Lyrics

Bio

colin kadey- timeline:

sometime in the 1950’s- born in Vancouver.

1963-1967 studied classical piano under Ms. Kimura-Parker, mother of the famed classical pianist, John Kimura Parker, in Burnaby .

1975-1976 studied poetry at Simon Fraser University

1977 first son Victor born

1977-1979  formed “SWEETLEAF” with first wife, Irene Walko. Performed an eclectic mix of covers and originals in a bizarre range of styles from punk to disco, and toured the circuit.
Personnel:  
Irene Walko- Vocals, Flute, Percussion
Colin Kadey-Wurlitzer Electric Piano, Vox Continental Organ, Mini-Moog, Harp, Vocals
Mike Zorge- Bass, Vocals
Bruce Fraser- Drums, Vocals

On early tours we played rock rooms without a guitar player. My mini-moog helped provide the sonic textures to compensate. On later tours we added a guitar player- Brent Nichol, and replaced Mike with Al Tkatch.

The Sweetleaf gig that stands out to me is the three-week stint we played at the Explorer Inn in Yellowknife, NWT in autumn 1979. The house was packed every night, the band was rockin’ and the future looked bright. Then we crashed and burned at our next gig, and the band broke up.

1980 second son Ben born

1981-1983 formed the PLEASURE CANYON band with fellow Sweetleaf alum Mike Zorge, and toured the B circuit with a mix of covers and originals.

Personnel:
Ron Halliday- Vocals, Saxophone, Flute, Harmonica
Colin Kadey- Kustom  88 Electric Piano, Korg CX-3 Organ, Mini-Moog, Vocals 
Mike Zorge- Bass, Vocals
Gary Murphy- Lead Guitar, Vocals
Dan Lewellen- Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Bugsy Mallone- Drums

Half-way through the tour the line-up was reshuffled in Calgary. Gary, Dan and Bugsy were replaced by Vince Sutherland (lead & rhythm Guitar) and Gerry Timmons (Drums)

Pleasure Canyon was plagued with difficulties from the outset. Despite an entertaining blend of divergent styles, the group was considered too rock for country rooms and too country for rock rooms. There was pressure from our manager to pursue a more mainstream sound, and this pretty much split the band between those who wanted to be a top 40 club act and those of us with loftier aspirations.

1983-1984 HUNGRY HEARTS Part One:
         
Gary Murphy blew into town from Ontario with an amazing Sax player who had worked with Downchild and Mainline, a couple of popular Toronto blues acts, and we decided right away to put something together. First thing we did was head down to the Saturday Afternoon Jam at the American Hotel, where we jammed with all the local hot-shots including our host, the late great Danny Tripper, who could mesmerize an audience with just one note, and guitar whiz Gerry Doucette who had scored a big hit with his arena rock anthem ‘mama let him play’. Out of these sessions we began to assemble the first Hungry Hearts line-up:

Noel Spooner- Vocals
Ron ‘Jake’ Jacobs- Saxophones, Vocals
Colin Kadey- Piano, Organ, Synth, Harmonica, Vocals
J.B.- Bass, vocals
Bobby Regan- Guitar

The drum chair was still empty. We had Doucette’s drummer Jim McCann sitting in at rehearsals; eventually Gerry Timmons blew into town and we hired him for a couple gigs, but he was more of a rock player than a blues player. We were losing money and starving and it seemed impossible to get the Hungry Hearts off the ground…

1984-1986 Steve Lau and Friends

Steve heard about my exploits at the American jams and hired me to play in his band.
Steve played 50 weeks a year on the road, all 6-nighters. For me it was like boot-camp. I’d been playing in democratic ‘jam’ bands for 15 years and suddenly had a swift kick of reality. Steve was a stern task-master who would not tolerate a single stylistic misstep. I once flatted a 5th in a country song (a blues lick) and got a 2-hour lecture about why it was so wrong. I’d never played in a pure country band before, but I took to it right away, instantly seeing the connection between the Beatles, Stones and Dylan to Merle, Waylon and Willie.

Steve was difficult to work for; so many drummers and bass players passed though that I can no longer remember them all. This was the line-up when I joined the band in spring 1984:
 
Steve Lau- Vocals, Guitar
Colin Kadey- Kustom 88 Electric Piano, Korg CX-3 Organ, Roland JX-3P Synthesizer (with PG-200 module), Vocals, Harmonica
Joe Martin- Bass, Vocals
Larry Olson- Drums, Vocals

This line-up lasted eight months! Larry Olson quit and was replaced by Greg Daniels, who quit and was replaced by James Westbury, who quit and was replaced by Tom whose last name I can’t remember but he was a good drummer. Joe Martin was fired and replaced by Dave Jeffries who quit and was replaced by Ron Smith, who was replaced by Patrick somebody who was replaced by a guy we called Panzer Otis but his real name was Jim Pshyk? There were a few others. Many only lasted two weeks, putting in their notice after the first performance. The closest we got to the authentic country sound Steve was going for was when we had Olson and Jeffries in the rhythm section, and some of those shows were broadcast live on ‘Opry North’, a radio show from the Beaverlodge Hotel in Alberta.

