A B.G. Farewell

Well it seems as though we just got going again and we have to go through another major upheaval!
When we take the stage this weekend at the "Royal", it will be BG's last official gig with the band.
Other business commitments are begging his attention and he doesn't feel he can give the band the energy & time that it requires.
As someone personally benefiting from one of these ventures (Look for future posts on this and tung n' groove's blog about ELECTROGLIDE AMPS)I know I speak for all members when I say "Bill, you will be greatly missed".
Anyone out there that knows the Savoys from the band's long standing in "the Hat" might want to get out this weekend and wish Bill a fond farewell.
The Savoys will continue, but we all realize that this is the end of an era!
Thanks Bill for keeping the Blues alive and well in Southern Alberta!

We're Back!

In less than 24 hours, the Savoy Blues Band begins gigging once again. This weekend's performance will take place at The Mainliner Pub, located on North Railway Street.

Next weekend, the band will be entertaining crowds at the Redcliff Hylton.

It's been something like six months since we gigged last. We are definitely excited to be playing again.

In addition, the tour dates on the sidebar are behaving erratically. I will do my best to fix it when I have an idea as how to accomplish it.

A Bientot

We knew this day would come.

The Savoys are officially on vacation. Our performance at the Blue Turtle this weekend was a blast, as it is every time we have the opportunity to play there. The club was busy, and the crowd enthusiastic.

To take five months off gigging every year is bittersweet. It is very nice to have the extra time to relax and pursue other endeavors, but after a while, you miss the crowds, and you miss making music.

But taking the time off also fuels our desire to learn new material, and get back out in the clubs during the off-season. I speak for all of us when we say we can't wait to get back, playing our unique blend of old-school blues and funk.

In the meantime, you can fest your eyes on me at our last performance Saturday night, jamming on my "new" set of Canwood Drums.

See you all in September.

Another Stroke of [Bad] Luck

Fate, as it seems, isn't shining too brightly on the Savoy Blues Band as of late. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we have been notified our performance tonight at the Silver Buckle, has been canceled. Furthermore, the management at the Mainliner Pub canceled our performance next weekend.

That means that only 2 shows remain before we take our annual summer hiatus, and those will take place tomorrow and Saturday at the Blue Turtle.

To say the last few months has been upsetting and frustrating amongst the band members would be an understatement. It felt like we barely got going in 2007, and now we must wait until fall before we can "reinvent ourselves" once again -- like that wasn't exactly what we did when MA joined our act not even nine months ago.

We hope to see as many of you as we can this weekend. We also look forward to seeing you in the fall. If you need your fix of live music over the course of the summer, you might want to catch Tung N' Groove, a Classic Rock band featuring 2 members of the Savoys.

See you sooner, rather than later.

Another Gig Cancelled

Crud!

Sadly, the Savoys were put in a position where we had to cancel Friday's Gig at the Silver Buckle, due to illness.

Yeah, yeah, I've heard the cliche: The show must go on. Just not Friday.

We have a very busy Easter weekend, with performances at both the Silver Buckle and The Blue Turtle. All three nights will be a blast, and we hope you come along and party too.

Only Three Weeks Remain

Until the Savoy Blues Band goes on it's yearly summer hiatus. That means if you need your fix of big band blues, time is running out to catch us!

Friday March 30, 2007 at The Silver Buckle, 9:30pm start
Thursday, April 3, 2007 at The Silver Buckle, 9:30pm start
Friday & Saturday April 4-5, 2007 at the Blue Turtle, ~9:30pm start
Friday & Saturday April 11-12, 2007 at the Mainliner Pub, ~9:30pm start

We will return in the Fall, where we should have new material for all you fans. This year has been very productive for us; we managed to work in a new bass player, and replace a large selection of material that we lost when our female lead singer left the act at the same time. We now have a solid set of funk that's making everybody shake their booty.

We expect to pick up more blues, funk and even some ska for the fall, but I can only speculate as much as the next guy -- and I'm in the band!

We're Back

I am pleased to inform all readers that the Savoy Blues Band have reunited, and will be returning to the stage this week!

Tour dates are posted on the calendar on the right sidebar. Click the calendar for more details.

This reunion is bittersweet; we only have about three weeks until the band goes on "Summer Vacation". That means you only have three weeks to get your fix of big-band blues. After that, sadly, you will have to wait until September, at the very least.

We will return in the fall with a bunch of new material.

Temporary Hiatus

A family emergency has called our saxophone / harmonica player Orv out of the province for an indefinite period of time. Being the integral player he is for the Savoys, we had little choice but to cancel our out-of-town performance in Lethbridge this weekend. We will be monitoring the situation, and if the need be, we may have to cancel upcoming shows in the coming weeks.

As much as we love music and performing for our fans, our families always come first. Our thoughts and prayers are with Orv and his family at this time.

