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A Joy Ryde after all these years
...."In an age when attitude frequently overshadows substance and
the tuning of instruments can be an afterthought, Edmonton's Tacoy Ryde remains one of Western Canada's best rock
bands.
 Thirty plus years on, this sextet is enjoying the benefits of long-term membership
while also dealing with the realities of replacing a few players who've gone on to other projects.
....But
no matter who's in the lineup, friction is never part of the equation for making music. This is a band that believes
in rehearsing, ongoing writing sessions and a lasting commitment to a project. The desired end is to bring everyone
into a freewheeling musical headspace that collectively gives a nod to those who first fuelled the jam band scene,
while also embracing the newest disciples of a sound that convincingly fuses heady lyrics with both rock solid
arrangements and improvisation.
....Working
through the week at Blues On Whyte, Tacoy's vibe on Monday night was akin to a greyhound waiting to be unclipped
from the short end of a tight leash. Founding members Barrie Nighswander and Duane "Wink" Smith—along
with drummer Bill Hobson and keyboard player Dennis Meneely, who have been in the band for a quarter of a century—used
spirited romps to open the first and second sets and in doing so made more than a few listeners sit bolt upright.
....Working
from extensive set lists that include originals from their "Here's
the Picture" recording and a new batch
waiting to find their way to tape, Tacoy Ryde also slung grooves like grenades on tunes like The Temptations' Can't Get Next To You
and Willie Dixon's I Just Wanna Make Love
to You.
...."We're
going to keep switching up these sets all week long, you're not going to see the same set twice," Meneely
said from behind his keyboard rig. No less than three tunes associated with the Allman Brothers made the cut Monday.
Nighswander's slide created both bullwhip cracks and siren-like screams on Trouble
No More, a Muddy Waters tune that Gregg
and Duane Allman put a grip on 35 years ago, while Al Brandt's lead vocal got to the heart of Statesboro Blues
in the first set.
....After
almost a decade of singing together in this band, Brandt and vocalist Dale Ladouceur have found a comfort zone
that makes for smooth and satisfying interplay that was best showcased on a new R&B-based original titled I Don't Know Why.
Ladouceur also pasted a soulful wail on a funky take of Ben Harper's Ground
On Down and she also contributed to a layered
vocal attack on the Santana-meets-The Zombies rendition of She's
Not There.
....That
deep set list also included hot takes of material recorded by the Derek Trucks Band and the late Jerry Garcia and
another new groove-driven original titled Advocate
of Love.
....Tacoy
Ryde will add a few friends to the show as the week progresses including Ken Kirkwood on guitar Friday night, while
timbale player Tilo Paiz sits in both Friday and Saturday. The group plays three sets a night. Blues On Whye is
located in the Commercial Hotel.
PETER NORTH, Special to the Journal, Edmonton,
November 30, 2005
Great Moments from Tacoy Ryde
...."Tacoy Ryde continues to soldier on and create hot sounds nearly
40 years after the first incarnation of the band started playing taverns, street dances and folk club gigs in our
city.
....Close to a couple of dozen players are Tacoy Ryde alumni, and all
have contributed to the various chapters of the band's weaving musical mandate that has embraced everything from
reggae and fusion to progressive and country rock sounds.
 ..
.This past weekend the current line-up of the
band hosted an under-the-radar show for 150 longtime fans, friends and associates, neatly stitching together those
elements into a three-set show that produced a series of great moments.
. ..As
the sets unfolded, it was easy to recall the days when the band was a major draw in this town, packing places like
The Ambassador, Dinwoodie Lounge and The Riv Rock Room, or opening shows at concert venues for international acts
like Third World and Steel Pulse.
. ..Bassist
Duane Smith and guitarist Barrie Nighswander—who started playing together in their mid-teens in Stettler—were instrumental
in directing traffic onstage Saturday night as ex-members and guests injected hot licks and soulful vocals into
the affair.
