Sonny Del-Rio

BRUCE COMES TO DOWNTOWN HAMILTON

I’ve been thinking about getting people downtown.  I talk to a lot of people, in and around the city, every day.  I’m getting a good vibe!  Hamiltonians love their city!!
They really do.  I speak with them when I say, “It is hard to understand how a municipal government can allow the graffiti that besmirches and defaces a Hamilton Landmark such as The Lister Building, to go unaddressed for more than a decade!!”  Not once, since they boarded the place up, which must be fifteen years ago, have they so much as put a coat of paint on it?  What’s with that? Are they blind? Don’t they care? This corner, James Street and King William Street, is the very centre of our city!  It is an ugly eyesore!  This is what a visitor staying at the Sheraton sees! This is what Bruce Springsteen saw last night!  This is what people living on the mountain see!!   Bruce loves the inner-city and so do I!  We can do something about it!  It would cost nothing to put a clean coat of bright paint on the plywood panels at the Lister Block and invite our Hamilton School Children to paint happy scenes upon them.  Perhaps have a contest?
Everyone I talk to says, “A stronger Police presence, on the ground, would make folks feel safer and would discourage some of the street crime.”   Policemen walking the beat, or how about Policemen on horse-back? (It would be a novelty and help to bring people downtown.)   People have been saying this very same thing for, once again, fifteen years! Give the people what they want!!  Why has it not happened?  We could have got the money from somewhere.  I’m not buying that, “We’re broke”, routine!  If our City Fathers don’t care, or can’t see, or don’t ever go downtown themselves, how can they expect the rest of us to?
I have traveled extensively in this country from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island and everywhere, I see people taking pride in their community. There is a small town on Vancouver Island called Chemainus.  Their motto is “The Little Town That Did” 
They were struggling and were about to go under for lack of employment, when the city planners decided to paint giant murals on the sides of downtown businesses. Their town is now a tourist attraction, with people coming from miles around to see these beautiful murals!  Check out…….. chemainus.com     ……It’s a real success story!! Giant Mural Art is very popular.  A lot of cities have done this.  We already have a couple in town.  I would like to see Hamilton have a “Mural Festival” to tie in with beautifying the Downtown Area.  I will personally volunteer to head a committee to run this festival.  We just need a small grant from the city and some buildings to paint and away we go!!  I know, we talk, talk, talk but nothing gets done.  It’s time to take action!!!   Come on Fred, we’re all behind you; lead this city to glory!    Cheers  Sonny

Snow Day

The Weather outside is frightening, it is definitely one of those days  best spent cuddled up on the couch with a good book and a warm fire. Or, go skiing, or build a snowman with the kids, or build some kids with the Mrs..  It’s kind of like a surprise holiday,… with guilt! You were a fraidy-cat; not courageous enough to drive the 24 kilometers to your Burlington office on the world’s busiest highway. It’s only a foot of snow! Joe made it in!
Fight it!! Enjoy the day! You deserve it!
I’ve been thinking about retirement lately. I’m going to be 65 this year.
50 years of rock & roll is a long and winding road. But I’m sort of like a light bulb; the music turns me on; I feel my most alive when I am on the stage singing and playing my saxophone! Music is a beautiful thing and I’m glad that I am a musician and not an NFL quarterback! These and other gifted athletes are forced into early retirement, most, before the age of 40, by their physical body. Great artists in their own right, playing with passion and creativity! They can’t beat Father Time. Where as, I, may continue to hone my craft as long as I continue to desire to do so. The “desire to do so” is the important part. Many people feel Picasso did his best work when he was in his 90’s so I guess there’s still hope for me. I’m gonna  keep on rockin’ till I get it right!
I was recently asked by the folks at, buildering.net (buildering is climbing or scaling tall  urban structures such as The CN Tower or The Eiffel Tower or London bridge), to recount an adventure I had while on the road with King Biscuit Boy and Crowbar so I thought I would reprint it for you here.   Cheers   Dell

      

