Whalen Band Grabs Another ECMA Nomination

Wed, Feb 1, 2012.

When the East Coast Music Awards nominations came out last week, there were lots for New Brunswick, 32 in all, which didn't really surprise me much. There were some that were pretty obvious going in; you had David Myles, who continues to build a strong career on the national stage, putting out a couple of albums last year, one live and one studio, he seemed a shoe-in, and yes, that resulted in five nominations. Then, of course, Matt Andersen, I mean, he's already been crowned the top blues artist in the country, with 3 Maple Blues awards. That translated into another fist-full of nominations for him, five in total, including best blues recording. I always look to the blues for New Brunswick nominations, we have a rich tradition in that genre, and in ECMA nominations and wins over the years. Hot Toddy, Keith Hallett, in fact, for the 2009 blues award, all four nominees were from New Brunswick.

Who, you ask? I've mentioned three of them: Andersen, Hot Toddy, Hallett. But there's another act that quietly, surely has become established as one of the regions best, and they're nominated again this year. They may not get all the headlines, but the Terry Whalen Band out of Miramichi has a great reputation in the blues community, and especially among fans who get out to their scorching club shows. In the past four years, The Terry Whalen Band has been nominated three times for Best Blues recording. That's the group's last three albums, all nominated.

The last time I ran into Whalen and the crew, I heard them way before I saw them. It was the after-awards party at Music NB week, in Moncton, and as we approached the Plan B club, it was obviously loud and rocking inside. It was a bit of a cold fall night, but that was outside. Inside, the walls were sweating, the crowd was sweating, the band was sweating. That wall of sound was coming from the Whalen four-piece, featuring Terry on lead vocals and guitar, Little Terry, Terry James Whalen on bass, drummer Colby Jardine, and a new guy on lead guitar. It's veteran player Ian McLaws out of Halifax, so new to the group he wasn't featuring on their most recent disc, the newly-nominated one called A Work In Progress. McLaws has really added to their sound, it's bigger and fuller, it's that muscle I heard outside the club.

Terry and Little Terry, they aren't little, they kinda remind me of the father and son duo that run the pawn shop on the show Pawn Stars. It's an interesting dynamic in the band, a combination of experience and youthful energy, with vets Mclaws and Whalen the elder up front, and Jardine and Little Terry, both early 20's, in the rhythm section. The Whalen band most often gets compared to early Z.Z. Top, and that's because of the big thick electric guitar boogie, but there's also an acoustic side to the band as well, with Whalen bringing singer-songwriter material into the mix. There's some subtlety there. It's quite a contrast too, especially with the live show able to harness so much power. There's not too many artists that can go onstage and deliver a thoughtful number like Somewhere, which is a delta-style number from the recent album, kinda has that Keys To The Highway feeling, and then follow it up with an AC/DC cover version.

Whalen had spent almost two decades playing music before he started recording in 2007, when he decided it was time to get some of the songs he'd written catalogued. Now, after four albums in five years, he's showing no signs of slowing down, and has actually been working away on disc five with the new configuration of the group. Umm, slow down there Terry, you have some accolades to collect in Moncton in April thanks to your nomination, as the East Coast adds the group to the long list of talented New Brunswick blues acts.

East Coast Music »

WITH BOB MERSEREAU