Show Notes
Bob Jonkman talks with Dan Jancar, Hills Walter, and Tim Palser of the FOG Blues & Brass Band about the origin of the band, recording the album, writing Twelve Bar Prescription, their trip to Memphis, and, of course, about the blues. And they perform two songs, Live, On-Air, In-Studio!
The interview starts at 3m52s.
Online:
- Website: https://www.fogblues.com/
- Twitter: @FOGHARDBLUES | Twitter
- Facebook: FOG Blues & Brass Band | Facebook
- Instagram: @fog_blues_and_brass | Instagram
- YouTube: FOG Blues & Brass Band | YouTube
- SoundCloud: FOG Blues & Brass Band | SoundCloud
- Spotify: FOG Blues & Brass Band | Spotify
- E-mail: foghardblues@gmail.com
- Phone Hills: +1‑519‑572‑4366
- Phone Dan: +1‑905‑693‑2106
Upcoming Events
-
Guelph Rib Fest
- When: 4:30pm-6:00pm, Saturday 26 August 2023
- Where: Riverside Park
- Location: 709 Woolwich Street, Guelph Map
- Website: https://www.ribfestguelph.com/
-
North Bay Blues Festival
- When: 7:00pm, Saturday 2 September 2023
- Where: Capitol Centre
- Location: 150 Main Street East, North Bay Map
- Website: https://capitolcentre.org/special-events/bluesfest-2023
Podcast
Download: ckms-community-connections-2023-06-12-episode130-The-FOG-Blues-and-Brass-Band.mp3 (52 MB, 56m54s, episode 130)
Index
Exclusive tracks recorded in the CKMS-FM 102.7 Radio Waterloo Studio are now available! Right-click on a linked track title to download!
| Time | Title | Album | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0m00s | Theme for CKMS Community Connections ccc |
 CKMS Community Connections |
Steve Todd |
| 0m46s | Too Deep |
 Live, On-Air, In-Studio |
FOG Blues & Brass Band |
| 3m52s | Introducing the band. In the studio is Dan Jancar, Hills Walter, and Tim Palser; other band members are Bobby Becker, Joe Dublanski, Domenic Di Nino, and Al Hosack. In studio we have Tim playing guitar and Hills on harmonica, and everyone on vocals, other instruments in the band are saxophones, bass, keyboards, and drums. Sometimes Dan plays baritone sax. But there are no horns, so there is no brass in the FOG Blues & Brass Band. Even though the sax is made of brass it’s considered a woodwind. But the band was named “Blues & Brass” through marketing genius. Orginally the band was a five-piece, and named for “Five Old Guys”, hence the capitalization. | ||
| 7m40s | How does a seven-piece band get gigs? Not all venues can afford all the musicians, but they stand their ground. They all have day jobs, even though managing the band is a full-time job. Band members have different hours, so they can take shifts in doing the admin work. Talking about other people, producer Robi Banerji, and recording in Dan’s basement, the Jancar Studios. How the album Twelve Bar Prescription came to be. The title song was written by Grant Heywood, then reworked by the members of the band. Working through the Covid pandemic, working with software, building the studio, doing all the Covid mitigation. | ||
| 15m44s | Twelve Bar Prescription |
 Twelve Bar Prescription |
FOG Blues & Brass Band |
| 19m07s | Analyzing the song Twelve Bar Prescription, how it changed from the way Grant Heywood wrote it. Grant and Hills have both been in Musician’s FAQ. Coral Andrews first broke the first record on CKMS. | ||
| 21m47s | Talking about their trip to Memphis representing the Grand River Blues Society for the International Blues Challenge. Starting with 12,000 bands, the organizers knocked it down to 300 bands, including FOG. It was a contest, with stringent time constraints. And FOG made it through to the semi-finals! They went not expecting to win, but to make contacts. They made quite a few, but then Covid shut it down. Then they had some smaller gigs like the Kitchener Blues Festival in 2020 at Bobby O’Briens, but there were lots of constraints for Covid. | ||
| 29m13s | Beaterland |
Live, On-Air, In-Studio |
FOG Blues & Brass Band |
| 33m33s | This is a first, FOG Blues & Brass Band haven’t done their music acoustically before. Why blues? Each band member has their own story. Dan has a metal background, Hills is wearing a Bob Dylan T-shirt. Blues only has five chords, but they stretch every facet of five chords, and throw in some jazz elements. They’re playing “Canadian Blues”. Kitchener has a rich history, not just Mel Brown, but others like Sonny Boy Williams. Each performer has the opportunity to play with others. Hills did a dance album during Covid, and he does jazz, classical, funk, blues, rock, even country. Everybody in the band is pretty diverse in their musical interests. Talking about the other members’ contributions. | ||
| 42m25s | Adapting their music to different circumstances, like doing Beaterland acoustically, which was the biggest production number on the album. Talking about working with other musicians. Talking about live music in Kitchener, new venues opening, including The Boathouse. Guelph has a buzzing underground scene, very eclectic. | ||
| 46m14s | Hey Lucy |
Twelve Bar Prescription |
FOG Blues & Brass Band |
| 49m27s | Hey Lucy ends with Jacob The Cat purring, he gets a credit on the album liner notes. Discussing how many chords there are in Hey Lucy. Talking about upcoming gigs and events. Covering the various social media accounts. Talking about the Grand River Blues Society, how FOG got the gigs in Memphis. Talking about the work they do with the Youth Blues Camp. | ||
| 55m12s | Introducing Why Get Up as the regular closing song. | ||
| 55m30s |
Why Get Up Bob gives the end credits. |
Twelve Bar Prescription |
FOG Blues & Brass Band |
CKMS Community Connections Hour One airs on CKMS-FM 102.7 on Monday from 11:00am to Noon, and Hour Two airs alternate Fridays from 3:00pm to 4:00pm.
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Bonus Video
YouTube: CKMS Community Connections for Monday 12 June 2023
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