Well, it's kind of a long story but you say you would like to hear it........ I was playing in a band called "Crowbar" with King Biscuit Boy....  we were playing at "Tipitinas" a rather infamous club in New Orleans. Some folks bought me a drink at the end of the night (3 am). Turns out they were shooting some swamp footage for a Cannon Film (Charles Bronson). They were grips from L.A. and belonged to a somewhat secret group called "Urban Assault" and they were going to scale the Mississippi Bridge at dawn. They asked me to come along. I said “why don't I take a cab to the top and I will play my sax as you come over the railing or whatever". (thinking Hollywood video).  There was a young, up and coming, starlet with them. They said "if this little girl can do it so can you". I was never one to turn down a dare (not to mention I was 3/4's drunk) so I agreed. We went back to their hotel room for some refreshment and they changed their clothes. We headed to the Mississippi River just as the sun was coming up. I had no idea what to expect.
First we had to climb over a chain-link fence to get to the bridge property; this of course was all highly illegal.
I was scared shitless at this point, but the Peruvian refreshments were kicking in so I was ready for anything. There was a ladder going up about 60 feet, surrounded by a steel cage. A heavy steel plate blocked our way about 10 feet up, so we had to step out of the cage to get around it. I was 3rd or 4th to go up and the fellow in front of me was a big heavy man. He stepped on the steel plate and broke the lock that was holding it. The 3 foot square swung down and hit me a glancing blow to the head! This is a true story! I came back down the 3 or 4 rungs to the ground and the others came down also. I was ok, bleeding a little, but I like to bleed a little for Rock & Roll so we started back up. 60 feet up that ladder and on to a cat-walk heading towards the centre of the bridge, up 3 or 4 flights of stairs and then another ladder, more cat-walk, more ladder till we made it to the top. But we were still on the New Orleans side of the bridge and had quite a long way to go to get to the centre. Walking along on a steel-mesh walkway, open on the sides, with little hand rails, looking a long ways down to the river below, was very daunting! My mind was playing tricks on me and I felt like I was being pulled hard to one side, like I should just throw myself over!
We made it to the centre concrete support, had a couple of "smokes", took some pictures and watched the various watercrafts moving up and down the Great Mississippi River far below. Then it was time to head back. I think it was even scarier going down! They said they would send me some pictures but I never got any. This was in 1987 so e-mail was not happening. I never saw them again. 

Cheers
Sonny
sonnydelrio.com

“The Green Room” Hamilton Hometown Christmas 6

With 16 different bands performing, in 9 hours of continuous music, the “Green Room” is a very exciting, very unique, very special place to be!! 

You can’t help but be caught up in the excitement.  Look around…..there’s Bob Bratina surrounded by a number of musicians with odd looking guitars and two lovely ladies, working on their harmonies. That would be The Balkan Strings.  I think they are on stage next.
Over in the corner is a group of about 8 guys from various bands, who no doubt have worked together in the past; they are seated  around a small coffee table covered with drinks and a tray of veggies & dip, laughing and telling road stories that get wilder each time they are told. 
All around this large, comfortable club room there are musicians coming and going, instrument cases both open and closed are scattered everywhere.  Jack de Keyzer is over by the bar, doing a television interview with Cable 14, wishing all the folks in his hometown a very Merry Christmas and looking every inch the sophisticated, Juno Award winning, Canadian blues icon, that he is.  
Cueball is handing out a few more drink tickets.  Rob Kirkham and the boys from Neon Rain have just come off the stage, sweating and flush from their performance; they accept the accolades of their peers, with contagious smiles and bright eyes, you can see they are feeling the spirit of Christmas giving. 
All of these talented artists, who are performing for free here today, will take home memories that will last a lifetime. 
Meanwhile, out in the main ballroom of The Leander Boat Club, Santa has arrived and is giving out presents to gleeful children, while their proud parents look on and Jude Johnson is belting out Christmas songs with Carl Horton accompanying on the piano.
This is a wonderful feeling; to be a part of all this.  I will cherish this moment.
Thank you Hamilton for helping me to do this each year!!  And even though the first major snow storm of the season limited us to a smaller crowd, we had a terrific time and raised a little money for two very worthwhile charities; The Hamilton Spectator Summer Camp for Kids and 900CHML/Y108 Christmas Tree of Hope.

Merry Christmas, Peace on Earth, Good Will to all.
Sonny

Sonnydelrio.com

(Photos from top: Sonny and Jude Johnson, rockin' with Ray Materick. Mike Holler's children having a blast at the party)