.. .Steel
guitarist Rusty Pimm, who was a core member in the early '70s; singer Jerry Woolsey, the Tacoy frontman from the
late '60s through the late '80s; Hot Cottage Drummer Linsey Umrysh, who was with the band in the '70s; local pop
fave Stew Kirkwood, and Gary Bowman were a few of the guests who spiced up tunes that were pulled from the catalogues
of Tacoy Ryde originals as well as the Bob Marley, Boz Scaggs and Allman Brothers songbook.
.. ."Has
Jerry (Woolsey) ever sounded better?" mused front-of-house engineer Kirby, who toured with the band for a
number of years.
.. ."No"
was the answer to that as Woolsey, who has been recording artists like Steve Pineo, the McDades, the late Bill
Cowsill and Maple Creek for the past few years at Beta Sound, laid it on the line on a number of reggae tunes and
classic Grateful Dead songs like Sugar Magnolia, Deal and Truckin'. Stew Kirkwood and his father, Ken, who has done a couple
of stints with Tacoy, also ruled on an electrifying take of Sonny Boy Williamson's One Way Out that featured the
younger Kirkwood on bottleneck.
.. .The
night was recorded by Lynn Wells from Atlyn Productions. Judging by the performances, there should be plenty to
draw on for a live album."
PETER NORTH, Special to the Journal, Edmonton, September
13, 2006
Tacoy Ryde opens bag of new tunes
"Local band emerges after winter
of creativity.
....Hibernation can be a productive pastime—at least that's what the members
of Tacoy Ryde have come to realize over the past few months.
....Having
taken the winter off from live gigging, at least in this setting, Edmonton's last remnant from the psychedelic
'60s emerged from studios and basements this week for a six-night stand at Blues On Whyte.
....With
them, the sextet brought along a bursting bag of new tunes and, according to keyboardist Dennis Meneely, "there's
at least two dozen more that just need a little bit of attention and then they'll be ready to go."
...."It's
been a productive time. Barrie (Nighswander), Wink (Smith) and myself made a point of getting together every Tuesday
and Friday night to work out the instrumental parts of new tunes. Every now and again one of the singers would
show up and take something away and return a few weeks later with a set of lyrics," says Meneely of vocalists
Al Brant and Dale Ladouceur, who were front and centre for much of the band's output at Blues On Whyte on Tuesday
night.
....True
to form, and to a formula that has worked for over three decades, the group continues to create a musical identity
that draws on influences ranging from classic rock and blues progressions to Third World grooves.
....Having
delivered an impressive album in Here's the
Picture just two years ago, Tacoy now has
the foundation in place for a followup with tunes like I
Wanna Get To You and Advocate of Love.
....With
bassist Smith and drummer Bill Hobson setting the pulse, I
Wanna Get To You had Brant and Ladouceur
finding the mark on what was essentially a duet vocal, while Brant took over as vocal pilot on Advocate.
The downfall of the set was that a muffled vocal mix nixed any clarity of the lyrics.
....To
the members credit they have no intention of knocking off the same sets every night during this engagement."Before
the end of the week we'll pull out both of the instrumentals that were featured on Here's the Picture," said
Meneely in reference to the tunes Wheres Doug? and Ojo Grises. The additional good news for Tacoy fans who like
their dose of latin rhythms is that popular timbale player Tilo Paiz will be joining the band both tonight and
Saturday, which means a couple of hot Santana covers should find a place in the three sets.
...."Friday
night could be the highlight of the week because we'll also be joined by two brothers, our original lead singer
Jerry Woolsey and guitarist Ken Kirkwood."
..."The last time we played Blues On Whyte
in the summer we took one weekend set with Jerry and Ken and did nothing but Grateful Dead and Allman Borthers
tunes. It turned the place upside down, the crowd was hypnotized," added Meneely, who, with guitarist Nighswander,
tore a strip off an Allmans-meet-Sonny Boy Williamson version of One
Way Out Tuesday night.
....Another
highlight in the same set saw Brant pick up an acoustic 12-string and then lead the band through Led Zeppelin's
Ramble On,
effectively turning the tavern into an echo chamber.
....Tacoy
Ryde play three sets tonight and Saturday. The cover at Blues On Whyte remains $4.
PETER NORTH, Special to the Journal, Edmonton, March
25, 2005
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