August 2006
Concert Review
By STEPHEN UHLER, The Daily Observer
They
came, they saw, they rocked. The Sam Roberts Band, back
after a two year absence, headlined a powerhouse of
entertainment at the Pembroke Memorial Centre Wednesday, and
with the Celtic band Searson and Matt Mays and El Torpedo,
kept the crowd hopping for nearly four hours.
The
Pembroke connection to the Sam Roberts Band is well known,
with Pembroke native Dave Nugent on lead guitar. Drummer
Corey Zadorozny, who had parted ways with the band,
performed with Searson as the opening act, much to the
delight of the audience.
The crowds
started to line up outside the PMC shortly before 6 p.m.,
with the doors scheduled to open at 6:45 p.m. The arena was
opened up just after 7 p.m. in order to give some more time
to perform sound checks, as the technicians worked to ensure
the show would go off as planned.
Just after
8 p.m.. Searson kicked off the concert. Fresh off of
performing at Pembroke's Waterfront Festival, Erin Searson,
Heather Searson, Colleen Searson and Mike Searson, along
with their newest member Mr. Zadorozny brought a blend of
Celtic folk music and country rock sensibilities to prime
the crowd for what would be a memorable evening.Matt Mays
and El Torpedo; Matt Mays, Jarrett Murphy, Andy Patil, Rob
Crowell and Tim Baker, kept the energy going with an
outstanding set of hard rocking action.
This
served as the perfect lead in for the Sam Roberts Band,
which capped the evening with a mix of old favorites and
selections from their latest album Chemical City. Sam
Roberts and his bandmates Dave Nugent, James Hall, Josh
Trager and Eric Fares proved the perfect end for an exciting
concert.Brian Abdallah, the chairman of the event, said
based on advanced ticket sales he was expecting close to
2,000 to attend the concert. By the end of the evening, he
was hoping to raise $10,000 for the Kinsmen Club.
The money
will be used to help fund the club's community projects.
"We like
to focus on young people," he said, and stated much of the
money will go into items such as the Kinsmen Pool and the
outdoor rink located in Kinsmen Park, and the Pembroke
Regional Hospital's dialysis unit.Mr. Abdallah also intends
to continue his effort to promote major concerts on a
regular basis. "We're trying to bring quality entertainment
Pembroke at a reasonable price," he said, noting there is no
reason why the city can't host such big name acts as those
who appear in places like Ottawa.
"We want
to continue to do this, and as long as the community keeps
supporting us, we'll keep doing it," he said. Mr. Abdallah
said the fundraising concerts have been popular, based on
the positive comments the organizers keep getting. He said a
lot of this success is due to the dedication of the 50
volunteers who come out to assist in these endeavours.
"It takes
all of them to put this on," he said, "I'm forever grateful
to the Kinettes and Kinsmen who came out, and especially
Mike and Kelly O'Grady," who brought with them 40
volunteers.
"Thanks to
all of these people, it is been a heck of a concert."
Courtney Bennett of Renfrew, who was one of the volunteers,
said it had been a great evening."It was phenomenal to see a
lot of great musicians get together for a good cause," she
said.
............................................................................................................
August 18, 2006
Sam Roberts Band shows Pembroke how to Rock!!!
by Hendrik Pape, Valley News Net
Another
Kinsmen show, another huge success for the Pembroke Service
club. The 4th installment, and hopefully not the last, of
the Kinsmen Community Concert series took to the stage on
Wednesday night at the Pembroke Memorial Centre. The near
sell-out crowd was in for quite a treat as three world class
bands would grace the stage before the evening would come to
an end... [click
for complete article]
............................................................................................................
July 26, 2006
By Tina Peplinski, The Pembroke Observer
The
transition from rock and roll to a Celtic-folk band has been
a smooth
one for Corey Zadorozny because he can still hit the drums
as hard as he ever did. After five years with the Sam
Roberts Band, Pembroke native Corey Zadorozny left the group
in January 2005. He felt it was time for a change but he
still wanted to be involved in music.
He landed
a new job earlier this year when he scored a spot as the
drummer for local Celtic band Searson. Searson has played
together as a family for more than 10 years, but they never
had a drummer. The band held auditions in January 2006 and
Mr. Zadorozny was selected.
