Hello, everyone. I hope your holidays are going well. This is the time of year that's all about family and friends as well as a time to be thankful.
Thanks to you and the Anchorage in Niagara-on-the-Lake (NOTL) for three great years.
On behalf of the Niagara Rhythm Section (Dave Norris, Penner MacKay and I), I just wanted to thank Jane and the wonderful staff at the Anchorage for allowing us to do our little "musical improv" show every Saturday night for the last three years. Not only have we been allowed the luxury of playing whatever style of music we feel like, but we've been able to feature our many talented friends who perform with us each week.
Back in December 2003, when Herb Nelson originally founded the band, we thought it would be fun to invite a new singer/musician to lead the show each week. Over the past three years we've had a rotation of over 50 different guests from all over the Niagara region, Toronto, Orillia, Belleville and even all the way from Calgary. Some nights the band grows in numbers and we've had 12 or more players and singers wailing away. Other nights we've had half a dozen drummers pounding out Brazilian beats!
While we may very well be NOTL's best kept secret, it has been a great musical ride and we've been very fortunate to be able to do this kind of thing in our little home town. All of our musical guests always want to come back, because this is such a rare and wonderful venue with such a great audience.
This year we've been asked to do a New Year's Eve show and we've booked an "all star" six-piece band featuring some of Toronto's top session players, including Steve Grisbrook, Denis Keldie and Ed Kopala. Jane's installing a new dance floor and a custom built clock tower for the countdown. It's going to be a hoot. We're expecting a great turn-out and I think there are some tickets still available at the Ank.
I also want to thank the regulars who come out just about every week, rain or shine, and those who can only make it once in a while. It's great that they support and appreciate live music and the
improvisational spirit of what we do. Let's see how many more fun nights of music and friends we can have at the Anchorage before it's too late and they tear the old girl down.
Happy New Year, everyone!
Steve Goldberger
www.stevegoldberger.com