Memorable moments: Steve had a very polished, professional show so we got to play a lot of cool rooms, but the gig I’ll never forget is when we sold out the Memorial Arena in Dawson Creek. A riot broke out and police shut us down after only three songs, but we still got payed in full…good times!

Big Finish: Steve Lau & Friends came to an inglorious end after a dramatic multi-vehicle pile-up on an icy road in northern Alberta, out of which we were all fortunate to escape with our lives. Not everyone survived the Steve Lau Band, but that’s all I want to say about that, as it is a story too gruesome to tell…

Last I heard Steve is still performing a solo act with backing tracks; no more ‘& friends’

1986-1987 Hungry Hearts Part two:

When I got off the road from the Steve Lau gig I picked up a copy of the Georgia Strait, and there I saw a picture of Noel Spooner; she was singing in a club downtown. I decided to go see if she needed a keyboard player. We put a duo together and played pubs and legions for about a year before I got called back up to ‘the show’.

Although we performed mostly as a duo:
Noel Spooner- Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Colin Kadey- Vocals, Keys (same rig as above)

We occasionally hired a third piece for certain gigs, such as:
Bobby Regan- Guitar
Doug McFetrich- Guitar, Sax, Vocals

1988-1989 DIANNE KAUFFMAN & the Silver Pistol Band

Dianne was an up and coming country singer with a powerful and unique voice, great stage presence and personality, looks and charm to spare. She had just won the British Columbia Country Music Associations ‘Horizon Award’ for most promising new talent, and she was looking for a keyboard player to augment her sound for these new opportunities that were opening up to her. Her drummer, Larry Olson, said he knew a guy who might want the gig. Dianne wanted to know if I was any good. Larry told her I had lasted two years in the Steve Lau Band. Dianne said ‘send him over right away…’

Initial line-up when I joined Dianne’s band:

Dianne Kauffman- Vocals, Acoustic guitar, percussion
John Christopher (Kieselhorst)- Guitar, Vocals
Colin Kadey- Korg SG-1-D sampling grand Piano, Korg CX-3 organ, Roland JX3P Synthesizer, Harmonica, Vocals
Larry Olson- Drums, Vocals
Rodney Koke- Bass, Vocals.

Rodney quit to join Patricia Conroy’s band, and we replaced him temporarily with Drummond Eveleigh-Smith, who was eventually replaced by Derek Pinner, who had been our first choice all along, as he had a long history and friendship with John and Larry, and really seemed to gel with the rhythm section, and knew how to lay it down. Dianne finally had the line-up she wanted, but not long after that Derek took ill and died. Dianne and John carried on as a duo for awhile and eventually quit the music business, although John still writes, records and occasionally performs under the name Bub Zulu.

Dianne’s finest moment is probably the wonderful song she and John wrote and recorded for J.R. Country’s ‘Christmas on the Coast’ album (1988). The reviewer in the local paper said it was worth the price of the album on its own. It’s a killer country swing tune with sexy vocals and a great guitar solo from John. Unfortunately I had nothing to do with any of it…

1990-1994  After my high exposure gig with Dianne’s band I became somewhat of an in-demand side-man for awhile and played and toured with a lot of local country acts, including:

ALIBI- I only actually played with this group for a six-night stand at J.R.Country, but because the radios shows were recorded, archived and rebroadcast, it gave the illusion that I was a long time member. That and the fact that I bear a slight resemblance to one of them added to the confusion. Yes I played with them, no, I’m not ‘that guy’ from Alibi…

The line-up that week:
John Redekop- Vocals
Dave Clow- Vocals, Guitar
Reid Barton- Bass, Vocals
Shawn Soucy- Drums
Colin Kadey- Keys (same rig)

LORI JORDAN- Lori had several independent hits penned by songwriter Larry Wayne Clark. We toured together out to Manitoba and back, and played most of the local rooms…
Personnel:
Lori Jordan- Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Jay Buettner- Guitar, vocals
Colin Kadey- Keys, Harmonica, Rhythm Guitar
Rob ???- Bass
Rob Lowen- Drums

COLETTE WISE Bud talent search winner was receiving air-play for her debut single ‘hurtin’ me, hurtin’ you’ when I joined her for a series of dates. Her line-up was different at every gig, but some of the players that passed through were: John Cody (Drums), Rocko Vaugeois (Drums, guitar, vocals), Gary Comeau (Fiddle), Al Harlow (guitar) Nilan Ritter (guitar, vocals)

VALDY  the Juno award winning folk singer-songwriter, needed a piano player for his spring tour when his regular guy got sick, and I was happy to take the gig. We played nothing but soft-seat theatres. Big time!

