Some Sad News . . .

After 1 and a 1/2 years, RenJam has been doing great but the Renaissance Café isn't. After 8-odd years, owner Randy announced that he's permanently closing down the venue in May, and going off to enjoy his retirement. We will have 2 more RenJams in March and April, and then we're going to hunt for a new club to set up shop.

Here's what's coming up:


March will feature David Hein and Aaron Bentley subbing for Dominic Major on sound. David Hein is a great performer with a fun onstage persona. It should make for a great night of music.

April's RenJam will feature The McDales, a country music duo featuring Toronto fixture "Uncle" Herb Dale with Fran McCann. Some wonderful traditional country likely featuring the house band playing back-up. Hopefully Fran will strap on a bass at some point, but she admits she's pretty intimidated whenever house bassist Sarah is around. ;)

So while it's sad for the Toronto music scene that the Renaissance is closing its doors, rest assured that RenJam will return at another club. We hope you will join us in thanking Randy for many years of supporting Toronto's live music scene, and we look forward to jamming with you in the future.

Cheers,
Dominic

February Wrap Up

Valentine's Day was a more subdued affair than at previous RenJams; guess the long weekend and holiday conspired to keep some people away. Still, we had a good crowd and some tasty jams happening. DMajor and Sarah were away, but the 2 Aarons (Bentley and Reid) did a great job subbing in on sound and house bass respectively.

Here are the highlights:

- Teri sang Dock of the Bay and The Thrill is Gone with the house band. Good fun, but I think somebody didn't mention that Aaron R. needed to see those charts too!

- John Layton played some folk blues on a no-name (but great-sounding) resonator guitar. Nice singing, great songs.

- A guy called "Mario" (hey, that's what he said his name was!) played some blues harmonica with myself on bass and Richard Weisdorf on the keys. Very minimalist, but there was some nice interplay going on.

- Richard Weisdorf played and sang 2 songs while Aaron B. sat in on flute. Rich's come a long way as a performer in his own right. Sounded great.

We then set up for our feature, Paul Gellman, giving him a jam over the Stones' You Can't Always Get What You Want to bring him in. Paul plays some wonderful songs over jazzy piano backing that reminds me a lot of Randy Newman. Aaron, Simon and I had fun mixing it up over some different styles. I threw in some jazzy tritones, reggae skanks, gritty soloing and my usual ambient noises in the backdrop. Tons o' fun.

- Frank Patrick, a regular at the 'Jam, did a couple of his tunes with myself, Simon and Paul. Another great jam, especially over his song Maya Na. Whee!

- Aaron B. took the stage to do 2 of his own songs while I ran sound. Always a pleasure seeing him perform.

- Simon Loban, our house drummer, picked up his guitar and did a couple of tunes to keep things going. We crunched along to his tune Slow Down. Good times.

- Aaron Reid then did a couple of tunes on solo acoustic guitar, including The Jackson 5's I Want You Back.

- Andy Griffith then returned to do a couple of tunes. Always fun harmonizing with him again.

Finally the house band rocked out some songs to end the night. Once again, thanks to Aaron B. and Aaron R. who did a great job subbing for DMajor and SvR. SvR will be back for March, but Aaron B. will still sub for DMajor for another month.

Next month sees David Hein featuring at RenJam. I've known David since university and I've seen him develop as a performer. It's always great to see him play his tuneful folk-rock and his witty persona onstage. Once again, it's going to be a great night at RenJam. Hope to see you there.

Cheers,
Dominic

Takin' it to the stage

January RenJam was yet another fun night of music, mirth and mayhem. Here are some of the highlights:

- Jessica Fodor: We've been seeing Jessica develop as a musician over the years. She's really learned to harness her impressive vocals, to hold back until the big moments and then let loose; something I wish more of the Michael Boltons, Celine Dions, etc. of this world would learn.

- The McDales: It's always a pleasure having "Uncle" Herb and Fran bring some genuine country into the mix. Fran passed on playing bass because apparently Sarah intimidates her (awww!). We sat in with them (along with Aaron Bentley on flute) for one of Herb's originals plus Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." They'll be featuring at our April RenJam; you owe it to yourself to check them out.

- Andy Griffith: This was a reunion moment for me, as I hadn't seen Andy since 1999, when I played lead guitar in his band. He heard about RenJam online, and learned I was hosting. We played The Verve's "Lucky Man" and one of his originals; I'd never played on either song before, but that didn't stop me. I'm weird that way.

- Yawn was a first-timer at RenJam and we hope he comes back. Good stuff.

- Jory Berger (feature): we were really flying without a net, since Sarah, Simon and I hadn't a chance to rehearse with Jory before the feature. Nevertheless, we found each other pretty well, and there were a few cool moments where we really connected.

- Aaron Bentley's been there since the very beginning, and also brings his flute for jamming purposes. It's always great to sit in on his songs: think Green Day with an East Coast flavour.

- Andrea Hatala played a couple of solo tunes on the keyboard. We've seen her perform over the years; her sense of timing is getting a lot stronger.

- Thomas: this guy – who doesn't need no steenking surname – played some jazz on a nylon string guitar. Good stuff: I hope he returns.

- Dylan & Jamie: two tall, skinny guys playing blues-inflected rawk (White Stripes, Black Keys ... you get the idea). I sat in on bass.

- Simon Loban's not only the house drummer, he also sings his own (really good) songs and plays some wicked guitar (he also plays jazz saxophone . . . rat bastard). I sat in with him on the flamenco-inflected "Desert Sands" and on "Lament for the City." Fun times.

- Andrew Butler had me sit in on a cover of "Sweet Jane" and one of his tunes. Always good to have fresh blood at the 'Jam.

- The Dominic Major Experience: our trusty sound dog doubles on bass, and he always likes to get a jam going. Dominic's definitely getting his own voice on bass; while Sarah is more Paul McCartney, Dominic's closer to James Jamerson or Family Man Barrett. We covered Social Distortion's "Bad Luck" and B.B. King's "The Thrill is Gone." Yep, all kinds of music are spoken here at RenJam!

THE FINAL JAM: This, for me, is what often makes the night. Some highlights:

- Jory, Simon and myself taking one of Jessica's songs from folk-rock to reggae to funk. I think we blew her mind. ;)

- Funkin' up "You Can't Always Get What You Want" while the final few in the club were shakin' it like a Polaroid picture.

Next RenJam is February 14th, featuring Paul Gellman. Should be another great night of music. Hope to see you there.

Cheers,
DvR

Thoughts from the Soundboard - RenJam January 10th, 2009

Sounded great this weekend. As usual, the room is bassy but Eq'ing was surprisingly easy this time around. Not too much to do, really! Jory rocked the house and he's such a joy to work with!
DvR - typically - went overboard in thanking the sound guy, but who am I to complain, eh? :)
Frankly, all you other sound guys take note: this is how classy he is. He recognises the hard work we do for him. Thanks DvR! Now if only more musicians remember the "You Suck" button we have control over... heh. Seriously, this is a great room for the audience. Everything always comes out crisp and clear and no matter who might be absent, the sound will always be handled by a member of the RenJam/Kindly Crew.
Have patch-cords and guitar picks, will travel.

See y'all in April!

d.

greetings!

a big hello to all you friends & fans of RenJam! we've set up this blog as a place for the RenJam house band and other important folks to share our perspectives on what rocked and the wonderful people (that could be you!) who made it happen. check back here after each RenJam (second Saturday of the month) - our next one is Saturday, January 10th and will feature Jory Berger. hope to see you there!

Sarah