Ian Gifford Playing With the Dave Dillon Blues Band

Here is a little video of my friend Ian Gifford playing drums live with the Dave Dillon Blues Band.
Click on the link below to take a look. Ian looks like he is just having so much fun banging on the skins!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx5Pw2fPCT4

Ian Gifford - Musician, Sound Guy and my old friend.

Hi Everyone,

Today I thought I would post a little something about my old friend Ian Gifford. I first met Ian way back in Drama Class in high school. Ian grew up in the village of Point Edward here in the northwest corner of Sarnia, ON. Ian is a very talented musician, singer, songwriter, sound guy, all mixed into one. Currently Ian lives in London, ON. and is a very busy guy musically. Here is a little excerpt from Ian's Myspace.com web page:

Ian Gifford's original tunes are witty and fun, endearing and heartfelt. His vocal style can go from a whisper to a scream in no time and then to a soulful wail that hearken back to his beginnings in choirs as a teenager and young adult. A typical set will traverse country rockers to folk ballads to all out spirit lifting gospel blues. Accompanied by honest, straight from the hip and funny story telling; Ian's performances, even in the largest of halls, will leave you with a feeling of intimacy shared between the closest of friends. Jazz, blues, folk, country and rock all thrown into one big musical melting pot just scratch the surface of Ian's diverse musical stylings. Ian is now playing drums for the Dave Dillon Blues Band and the Rumblebees (50's and 60's rock and roll). Watch for shows around London! most of Ian Gifford's Top 16 are talented musicians/artists that he thinks that you should check out and add right away.

Here are some web links for Ian and his music:

Ian's Myspace Web Page

http://www.myspace.com/iangiffordmusic

Ian's Band/Music Web Page

http://ca.geocities.com/iangiffordmusic/

Ian's YouTube Channel

http://www.youtube.com/user/igifford

I invite you to take a look at Ian's web pages, listen to some of his original music, and watch some of his videos on YouTube. I think Ian is a great musical talent who really enjoys making music and entertaining people.

Enjoy!

Ron Behro

DNA Music Studio - Sarnia, Ontario

DNA Music Studio has now been open and running for about a year in the downtown Sarnia core. From what I hear the place is busy with local clients making use of this fine facility. I would love to get the grand tour of Sarnia's biggest recording studio. It is nice to finally see a decent sized studio in our community. So far the studio has been steady with work.

I would love to get a chance to go into the studio and do some recording of myself playing on the baby grand piano. Their is something special about playing a real, acoustic grand piano as opposed to playing keyboard samples on a synth. I would also like to work on some acoustic, 12 string guitar stuff that would work with the acoustic piano ideas. I have this idea for an instrumental song with parts for piano, acoustic guitar, lead electric guitar, strings, bass, and drums. I believe it would be beneficial to record in a real recording studio where everything is setup.

Check out a couple of pictures of the studio setup below.

Summer Entertainment in Sarnia, Ontario

Sarnia is getting ready to kick it back into high gear as the summer entertainment comes alive!

Sarnia ArtWalk is a festival that supports and promotes arts and culture and is schedules for June 6-7, 2009 - downtown Sarnia. Check out the web site for all the information.
http://www.sarniaartwalk.com/

14th Annual Kids Funfest - July 13th at Centennial Park - 10am to 4:00pm
Admission is FREE. For a list of events and the schedule, you can download the brochure from the City of Sarnia web site.
http://www.city.sarnia.on.ca/pdf/Funfestfly2009pdf.pdf

The City of Sarnia - Waterfront program has begun at the Dow People Place Stage at Centennial Park. For a copy of the event schedule, you can go to the city of Sarnia web site and download your free copy of the 2009 Waterfront Brochure.
http://www.sarnia.ca/pdf/Waterfront%20Brochure%202009.pdf

Bayfest 2009 is ready to go again this summer! July 9-11 and July 17-18 will be two great weekends of rock and country music. Check out the lineup at the Bayfest web site.
http://www.sarniabayfest.com/

Sarnia Ribfest 2009 happens July 23-26 at Centennial Park with Free music concerts by 54-40 and Amanda Wilkinson along with some local bands. Check out the web site for a complete list of events.
http://www.sarniaribfest.com/

There are even more events happening during the month of August and they can be found in the Waterfront programs brochure available for download at the following link.
http://www.sarnia.ca/pdf/Waterfront%20Brochure%202009.pdf

For a complete listing of all the locals events in the bars, theatres, waterfront, etc. you can check out our local web site Sarnia Rocks.com - Sarnia's Online Entertainment Guide.
http://www.sarniarocks.com/

So, get out there this summer and enjoy all that the Sarnia Waterfront has to offer.