I’m feeling in the Pink

Hello everyone    It has been an extremely busy month and I apologize for not writing sooner!  Sometimes I just have nothing worthwhile to say.  I had a great time with the Brian Melo thing.  You may or may       not know that I put together a song encouraging folks to vote for Brian. It worked!  Congrats to young Mr. Melo!  I am sure Brian will keep Hamilton and his friends here close to his heart as he travels across the country with The Canadian Idol Tour.  Good Luck Brian!  All of Hamilton is with you!
   Tony Fertado, of Jamhouse fame, has invited me to perform with him and Floyd Factor (a top notch Floyd tribute act out of Toronto) at a concert tomorrow night at the Hamilton Place Studio Theatre.  That’s Friday Oct. 19th at 8 pm.  Tickets are only $15 including tax.  I won’t be wearing pink! 
A great gift suggestion for Christmas this year is a cd called “December Songs” It features songs written by local singer/songwriters and the proceeds go to help feed the homeless. The cd will be available at local record stores starting Monday.   For more info go to www.designhope.ca
Speaking of Christmas, Sonny Del-Rio and Friends Hamilton Hometown Christmas 6 “A Family Affair”  is scheduled  for Sunday Dec. 2nd  at The Leander Boat Club from 1 to 9 p.m. This year’s festivities are sure to be a hit with the kids! Santa Claus will be there of course, and we also have a juggler, a magician, face painting and more than 10 great bands. All proceeds will be going to local charity. More info on that a little later.
While I haven’t had too much to say on my blog, I did write a poem this week.  I’m not sure if you are interested or if you will like it, but here it is anyway. 

Turn on your lovelight!  Let it shine on me.
Electronic igniter, gonna set you free.
It’s always been, since time began, that cosmic spark inside each man.
Use that spark to fire your passion, to light your way and guide your actions.
I know some people, who live in the dark,
Who always feel victimized, alone and apart.
How sad their lot.
So bleak and despair.
With tension and stress, they’re attacked every day.
For instance;
“On Tuesday, it started ok,
Then they screwed up my decaf-caramel-low fat-latte!
The traffic was terrible,
Some jerk cut me off!
I gave him the finger,
I shouted and cursed,
I got so upset, I knocked over my purse and everything fell on the floor of the car.
The Boss is a meanie.
My job really sucks.
They're all out to get me, nothing goes my way.
I’m irritable and aching,
I can’t get to sleep.
No wonder…… I’m up to a quart a day!”
Turn on your lovelight, open up your heart.
Fire up the magic in that little spark
Feel the warmth of Divine, Eternal, Love.
Feel it melt away the anger,
Feel it melt away the pain,
Feel it melt away the fear you’ve felt, since you can’t remember when.
Look around you now,
What do you see?
The Garden,
As it’s always been.
Peacefulness and Harmony,
In every blade of grass.
In every flower and tree.
In every thing that lives,
That little spark will be!
That spark of love, that’s in your heart,
Is yours to give, or hold apart.
Don’t be afraid to let it shine
You can never run out!
The more you give, you’ll find.
Turn on your lovelight, let it shine on me.
Electronic igniter gonna set us all free!
To fan that tiny spark and nurture the flame with a loving spirit,
Will illuminate the mind,
And reveal a cosmic consciousness,
Where-in, there is no war.
No enemies, no greed, no vindictiveness,
No killing, no revenge, no mean-spirited back-stabbing.
And Love will rule the stars!
I know some people, who live in the light,
Their future is rosy, their eyes are bright.
Always the first
To offer a hand
To help a friend up
They understand, that troubles come,
That the path is sometimes stony.
But when you look at life through the eyes of love
You will walk in Grace, Manna, from above
Your step will be lively, your smile always ready.
And a Joy so poignant, you can’t hold back the tears,
Like a cup overflowing,
Will be yours, through the years.
So, turn on your lovelight!  What will be, will be.
Electronic igniter gonna set you free.
Let your lovelight shine,
Let your lovelight shine,
Let your lovelight shine……on me

Cheers  Sonny 
                                     Sonnydelrio.com

KELLY JAY

My long-time friend Kelly Jay was in town for two weeks, basically to play The Festival of Friends.  I would like to thank Loren Lieberman and WestJet for making it possible. These are great people. Not only did they bring Kelly from Calgary to Hamilton, they brought his whole family too! 

Tammy, Shawna, Bella, Hank and Randy.  It was a wonderful time, filled with music, love and friends.  That sounds like the true meaning of Festival of Friends to me.  It was a rare opportunity for all of Kelly's friends here in The Hammer to get to know his family.  Kelly is a very proud father and so he should be, the children are all teenagers (Shawna 17, Bella 13, and the twins Hank and Randy are 12) where does the time go?  Born and raised in Alberta, you could not ask for more beautiful kids. Bright. charming and well-mannered, they stole my heart and I miss them already.

We put together a really fabulous band that featured John Gibbard on guitar, Ray Harrison on keyboards, myself on sax and everybody's favourite Hamilton blues band Trickbag.  Over the two weeks we played several venues in the area including, The Corktown, Cook's Corner Bistro, The Cactus Festival and best of all The Festival of Friends, where we got a standing ovation from 20,000 fans as we finished the show with “Oh, What A feeling, What a Rush". Believe me it was a rush!! 

