounge in Richmond. Karina Morin is Canada's answer to Alice Russell and she is an import from Montreal, but that didn't stop me from bumping in to her on the set of "The Selection" a few months back, then spending some time updating me on her musical pursuits.


Turns out Karina is in a new band "Coco Jafro", she sent me a few songs and I was immediately impressed with the tunes particularly "Voodoo" and "The Dude" . The band is nice n' tight as it blends elements of latin, funk, soul and jazz - having Karina's vocal enhances the mix greatly, however the band holds its own on instrumentals equally. A feature of the band is the dual melody/harmony playing between sax/guitar or hammond, this lends itself to more of jazzy feel, you can hear it on "Jam Killer" and a few of the other tracks. 

Coco Jafro play the Victoria Jazz Festival June 30 at 330pm and the up to Crofton for a night at the Crofton Hotel July 7. Coco Jafro will be in Vancouver very soon - June 22 at the The Railway don't miss out when they do.


In other news - June 17th see's East Van Soul Club Radio making a live appearance at the Car Free on Commercial Drive event. Yours truly will be dj'ing from noon til 1pm from the stage at Venebles and Commercial - just outside the Bump n Grind Coffee shop. If all goes to plan we will broadcasting live for the hour, so that EVSC Radio listeners outside of Vancouver can join in the fun.

East Van Soul Club has been bus[t]y of late, 'er so to speak ! Back in April we tried a night of Burlesque and classic soul tunes at the Great Bare Pub on Kingsway in Burnaby. Owner Damian was impressed enough he booked us back June 1 and July 6. He also booked us in to his other venue in Coquitlam June 23rd. This is the first time either of these venues have had Burlesque dancers, so well done to Damian for giving it a shot. 


East Van Soul Club Radio had its first interviewee a few weeks back, I think it will now be a regular feature on the show. Thanks to Taryn LaRonge for coming in and having a chat. If you are interested in being a guest on the show please contact Ian directly.


My own band AI Vertigo play the Make Music Festival June 21 in Gastown


Overall it should be a busy summer for all concerned.

You can hear East Van Soul Club Radio Podcasts here