All About Bucket List
Hamilton’s Bucket List Band is an exciting genrebusting horn band from Hamilton, Ontario. Eight veteran musicians bring a bucketload of experience and talent to the stage to entertain audiences everywhere.
The Bucket List band performs a cross section of both original and cover tunes. Frontman, John Staley’s gravelly baritone voice defines the overall sound, and horn arrangements by saxman John Godek and trombonist Carl Korody add lots of spice and nuance. Trumpeter Dave Baldry, drummer Alex Karcza, keyboardist Dave Dalgleish, and guitarists Ralph Lefevre and Russ McAllister superbly complete the team.
So What kind of a band are we?
In the past, when people ask me that question, I always kind of stammered out, what I would consider, a somewhat silly answer. "Well we're not exactly a blues band but we play blues, we're not a Rock band, but we play rock, we're not a R&B band but we do play R&B .... however, we do play original music but I have no idea what genre it is !" In order to figure out what the hell we do, I appealed to a "Google search". There I looked up, "What is Blues ?" Here is a condensed definition from Wikipedia:
"The blues form, ubiquitous in jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll, is characterized by the call-and-response pattern, the blues scale and specific chord progressions, of which the twelve-bar blues is the most common. Blue notes (or "worried notes"), usually thirds, fifths or sevenths flattened in pitch are also an essential part of the sound. Blues shuffles or walking bass reinforce the trance-like rhythm and form a repetitive effect known as the groove. Blues as a genre is also characterized by its lyrics, bass lines, and instrumentation."
Wikipedia then goes on to describe most of the Blues "Genres" such as Chicago Blues, Texas Blues, West Coast Blues, Delta Blues, Spirituals, Rock Blues, Rhythm & Blues, Piedmont Blues, Country Blues, Jazz Blues....... and I'm sure we could go on. I'm not going to get into the structure of all the various styles but I will say that Bucket List does not subscribe to any one style. We "borrow" from all blues genres going back from the early 20's to today. We then dissect our music and arrange it to suit our instrumentation. We only have one criteria that Bucket List always demands... IT MUST HAVE A DISTINCTIVE GROOVE and we must always play "In the pocket". By achieving this, Bucket List creates a distinctive and unique "sound".
So, to answer the question, "What kind of a Band are we?" WE'RE A BLUES BAND!
The band’s first CD titled “Rumrunner” was released in June 2016 to a soldout show at The Brown Barrel. Recorded by Urmas Soomet at Flamborough’s Studio 13, it was captured in a “live off the floor” recording session. Three uniquely Hamilton original songs appear in the collection: “Rumrunner” telling the story of bootlegger Rocco Perri, “Black Widow” recounts the Evelyn Dick saga, and “Brant Inn Boogie” brings back the memories of the Brant Inn’s glorious dance hall days. Every tune has a danceable beat and a catchy hook.