 All of Canada loves Kelly Jay. So much so, that they nick-named him “Captain Canada” back in the 70’s. In those days he was hanging out with the likes of Pierre and Margaret Trudeau, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and all the others in the who’s who of rock and roll. Kelly Jay’s real name is Henry Blake Fordham. That was his father’s name, (a great saxophone player in his own time) and it is also the name of his son, Hank, (Henry Blake Fordham the 3^rd) so the beat goes on. 

Kelly Jay is a gentle giant with a heart as big as the Rocky Mountains. He has been entertaining us with that boogie-woogie piano style for 50 years! Leader of the legendary band “Crowbar”, he still has what it takes to bring down the house.  I know I speak for everyone when I say  “come back soon Kelly”.

Here are some photos of the gang that I hope you will enjoy.

Peace, love and music Sonny

Sonny

sonnydelrio.com

Photos by Paul Panchezak and Lilly Sazz/from the top: Kelly and Sonny/Kelly and Hank and Randy/in Sonny's back yard/Kelly, Sonny and Lily Sazz.

FESTIVAL OF FRIENDS

WOW  this is going to be one of the best Festival of Friends ever!  The line-up is stellar, the weather is going to be perfect , the food is always diverse and tasty,  your Friends will be there and it's all free!!    Some of my all-time favorites will be performing, including. THE SPOONS, CAROL POPE, and THE ENGLISH BEAT (Friday).... DON MACLEAN, LYNN MILES, CARA LUFT, and DAVID FRANCEY (Saturday) ...... And on Sunday we have ERIC BURTON and THE ANIMALS..... I will be performing with my old friend KELLY JAY (CROWBAR)  and  TRICKBAG on Sunday night at 8PM on the main stage.  Kelly is in town, from Calgary, for only a few days, but we have lined up some other gigs over the weekend.  If you have the chance, come and see Kelly with Trickbag and myself at The Corktown on Friday night or Cook's Corner Bistro on Saturday night.  We go till 1 or 2 AM, so you can come after the Festival of Friends and keep the the party rocking till the wee hours!!    cheers Sonny          sonnydelrio.com

Hi Y’all……. I hope you are doing some of the same things I’ve been doing, cause I sure am havin’ fun! The weather is terrific and the music is hot!
I just love outdoor concerts, the way the music drifts on the breeze. We are very fortunate here in Hamilton to have so many free summer concerts and festivals and bands playing in the park. Our beautiful harbor-front, Gage Park or The Royal Botanical Gardens, just to name a few, are host to free, live music pretty much every week-end of the summer. So enjoy yourself, get out to some of these free shows.
I love going to Van Wagner’s beach! There is lots to do there, walk along the water on that new walkway that they have, everybody is friendly, people say hello, the girls look so pretty in their summer frocks , maybe get a “sportsman burger” and some fries at Hutch’s, or a drink at Barranga’s. You can take a spin on the go-carts. Did you know that Lou Fermi has been operating Lakeland Go-carts since 1954, that’s 53 years! And then there is swimming, in one of the greatest, largest, most clean lake in the entire world! Lake Ontario! Man, what a great time.
I love my backyard! Barbeques, friends coming over, sunshine, all the beautiful flowers in full bloom right now. My wife Faye has a green thumb and loves gardening. I like to help. Mostly she does the flowers and I take care of the veggies. I especially love to sit quietly in the early morning or at twilight time and watch the birds at the feeders; we have 6 of them and 3 bird baths and a squirrel feeder too. It’s a riot.
I have played some interesting gigs lately, with the Del-Rio Band and as a special guest. I have included some photos from the Tranzac Club in Toronto, where I performed with Floyd Factor, a Pink Floyd tribute act out of T.O. I love Pink Floyd music so it was a real treat. Tony Furtado, who runs Jamhouse Studios, was filling in on drums, because their drummer was on the injured list.
Have a wonderful summer!
Cheers
Sonny
Sonnydelrio.com
(Photos courtesy of Peter Wilson)

sun kind of fun!