We will return to club near you as soon as possible.

With Love,

The Savoy Blues Band

Open Stage tobe held at the Blue Turtle This Tuesday

Attention all Medicine Hat and area musicians:

The Blue Turtle will be hosting an open stage this Tuesday (that's tomorrow) at approximately 9:00pm. If you have a favorite instrument, guitar, harmonica, one-man-band, or didgeridoo, bring it along.

This is a great opportunity for all local musicians to get together, network, socialize, and make some music together, especially for those who haven't yet had the chance to perform at the Blue Turtle.

I only mention this, because at least two members of the Savoys will be there.

Don't forget, we will be playing at the Silver Buckle this Thursday. Check the calendar for more upcoming dates.

Monday night opener takes a "powder".

OK. So a monday night gig may not have been the most favorable timing, (tuesday morning would suck), the news of The Powder Blues Band having to cancel their Medicine Hat show on Feb. 5 is something of a let down. Growing up in Vancouver and being involved in the music scene there in the 70's and 80's automatically makes me a huge fan of Tom Lavine's band. Oh heartbreak............... Maybe another day!

The new set and the time the band has put in are certainly starting to pay off. The sound is getting tighter every night and the patrons are giving us great feedback (thank you all). One of the things I've noticed lately is that we seem to be connecting to a younger audience without having to resort to modern techno or drum machine themes. (Hey, the kids CAN dance to a REAL drummer) It's encouraging to be making this kind of connection and tells us we've made some good music selections!

Hope we can get you dancin'.

The Experiment in Marketing

How does one expand his or her fan base? This is an issue I have been wrestling with for several months, perhaps since I started playing with the Savoys. The problem is that around our neck of the woods "advertising" or promoting a gig consists of small letters on a marquee outside the club we are minding that weekend. This is appreciated, however it is not enough to get the word out.

Word of mouth is always the best advertising, but when you play bars, people sometimes forget important details, like the bands' name. I believe Orv has a list of email addresses of friends, family and a few fans which he alerts frequently to upcoming shows. This has always been a tried-and-true method of keeping in touch with your fans; I remember going to punk shows as a kid, and all the up-and-coming bands had a mailing list where you could add your name and address to the list, and you would get (if you were lucky) 2 newsletters per year from the band, or their management telling you what's been new and exciting in the band's career. This, of course, was before the days of email, websites, and blogs.

I particularly don't like the idea of a mailing list. People are more alarmed than ever about identity theft, and I don't like the idea of collecting all this personal information and (God forbid) somebody hacks into my system and takes all that information. The possibility of this happening, however remote, is very real.

This leaves fledging bands like us in a quagmire. If we can't go to our fans, how can they come to us? If we want a dedicated fanbase, we need to communicate with them frequently.

The answer is right here. But only for those who -- out of luck, or an undetermined period of web sleuthing would stumble onto this page. Furthermore, how do our fans even know that we exist on the world wide web?

So I decided to create a business card, something small, economical, expendable, that can sit at the tables and be large enough to attract attention, but small enough to not be a nuisance. Furthermore, if you win over a new table of fans, all they have to do is pocket the business card and take it home. I thought it was a great idea, and the rest of the band agreed.

The image at the top of this post is what I managed to put together over the course of yesterday afternoon. There are two imbedded images; the most obvious one is a photo of Orville's new saxophone, the other is a (heavily) faded image of the band on stage.

Over the next several weeks, I am going to continue this experiment, and see (a) if people take these cards in their possession, and (b) if this generates web traffic, and thusly, a larger fanbase. We should know the results by the end of April.

The Weekend Abstract

This past weekend marked the return of the Savoy Blues Band to the stage since December. Even though we haven't been gigging, we have certainly been busy, and I hope it was reflected in our performances. Since our last show we have added about 5 more songs to our repertoire: Looking Back, (Going Down to) Big Mary's, Sweet Soul Music, Hold On I'm Comin', and I am sure there are a few others that have eluded me.

The addition of all this material puts the Savoys in an interesting position; since the departure of BW and PW, we lost a lot of material, and has been subsequently replaced with a solid set of upbeat blues and funk that will make anyone want to shake their booty. This also means that the Savoys now have more material than can be performed on any given night. So, even though some of the less exciting material can be dropped from the roster, it is more likely that our music will enter a rotation, and every show will be different.

Overall, it was a successful weekend. The crowd was energetic, enthusiastic, and very supportive of our material. As or the band, after dusting off a few cobwebs at the Silver Buckle on Thursday, the band kept getting tighter and tighter, until Saturday, where everything was working like a well-oiled machine. I think this weekend was the best we have played since Mark joined the band.

In two weeks we will be entertaining the Folks at the Redcliff Hylton. Check the calendar for more info. We aim to have a few more songs ready for that show. If you can make it, we'd love to see you there.