Edmonton based blues band the Boogie Patrol are psyched to present their long awaited new CD “Man on Fire.” to Lethbridge at the Slice, May 12.
“The last studio CD was in 2011 and we all got involved in other projects and lost a drummer and a keyboardist. We released a live album “ Alive” last year to let people know we were still alive,” observed frontman/ harp player Dan Shinnan. The core of the band, Shinnan, lead guitarist Yuji Ihara and bassist Nigel Gale, have been playing for about 10 years.
The newish members, drummer Emmet VanEtten has been playing with them for two years and guitarist Chad Holtzman have been playing with them for a year and a half.
“They’re both phenomenal musicians.”
Shinnan is glad the new CD allows the band to show off the new, funkier sound of the band and the new members.
“ It’s been a goal of ours for years,” Shinnan said.
“It shows off out love for the Stax sound It is a very full sound,” Shinnan said, noting the CD features a lot more horns to reflect the band’s love for ’60s and ’70’s R and B and soul.
“We’re not Blood, Sweat and Tears. It‘s still us,” he said, adding sometimes they bring a horn section on the road, but they aren’t essential to the sound of the band.
“We feel this Cd will take us to the next level,” he said.
The CD was officially released on April 28.
They recorded it in Winnipeg with producer Murray Pulver, who has played with the Crash Test Dummies and country band Doc Walker.
“Working with Murray was terrific. He’s really easy-going. We spent five or six days in the OCL studio and it was so much fun, we didn’t want to leave. It was like ‘awwwe, we have to go home now,”’ he said.
“Murray plays everything. Often a producer will help create the sound. But he just let us play and catered to what we were feeling. he sang some background vocals. I feel great about it. It has a special place for me,” he said, adding now the CD has been released, the band is excited to bring the music on the road.
“We want to expose as many people to the Boogie Patrol as we can. We’re playing around Canada. We’re planning on going to Europe again. And we‘re getting lots of love for the CD,” he continued.
“We toured to Saskatoon and Ottawa. We‘re all over the place,” he said.
The Boogie Patrol were a success at the Memphis Blues challenge a couple years back. And they hope to return with the new CD.
“We were representing Edmonton. We definitely held our own there and there were blues bands from all over the world,” he said.
“Emmett moved to Edmonton and Chad and Yuji live in Calgary, so that’s a bit strange. It‘s been interesting being a long distance band, but we make it happen,” he said.
For now, they are excited to return to Lethbridge.
“Get ready to rock and roll and hoot and holler, it‘s a Boogie Patrol show,” Shinnan said.
The Boogie Patrol play at 9 p.m. at the Slice. There is a $10 cover.
