Next week will be like old home week when Dan from the Jam returns to the Canmore Hotel.
A few years ago, Rott’n Dan as he’s known now, was a regular at the Canmore Hotel on jam nights.
On Friday and Saturday (Feb. 22-23), Dan fronts Boogie Patrol, an Edmonton blues five-piece, when he returns to the Hotel.
“I was living there six or seven years ago when I started playing the harmonica,” said Dan. “I was Dan from the Jam and it’s a real kick to be coming back there to play these days.”
Boogie Patrol was born at another jam session, at Edmonton’s Blues on Whyte after Dan moved there.
Two words got the whole thing going, he said. They were, “I’m hungry. I was hungry to play and looking to play some music. I’ve always been hooked on blues and I met Yuji Ihara at Blues on Whyte at a Saturday jam. It’s all gone from there.”
Ihara, a guitar guy from Japan, teamed up with Dan (vocals, harmonica) and the band was eventually rounded out with Nigel Gale (bass), Sean Grieve (keys) and JJ (drums).
Dan booked a gig and, when asked what the name of his band was, “Boogie Patrol fell from the heavens,” he said. “It stuck and things have progressed from there.”
Indeed they have. Since the Patrol came together in 2007, the band has put out two albums, Groove On or Bug Out (2009) and the extremely wordily titled, I try and I try and I don’t know what to do… The plan was set some time ago, and we must follow through (2011).
Boogie Patrol has opened for The Fabulous Thunderbirds and blues legend Buddy Guy, notched gigs at The North Country Fair, Beaumont Blues Festival, Sasquatch Gathering, Wild Oats and Notes and the Salmon Roots and Blues Fest.
More recently, Boogie Patrol returned from the International Blues Challenge (IBC) in Memphis and made its presence known in Toronto at a January Blues Summit (as best new blues band) showcase.
“We’ve been doing a lot of touring lately,” said Dan. “Mostly we’ve toured in Western Canada, but Memphis was our first trip to the U.S. and we’ve been east to Winnipeg.
“And it was nice to get to Toronto. There’s not much awareness of us there, but we’ve got a lot going on and we’ve gotta make it work.”
Boogie Patrol meshes a unique blend of blues, funk, soul and R&B. In 2012, the band took home Blues Album of the Year from the Edmonton Music Awards. Most recently, Boogie Patrol was nominated for a Maple Blues Award as New Artist or Group of the Year.
“Our sound has evolved and changed and grown as we strive to be an all-original band,” said Dan. “We’re trying to do it our own way and that’s the way we like it. We’re pushing toward taking things to a different level for ourselves.”
Musically, Dan and Ihara are the primary musical generators, but the band works collaboratively. “It’s trial and error,” said Dan. “It’s about touring and playing. You’ve gotta live if you want to write songs.”
As a blues band, said Dan, their experience at the IBC was a highlight. “It was very authentic,” he said. “There are bands there from all over the world, the Philippines, Israel, everywhere.
“It was a win-win for us. It was our first time in the States, we were right near the Mississippi and in the heart of it all. They know their blues there and when you know they’re diggin’ your music, it’s quite the feeling.
“For the band, I think it proves we’re on the right track with what we’re doing.”
Currently, the band is putting together more new songs and looking to do some recording in March and release a new album.
“It’s a steady evolution. You’ve gotta live, you’ve gotta tour and you never know when something will hit you. Boogie Patrol – it’s feel good music and it’s real.”
