Jerry@Rick's

Starting a new band is not just for young musicians and, as local band "Jerry@Rick's" proves, seasoned players still have a lot to offer. Jerry@Rick's performs Saturday, June 1 at the Nines Sports Bar (1235 Fairview St.). The band name (a play at geriatrics) pokes fun at the band member's ages but together the musicians bring more than 120 combined years of music experience. Formed in 2009, the band consists of Bob Smith, bass and vocals, Denis Cholette, lead guitar and vocals, Joe Agro, guitar and vocals and Rob Beal, drums and vocals.

Classic Rock Songs

"It's always about fun to start," said Smith who formed the band along with Cholette. "It wasn't until Joe joined (in late 2010) that we started to take shape". The three of us have a good vocal blend and we realized we could put a decent show together.
"We're serious in the sense that we've played long enough and that we want to present a certain level of quality. Experienced musicians take pride in presenting good music."

The band caters to classic rock songs but also take pride in offering a set list comprised of only Canadian musicians. "That happened by accident," noted Smith. "We would suggest different songs to try and noticed a good third or more of our songs were by Canadian artists. It made sense to do them all together and present them as an all-Canadian set.

"Bar bands don't play a lot of songs by bands such as the Guess Who and Chilliwack, so when we do, we get a lot of remarking on not hearing those ones in a while."
We like to include Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo and more obscure artists.
The four musicians rehearse the songs and inadvertently put their own spin on the classics. "We don't try to do exactly like the originals," said Smith. They're not a wildly different interpretation but everyone's style and personality go into it."

"It's hard to find four people that mess well, get along as friends and have similar tastes in music but we're all in sync that way. "We grew up in the classic rock era so we have an appreciation and understanding of that; what we play works really well for us." Jerry@Rick's will perform throughout the summer at venues such as the Nines.

Passing on a tradition

"We'll keep doing what we are doing and we'll continue to have fun," said Smith. "We work hard at it because we really enjoy what we're doing.
"We've all been playing seriously since we were kids and we still want to be proud of the music we play."
In fact, growing up in Burlington, Smith credits learning music from his father and is proud to pass that tradition on to his daughter, who is also a singer.
"I learned to play guitar from my father and I taught my daughter how to play;" he said. "It's a really good feeling."
"My enjoyment is musical things. Some guys are into sports, or like cars but for me playing music has always been my hobby. It gets in the blood, that's why I've been doing it so long." - Kathryn Dunmore - Burlington Post