"They are
all great Ottawa Valley people and we've made a good
connection,"he said about his new bandmates Erin, Colleen,
Heather and Mike Searson. "We had an instant bond. We hit it
off right away. There was a mutual feeling from the
beginning that this was going to be a good thing."
Since
joining the group, he estimates it has done about 70 shows,
primarily at clubs and Irish festivals in the United States.
The festival tour slows down in the winter, but the band
will still be busy playing American clubs. He enjoys the
opportunity to explore a new style of drumming and he is
also adapting to being on the road with three woman and
their dad as opposed to four other guys. Because of a hectic
tour schedule it is rare for Searson to play in Pembroke,
but with a break coming up it will play two shows locally,
at the Pembroke Waterfront Festival Aug. 13 and then hit the
Pembroke Memorial Centre stage Aug. 16, opening for Matt
Mays and El Torpedo and the Sam Roberts Band.
Mr.
Zadorozny is looking forward to the reunion. Because of
schedule conflicts he doesn't get to see his former
bandmates very often although they still talk on the phone
on a regular basis. "We've talked about this and we are all
super excited to be on the same bill," he said. "There could
be a little jam towards the end of the set where everyone
will grab an instrument and get out on stage." He admits
playing in front of the hometown crowd can be a nerve
wracking experience. He hasn't played in Pembroke since May
2004 when Sam Roberts played a fundraising concert for the
Pembroke Regional Hospital, also at the PMC.
He
remembers thinking that the audience was filled with former
coaches, teachers and friends and he expects it will be the
same next month. Searson has a number of shows leading up to
the concert, a fundraiser for Pembroke Kinsmen Club
Community Projects, so he won't have too much time to worry
about the nerves.
He expects
the Celtic-rock sound of Searson will add some energy and
variety to the show, which shouldn't be missed in his
opinion. "Matt Mays is a for sure to see live and Sam always
puts on a great show," Mr. Zadorozny added. "There will be
lots of love and off the stage, so I
think it is going to be one of those nights."
He credits
Brian Abdallah and the Kinsmen Club for bringing acts like
this to Pembroke. After living in Montreal for 10 years, Mr.
Zadorozny and his wife Melissa moved back to the Pembroke
last year. He is enjoying the lifestyle and takes full
advantage his surroundings, especially the great outdoors.
Mr. Zadorozny has been playing drums since he was five years
old. His family owned The Music Loft in downtown Pembroke
when he was a child, so he grew up around music. It was
logical this would be his chosen career path. His mother and
father are both musicians and his brother Jordan was is the
band Blinker the Star and is now a music producer.
Tickets
for the Aug. 16 concert are available Moncion Grocers -
three
locations, Bob's Music, Pembroke Memorial Centre or online
at
www.ticketweb.ca.
............................................................................................................
July 21, 2006
Download
the latest Podcast featuring Searson at the Irish Summerfest
in Eastlake, OH, July 2006.
»
Download Here
............................................................................................................
August/September 2006
Review of Live (2005) album by Dirty Linen
Not that
there's anything wrong with fast stuff, either. The Ontario
band Searson is built around sisters Colleen, Erin, and
Heather Searson and their guitarist father Mike, and they're
quite a foot-stomping family. The largely Scottish-based
tune sets on their high-energy concert disc, Live
[self-released (2005)], feature some wonderfully wild and
melodic interplay between fiddler Colleen, who plays with an
aggressive, bow-bouncing style reminiscent of Eileen Ivers,
and pianist Erin, whose rapid-fire keyboard style is
somewhere between boogie and Cape Breton dancehall.
Heather's bass and bodhran anchor the rhythm, and guests
Jamie Gardner on fiddle and mandolin and drummer Richard
Irwin round out the band. The sisters are capable singers
too, although the songs here tend ore toward the pop/country
end of things.
............................................................................................................
July 1, 2006
Searson would like to send a big thank you to Ryan
Bowman, Scottsdale AZ. Ryan is the representative for Guild
Guitars and presented Mike with a super Guild Jacket in
appreciation for using
Guild
Guitars on stage. The presentation was made at
Summerfest 2006, Eastlake, Ohio.
Thanks Ryan for the recogniton!
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