For those who lust after soul-kissed guitar links and the fusion of blues, swing, gospel, folk and country, Edmonton’s Front Porch Revue are setting up to take the Legacy Guitar and Coffee House stage April 11.
Featuring mainstays Ron Rault (bass, vocals), Gord Matthews (guitar) and David ‘Crawdad’ Cantera (harmonica), the core trio will be joined by frequent player, Doug Andrew on guitar. Each member boasts a musical resume that would have any blues musician salivating for more.
The Revue features a revolving cast of guest musicians who join the core members.
“We started this many years ago as an idea that we should get a variety of players together on stage — sort of an experiment,” explained Rault.
It began years before as a show ‘Come On In My Kitchen’ (a play on the famed Robert Johnson blues tune) and morphed into the Revue several years ago.
Another show the Revue puts on is their ‘Up On Cripple Creek’ production, which adds a few players to the mix and executes the songbook of The Band; Rault explained that The Band was “less like a band and more like an event in our lives”.
Every set, every show, every night offers up a different sampling of original cuts and the Revue’s take on staple classics, guided by Edmonton producer Peter North of Music North Productions.
“The thing about the Front Porch Revue is we’ve chosen artists who have a great ability to work with other artists…that’s the key to this — it’s a team show,” said North, adding that stylistically there is something for every audience member as the repertoire of music spans several genres, anchored by a blues soul.
North has spent some 40 years in the music production business. Known for his tenure as host of Points North on CKUA Radio, he recently took the reins as artistic director for the 2014 Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival.
The various members of the Revue have shared the stage, toured and recorded with everyone from K.D. Lang and Ian Tyson to Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker.
Rault reflects on half a century in music and learning the blues before pop culture was even calling it the blues; his own accolades include the songwriting hit “Jump Up” for the Powder Blues Band, playing with the likes of Johnny Shines, Louisiana Red and John Lee Hooker.
“We listened to records until we got every lick straight — we went to ‘school’ and we learned…only to learn from guys like Muddy and Johnny that they never played a song the same way twice,” laughed Rault, reflecting on a craft that had its beginnings in Vancouver strip clubs in the early seventies — where nobody really listened, leaving musicians with extended rehearsal times and the space to explore the sounds of the blues.
“It doesn’t matter if anybody is listening. I play the blues because it’s my medicine,” admitted Rault, adding that he tried to write pop songs once upon a time but the fit was “like a bad suit”.
A popular act on the western blues and folk festival circuits, the Revue rarely has any downtime from their full performance schedule.
Musicians who have performed with the Revue include John Rutherford, Karla Anderson, Brent Parkin, Thom Moon, Rachelle Van Zanten and J.R. Shore, among many others.
Learn more at musicnorthproductions.com.
Tickets to the show can be purchased at legacyguitarhouse.com.
