TBShows

Looking for a slide guitar player in Thunder Bay? Ask around. Guaranteed, without hesitation or reservation, you’ll hear the same name over and over again – Dave Jonasson.

Jonasson has a long personal presence in Thunder Bay’s music history that he can trace back to the mid-1970 days of Ken Hamm, the Bay Street Blues Band and Rodney Brown & the Derailers. He has led many bands over the years, most notably the Blue Pretenders and been a popular draw at the Red Rock Folk Festival and the Trout Forest Music Festival in Ear Falls. With a passion for his craft, a heartfelt delivery, an unassuming nature and a deep respect for the music’s traditions, Jonasson is the epitome of what attracted us all to the blues to begin with. And, while the spirit of Elmore James and Ry Cooder haunt the stirring sounds of his slide guitar, he is also a great admirer of Chuck Berry rock ‘n’ roll, Fats Waller jazz and Ricky Skaggs bluegrass. “He’s a great talent … played my music beautifully,” says Rita Chiarelli of Jonasson who accompanied the blues chanteuse on recent tours of western Canada and Eastern Europe.

Fans of Jonasson have been catching his regular shows in local pubs and restaurants with pianist Brad Rusnak (a.k.a. Smedley B). Rusnak began playing on the family piano in Grade 8, took lessons at the Avila Centre and went on to earn his performing and teaching certificates from the Western Ontario Conservatory of Music. It was during three years of jazz piano studies at McGill University that he discovered the blues, rag, stride and boogie keyboard styles that he loves to play. Rusnak has toured Germany, France, Scandinavia, Greece and Australia with colourful blues diva Candye Kane.

Always steady and true, bassist, Tom Sinkins has been keeping the rhythm of music in Thunder Bay humming along since the 1970’s when he played with Ken Hamm and the Bay Street Blues Band. Sinkins has manned the bass line for many local groups and has shared the stage with Bo Diddley, The Mamas and the Papas, Paul James, Paul Shaffer and Jack de Keyzer.

A drummer for over twenty years, Stu Green locked down the groove for Eddie M & Blueshound, the band that opened the very first Thunder Bay Blues Festival in 2002. He was attracted naturally to the instrument because it always stood out as music’s heart beat. When asked about the blues, Green says “I like its dynamics. It’s not slick but requires a lot of control.” Green has been a valuable addition to many local bands including Spoonful, Social Hazard and, for seven years, CR Slam.

“Authenticity” is the operative word here. Served up with northern gusto and first class musicianship don’t miss the hearty samplings of Delta and Chicago blues, R&B and rock ‘n’ roll on Southern Comfort’s play list.

Ken Wright

About Dan Kosub

"Dan Kosub has a voice that sounds very established for such a young cat. His reflective debut album Reservoir is a magnificent display of gifts."

"Songwriting and composing are the obvious highlights of this Canadian rising star."

"His songs are happy, even when they are sad. For every bit of disgrace he thrusts in lyrics, there are images of hope polarized into all that he creates."

"Blue and Grey spins the same spool of thread held by the likes of Jonathan Clay or Howie Day, but is much better lyrically."

• Fensepost.com

On his debut album Reservoir, Canadian singer/songwriter Dan Kosub evokes an evocative pop/alternative sound, reminiscent of Matthew Sweet, James Blunt and the Barenaked Ladies. Hitting the road this summer, he will share his musical talents with audiences across the country from Toronto to Victoria kicking off on Canada Day with an intimate show at the Cameron House.

After relocating to Toronto, ON from Victoria, BC in 2006, Kosub wrote over 50 songs, including ten new tunes for his debut album Reservoir. The album features stand out tracks "Blue & Grey" and "I'll Never Know," as well as the environmentally conscious "Gone by 2040."

“Lyrically, I run the gamut of things that are a part of me; politics, social issues, stories, and of course the painfully confessional,” explains Kosub. “Employing new writing methods make songwriting consistently fulfilling. Elliott Smith advocated searching for new ways of developing song ideas, which often leaves me more stimulated than a good idea alone.”

“Blue & Grey” the albums first single and video, deals with the upswing of seasonal affective disorder, which Kosub suffers from. “It’s about the early signs of spring that re-ignite a passion for life you forgot existed for the last six months,” he says. “The last line of the song is the most telling of where I was when I wrote it… “let in the light” … I was living alone in a dark basement apartment at the tail end of winter, going stir crazy.”

“Gone by 2040” was inspired by a CBC article about scientists speculating the polar ice caps may be melted by 2040. “Climate change is a substantial threat,” Kosub explains, “yet whenever the nightmarish scenarios are discussed I find it very surreal. The song imagines the future of this potential catastrophe as no longer an imminent threat, but an irreversible fact of day to day life.”

Kosub draws on both formal and informal musical training, having graduated in 2006 from The Canadian College of Performing Arts in Victoria, BC, where he studied performance in multiple disciplines. While attending, he was a featured vocal soloist with the Victoria Symphony and was awarded the Bill and Margaret Bender Voice Scholarship.

“Artists that directly influence my sound are ones who are boldly dynamic and in a frequent state of reinvention;” says Kosub, “they write, produce, and perform in one vein, and then shamelessly change direction on a dime, often at the height of their popularity. When I was a kid, it was The Smashing Pumpkins, Dylan and Radiohead, these days; it’s more Springsteen and Tom Waits. That’s why my album ranges from epic to stripped down and confessional.” Kosub is eager to get out on the road this summer to perform live and continue to work on new music. The album has full instrumentation and production; however, he will be going with a more intimate acoustic approach for the tour.

“I never get bored of performing, because I believe the work’s never done,” says Kosub, “there’s always room to grow and something new to discover, even in songs that I’ve played thousands of times.”