Personnel:
Valdy- Vocals, Guitar
Rick Patterson- Drums, Vocals
Colin Kadey- Piano
Marcie Marconie- Violin
Al Medcalf- Guitar
???- Bass

Also on the tour was:

GARY FJELLGAARD same personnel as above.

And:

LUCILLE STARR  the hall of famer liked what she called my “Bakersfield Sound” so much she hired me later in the year to perform with her at the Big Valley Jamboree in Craven, Saskatchewan for a crowd of nearly 70,000 people. I managed to get John and Derek into the act too…

Personnel:
Lucille Starr: Vocals
Colin Kadey- Piano
John Kieselhorst- Guitar
Derek Pinner- Bass, Vocals
Rick Patterson- Drums

THE MARLAINE SISTERS were also booked to play Craven that year but the band broke up shortly before the gig, so Dianne’s band, with one Marlaine Sister (Heidi), substituted for the band’s slot on the bill.

Personnel:
Heidi Marlaine- Vocals, Saxophone
Dianne Kauffman- Vocals
John Kieselhorst- Guitar, Vocals
Colin Kadey, Keyboards, Harmonica
Derek Pinner- Bass, Vocals
Larry Olson- Drums

GIRLS OUT WEST  Heidi’s manager, Don Adams (also manager of the J.R. Country Club and later co-founder of the Merrit Mountain Blast), liked the new line-up and had us open for Foster & Lloyd at his club. The Georgia Strait praised our performance, and Don wanted to use us in future opening spots, but there were grumblings about the money so that never happened.

Personnel: same as above with:
Kim Nishikawara- Trumpet
???- Saxaphone

FARMER’S DAUGHTER the last sideman gig I did was a tour of Nevada, Idaho, and Western Canada with this country group which had just released their first album. They went on to win a shelf load of Junos, but I only stayed for a short time before deciding to concentrate on my solo career and get back to playing my own tunes, which is why I started in the first place.

Personnel:
Angela Kelman- Vocals
Jake Lieske- Vocals
Shauna Rae Samograd- Vocals
Rob Pelltier- Guitar, Vocals
Colin Kadey- Keyboards, Guitar, Harmonica
???- Bass
Kyle ???- Drums

Highlight of the tour: headlining Stage West in Calgary. Beautiful theatre, beautiful evening…                                                                                                    

1994-1999 toured as a solo act C.W.KADEY.  Began recording “Coming into Focus”

2000- released COLIN KADEY “Coming Into Focus”

Personnel:
Colin Kadey- Vocals, Grand Piano, Korg CX-3 organ, various Synths, Harmonica
John Kieselhorst - Guitar
Brian Newcombe - Bass
Daryl Burgess - Drums
Angela Kelman - Vocals
Shauna Rae Samograd - Vocals
Cathy St. Germain - Vocals
Mike Dobson- Radio Announcer
Shaun Thingvold - Production, engineering, mixing
Tim Bavis - Recording Engineer

2001- called ‘promising new voice on the scene’ by Vancouver Province music critic John P. McLaughlan

2002- Songs from ‘Focus” receive worldwide airplay thanks to the great promotional efforts of Tom Cunningham.

2003- began laying tracks for second CD

2004- 2007 continued to tour, write & record

2008- release of BUB ZULU: WORLD OF PEACE

Personnel:
John Kieselhorst- Vocals, Guitar
Colin Kadey- Grand Piano, CX-3 Organ, Synths, Harmonica, Juice Harp, Percussion
Brian Newcombe- Bass
Randal Stoll, Don Powrie- Drums
Jim Dorin- Steel Guitar
Dianne Kauffman- Background vocals
Joseph ‘Pepe’ Danza- Percussion
Dan Kearly- Synth Bass
Shaun Thingvold- Production, engineering, mixing, mastering

Cover art: Front Cover: Original Oil Painting by Wilf Warkentin
                 Back Cover: Computer Graphics by Ian Mawditt
                 Hand Lettering by c.w. kadey

2010- putting the finishing touches on the new CD. Hope to have it out soon.

More later…