Cheers!

The Great Canadian Tune!

Tonight I came across this web site for "Luminato" - Toronto Festival Of the Arts. They have a cool event coming up on June 6, 2009 in Toronto, ON.

Bring your guitar, help us choose the best Canadian song of all time - and get Toronto into the Guinness Book of World Records!

We've put together a list of our top 10 Canadian guitar tunes. Now's your chance to help choose the all-time Number One Tune - and join what could be the world's biggest jam session.
Once a winner is selected, visit here again for music and guitar tablature. Then grab your guitar and come to Yonge-Dundas Square, where The Heartbroken will play all 10 top-ranked songs, ending with the Number One Tune. Join the band in playing it as we try to break the world record for largest guitar ensemble. (The number to beat is 1,802: that's how many gathered in 2007 in Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Germany, to play Smoke on the Water.)
Don't play? Be sure to come anyway! It'll be an historic occasion - and a great Canadian concert!
Guiness Book of World Records registration begins at 2:00 PMCountdown begins at 4:00 PM.

Just go to the following link to vote for the songs listed. You are allowed one vote per day.

http://www.luminato.com/2009/events/44

Keep on rockin'!

Cheers!
Ron

Here is the new CD by the Strung-Out Troubadours called "Push & Pull" ready to be released on May 26, 2009. The Troubs are Rik Emmett and Dave Dunlop and these guys rock!

Here is a new video that the Strung-Out Troubadours did for TRAYNOR Instrument Amplificaton. The song is called "Deeper Kind of Blue" and you can check out the video at the following link on Rik's website. http://www.rikemmett.com/troubs/

Check out Rik and Dave playing Gibson Les Pauls plugged into Traynor Custom Special Series All-Tube guitar amps. "I have got to get me one of these!!!!!" I want to buy a new guitar amp and now I will have to try out one of the Traynor models. Just listen to the sounds that Rik and Dave are getting from these amps! Totally awesome tone!

Found Photos on Facebook

Earlier tonight I was on facebook and I found some great pictures on "Kurt Kuthe's" page. Guitarists Alex Lifeson and Rik Emmett at the 2006 Guitar Workshop in Toronto, ON. All I have to say is AWESOME! My two favourite Canadian guitarists jamming it up on the same stage! A couple years back I attended a guitar clinic show by Rik Emmett here in Sarnia and I was front row watching a master at work! After the show I had a chance to talk with Rik while he autographed a poster and made suggestions on great Yamaha brand guitars! The event was sponsored by Yamaha Music Canada. The best $5.00 ticket I ever bought!!! I have yet to meet Alex Lifeson or see him play live with "Rush". Hopefully someday I will get that chance.

Disorderly Conduct Rocks The Opera House, Toronto!

My friend Richard Scarsbrook plays drums and sings in the Toronto band "Disorderly Conduct" and they have been busy playing gigs to raise money for charity. Most recently, they rocked The Opera House in Toronto, ON. on May 5, 2009. The show was for the group "Blessings In A Backpack" and they were successful in raising over $10, 000.00 at this event! Coming up on May 23, 2009 the band will be rockin' The Opera House once again. So, if you are looking for a great night of music, go check out Disorderly Conduct. You won't be disappointed!

Here is a picture of the band Disorderly Conduct
(Richard is the guy on the left of the picture)














Also, here is a link to the blog page for my friend Richard Scarsbrook where you can watch some YouTube videos that Rich posted from the last gig at The Opera House.

http://richardscarsbrook.blogspot.com/

Richard is also a member of another Toronto band called "The Nerve". There is a blog page for them and the link is here. http://thenerverocks.blogspot.com/

Richard is seen here playing the drums and singing with "The Nerve".

