The Journeymen part 2

Last week, we introduced you to “The Journeymen”, a relatively new group out of the Okanagan.  Actually, a new-veteran group!  This quintet of seasoned musicians represent forty plus years of Western Canadian Rock!—and will take you through the bulk of that great time at any one of their shows.

“The Journeymen” are Mick Cretney, Brian Anderson, John Anderson, Mike Holmes, and John Karroll.  The lead vocalist for the group: Mick Cretney also plays guitar, but he started off as a Bass player.  Apart from lending his unique vocal style to the group, Mick keeps his ‘singles act’ chugging along, appearing at various venues in the Kelowna area.  When he is with ‘The Journeymen’, he just lets loose, creating a vocal sensation surrounded by the pulsating Rock n’ Blues that this group churns out.  A true trooper, Bassist Brian Anderson has been playing this instrument for forty or so years.  Again a fixture on the local music scene, Brian actually sold his long fiery red hair to buy his first bass when he was eighteen!  Over the years his hair grew back, and his bass-playing skills grew just as quickly!  Serving in several bands, Brian also played with ‘Union Street’, the ‘Blues Tribe’ and pounded the four strings for ’Doug And The Slugs’!  Oh!, did I mention, ‘The Journeymen’ offer up three part harmonies?—well they do, and Brian is one part of the three.

When you finally get to see this dynamic group, and you are wondering about those flourishes of keys, look no further than to John Anderson!  John has a progressive style, and not only with the keyboards, but also the flute!  The combination drives this group to the higher echelons of British-style Progressive Rock, bringing back memories of stellar performances from that genre’s finest Artists.

 The man that brings the Rock n’ Roll soul to the group is none other than well known Saxophonist, Mike Holmes!-and he plays it right!  Mike was a staple on the Vancouver Rock scene for many years, and served time in the stellar ‘R&B Allstars’.  Around the valley, he played with Mick in ‘Blue Healers’.  Yes this group has soul, a musical soul that shows on each and every song!  The one that drives that soul, and those progressive stylings is the master time keeper; John Karroll.  John’s drumming can be heard on the Hard Rock/Progressive Rock offerings of one of Western Canada’s finest groups of the late ‘70’s—“The Karroll Brothers”.  John has made Kelowna his home for many years, and like his fellow band-mates, is well known in the valley’s Music Scene.  All members of ‘The Journeymen’ are multi-instrumentalists, and with Brian and John Anderson adding to the vocal range, and Brian adding violin—these five ‘journeymen’ create a rich tapestry of sound that can be breathtaking at times!  All five may be veteran musicians, but all five still have the energy of twenty year olds, and their passion for music—both singularly and collectively is worn on their sleeves.

   Currently the group are working on Original material, and recording some—with the aim to release in 2015!  So, not only can Okanagan’s “The Journeymen” take you on a magical musical ride through the seventies, eighties and nineties—they can offer up some cutting edge, tasteful 21^st Century Rock as well!  And so they will:  Not only are the lads busy with writing and recording, they are preparing for a New Year’s bash that will propel you in to the year 2015!  It is not too early to book your evening out, and why not take the ride with ‘The Journeymen’!!

Just as “The Journeymen” are set to take the valley by storm, “Three Lions” did just that on the British Isles!  A forceful Blues-Rock group that made their debut last year, proving that new and younger musicians can rock with the best, and that there are still many music lovers out there that want to hear this driving, energetic sound—the group’s front man is proving it all over again!  Nigel Bailey, like his group—seems to have come out of nowhere.  That soulful, bluesy voice and the heartfelt song writing style cannot be held back!  Nigel is about to release his first Solo Recording!!  With the “Three Lions” album still charting, we can expect to hear more of “Long Way Down” in the months to come!

I had the pleasure to interview Nigel for Melodic Rock, and that conversation will be in the magazine’s next issue.  For now, here is a review of Nigel’s first solo offering, and the music video of his lead off single:  Enjoy!

 

Bailey Long Way Down
Frontiers Records:

I'm not sure if we can take this!  First we had the first rate debut of “Three Lions” and now the stellar debut of that group’s front man: Nigel Bailey with “Bailey: Long Way Down”!!   Opening with ‘Feed The Flames’, this debut will be a force to be reckoned with.  Showcasing not only his powerful voice and guitar playing—his song writing and composition is surpassing the scales!  “In The Name Of The King” is epic in proportion and will serve as Nigel’s lead-off single & video.  If you were blown away by the “Three Lions” material—you will be floored by ‘Long Way Down’.  This album is loaded with hard British Rock and melodies thick and lush---plus a vocal range that simply amazes.  Nigel shows musical emotion on each and every track.  “Dirty Little Secret” works on so many levels, showcasing this humble musician’s high degree of song smithing.  Continuing to show his immense Talents, “Long Way Down” is full of riff-driven guitar work fuelled by heart and soul!  This whole collection is driven by heart and soul—Nigel has so much music in him it is obviously hard to contain!  Nigel Bailey is on the verge of becoming a major Talent & Musical force in the finest tradition of British Hard Rock!  For ‘Bailey’-yes the debut is called “Long Way Down”—the music?—it is nothing but up! up! up!

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Upcoming Club/Concert Highlights:

The Blue Gator:  Hank Stallion:  Nov. 13^th  The Goods:  Nov. 14^th & Nov. 15^th

Doc Willoughby’s:   One Bad Son  with The Lazys:   Nov. 14^th

The Max Nightclub (Vernon):   One Bad Son & The Lazys:   November 15^th

Longhorn Pub (Vernon):  Sunday Night Jam—all musicians welcome!—Hosted by-Rick Zip & The Wheelhouse Band:  

O'Flannigan's Pub:   (Live Music every Tuesday with Riaz and Friends)  Jimmy LeGuilloux Band:  Nov. 14^th & 15^th   Radio Lifeline:  Nov. 21^st & Nov. 22^nd

Notable Concerts:    

  Prospera  Place:    The Tragically Hip:  Feb. 7^th 2015

Kelowna Community Theatre:   Black Label Society:  Dec. 30^th  

South Okanagan Events Centre:  John Fogerty:   November 27^th 

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.