Well I hope everyone is having fun in the summer sun!! I have been having a ball! I played an interesting gig over the Canada Day weekend, on the roof of the Stoney Creek Dairy Bar. That's right, the roof. Stoney Creek Dairy, does that bring back memories for you? If you grew up in Hamilton then I'm sure it does, because they have been there, serving ice cream for 78 years! As a kid it was one of our favorite treats, to take a ride out to Stoney Creek and get a banana split or a double fudge sunday, or just a huge cone of the finest ice cream ever. With about 119 different choices it was always a difficult decision as to which flavor to get. You could choose 3 scoops of different flavors on the same cone if you wanted. It seemed like a long drive in those days. We would usually sit in the car in our pajamas and eat our treat and watch the movie that was playing at the drive-in, just a couple of farmer's fields over. The drive-in theatre is long gone, so are the farmers fields,but the memories will never die. My Dad took me and I took my kids and as I looked down from the roof on Canada Day, I could see hundreds of young families creating their own happy memories. Thank you Stoney Creek Dairy for 78 years of family fun and great ice cream! It would be interesting to know how many folks still have one of those trays that say "stolen from Stoney Creek Dairy" on them. They were made of metal and were just perfect for making those home-maid pizzas that came in a box. Do you remember making those pizzas? They changed the trays to plastic around 1970. Those trays didn't work so good in the oven!
Playing on the roof was like a step back in time for me, because on the May 24th long weekend in 1959 I was playing on the roof of the snack bar at the Starlight Drive-in Theatre, with a band called "Jerry Warren and The Tremblers" and it was snowing! The Tremblers had a hit record out at the time called "Tremble". They opened Lakeland pool that summer by playing a record-breaking rock & roll marathon, playing non stop rock and roll for 87 hours straight (or something like that)! I remember they took away the piano player in an ambulance! Those were the Days.......... Cheers Sonny
sonnydelrio.com

Oh, What a Feeling, What a Rush!!

A big thank you to The Friends Of Richard Committee who once again put on a really fantastic show at the Leander Boat Club on Saturday, June 2.!
Committee members, Paul Cronkwright, Rob Platsko, Larry Feudo. Gary Curtis, Paul Panchezak, Neil Nickafor, and Myself, worked especially hard this year, having lost our leader, Mr. Tom Basciano, who died much too young a few months ago.
The Leander is a great blues venue and was one of King Biscuit Boy's favorite places to play. It was a sold out evening and the talent was absolutely outstanding!! Steve Strongman and his band kicked off the show in high gear with a stunning set, followed by Mark LaForme, who's brilliant vocal styling's went extremely well with the eclectic selection of blues tunes that he chose to perform. Headliner Kelly Jay took the stage at about 10:30 with an eleven piece band featuring King Biscuit Boy's # 1 back-up unit Trickbag, who were joined by Hamilton piano virtuoso, Jesse O'Brien, Ray (Rabbit) Harrison with that big Hammond B-3 sound, John (ghetto) Gibbard, original Crowbar guitarist who did that famous solo on Oh, What a Feeling, or as Kelly likes to call it "bop-ba-da-ba" and in the novelty instruments section, on tenor sax Sonny Del-Rio and Darcy Hepner.
Kelly entertained the standing room only crowd with his humorous antidotes, poignant stories and Rockin' Blues, for almost 2 hours and ended his set with Oh, What a Feeling,What a Rush, for which he received a standing ovation!!
And what a treat to close the show! Zark and The Sharks, from Buffalo New York were joined on stage by 3 of the finest guitar players this area has ever produced, John Lewis, Mike Eastman and Jack DeKeyzer.
It was a beautiful evening and I was honored to be a part of it! Thanks also to our many volunteers, The Hamilton Spectator, Y-108, View Magazine, and Chedoke Flowers and Gifts. We could not have done it without your help! See you next year!
Speaking of Trickbag, harp player/guitarist Les Smith recently put out a solo cd titled "Piece By Piece". I can't stop listening to it in my car stereo. I love it! And you will too! Try and get yourself a copy. Jack Pedler is soon to release yet another outrageous cd. This one is called "Clown School" but belive me it is not for kids to listen to.
peace, love and music Sonny
sonnydelrio.com

he knows jack! ...

Holy Cow what a jam session!  Hamilton Guitar Legend Russ McAllister hosted a Good Friday jam at Squires on the Mountain and it was unbelievable!!  Non-stop music from 1 pm till after 8.  I saw everybody there.  We had a 4-piece horn section going for a while.  It was a lot of fun!  Lets do it again next year Russ. 

 Jack Pedler had a party at the Casbah on Sat. April 21st. for the release of his new cd  "Lets Get Nervous"  The band was really hot with Danny Thomas on guitar, Steve Marshall on bass and Tony Furtado on drums.  It was a powerful sound with Jack and Tony playing together on 2 full kits.  Jack's unique song writing and stage presence combine for a highly entertaining evening!  Trust in Jack! 
 
  Steve and Jack will be heading out west for a four-city tour with Gord Lewis and Frankie Venom, as Teenage Head plays Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria.  Have fun boys! 

Tickets go on sale Friday for the 5th annual King Biscuit Boy Blues With A Feeling show at The Leander Boat Club, June 2nd. I am looking forward to seeing my old friend Kelly Jay, who will be in town to lead the band!
that's all for now
Sonny
sonnydelrio.com