Vote For Stacey Zegers on CMT Casting Call

This is Stacey Zegers from London, Ontario. Stacey is a musician who loves country music. Recently I discovered her profile on myspace.com and I thought that her music is really good. Stacey entered a contest on CMT.ca the website of the country music tv station. The contest is called "Casting Call" to find a new host for a summer job at CMT. So far, she has made it into the top 16 picks and the voting is still going on to get to the top 5 and then down to the one! To vote for her, you can go to www.cmt.ca and click on casting call and then click on vote, then select her picture from the 16 finalists and then select vote. You can vote as many times as you wish. The reason I am voting for Stacey is because, she is from London, Ontario only an hour east of Sarnia where I live. She is also the only finalist is our area. Vote for Stacey and hopefully she will make all the way to the number one spot as the new host on CMT. If you live in Sarnia, then you will be able to see Stacey perform at an upcoming concert at "The Stubborn Mule" in June.

Cheers Everyone! Happy May 24 Weekend!
Ron Behro

Rogers Bayfest 2009 - Sarnia, Ontario Canada

Only two months away from this year's annual Rogers Bayfest in Sarnia at Centennial Park. The event is split over two weekends. July 9, 10, 11 and July 17, 18, 2009. This year's lineup is excellent. For more information, check out the official web site for Bayfest.

http://www.sarniabayfest.com/

"The Know" - Live at The Pumphouse, Petrolia, Ontario 1998

I thought I would take a minute to tell you about a rock band that I used play in back in 1997-98. The band was called "The Know" consisting of Rob Dickson - rhythm guitar/vocals, Pete Meharg - lead guitar/vocals, Rich Scarsbrook - drums/harmonica/vocals, and me, Ron Behro - bass guitar/sound mix. Even though I play electric guitar, I joined the band to play bass guitar instead. I actually took over for the previous bass player Doug Springstead who decided to go back to his other band exclusively.

For a couple of years "The Know" played in and around Sarnia and Lambton county and having a good time at it. We played mostly cover songs except for a select few original songs written by our drummer Rich Scarsbrook. We would usually include one original song in each of the standard three sets each night. One night at The Pumphouse bar in Petrolia, Ontario we decided to bring along a cassette deck and record one of our shows just for the fun of it. After that gig the tape got put on the shelf and forgotten about. Soon after the band separated due to our various schedules and life getting busy. We still remained friends - no bad feelings or anything.

Five years later or so, I was talking with Pete Meharg our lead guitarist and wanted to know whatever happened to the tape I had recorded that night at The Pumphouse back in '98? Pete called me back and said that he had the original cassette tape at his place. Pete took that tape and transferred those original songs that we played live onto his computer and then made a few CD copies few us to have. For me, I was happy to get the disc because, it just reminded me of the all the fun I used to have playing in the band! I can also remember all the energy in the room that night at the bar with a full crowd watching us play.

Last year I decided to create a myspace.com music page and feature the music of "The Know" for everyone to hear. Unfortunately, I didn't have a copy of the original band poster advertising that original gig so I just added a picture of Victoria Playhouse Petrolia, the theatre in town just one street over from the bar. The VPP is where I used to work as the House Theatre Tech and where I first met the guys in the band. The original lineup of The Know with bassist Doug were playing in the Petrolia Variety Show '96. I did the sound for the performance. In the original program for the show, the guys were listed as - The "Wish We Had A Name" Band. It was the truth, that hadn't decided on a name yet.

For your listening pleasure, I invite you to go to the myspace music page for our band "The Know" and take a listen to all three songs posted. Let me know what you think. The songs are now 11 years old! Oh, and one thing, I personally wrote the guitar riff for "Little Spaces" but, played the bass instead.

Here is the myspace music link: http://www.myspace.com/theknowband

Enjoy!

Cheers!
Ron





Just for fun I have a picture of the stage at the Victoria Playhouse in Petrolia, Ontario. I spent 3 years from 1993 - 1996 working as the Head Theatre Tech. One of the most intimate theatre venues I have ever worked in! Take a look.

Sarnia Bayfest 2008

Here are some pictures from last summer at Sarnia Rogers Bayfest 2008. Thanks to my wife Jenn, she won a great radio station contest. It was for an electric guitar, a meet and greet with the band Low Level Flight and 4 tickets to see Bon Jovi at Bayfest. Below are some pictures taken at the meet and greet on the Gibson guitars tour bus with Low Level Flight. Any Canadian Idol fans out there? Recognize that Ryan Malcolm the very first Idol winner is the frontman for this band Low Level Flight. Check out the pics.