A shared passion for the Blues brought the members of this band together in 2006. Their camaraderie is evident on stage as they play cover songs of great Blues artists such as Eric Clapton, Etta James and Van Morrison. Mixed into their Sets are Classic Rock tunes and the dance floor is usually packed and jumpin’! The group consists of seven veterans of the music scene in Vancouver:

“Howlin” Jon Gale:  Lead Guitar & Vocals
Howlin’ Jon’s first exposure to Chicago Blues was in the mid 60’s when he heard the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and the Blues Project on a tiny transistor radio.  A Vancouver AM station had a one hour Blues show each weeknight. From that moment on he knew that this was the music he was meant to play.  Playing guitar since 1962, Jon honed his chops in a number of rock bands in the 60’s and 70’s but then settled down to raise a family and develop his non-musical career.  Alas, music was put aside during these years, but in the early 90’s the urge to play became too strong to ignore.  And this time, it was to be the Blues.  He also started to develop his vocals so he could really do the Blues in his own style.  His influences are many, but Eric Clapton and B.B. King top the list.

Tina “T-Dawg” Chalmers: Vocals
Born in Quebec City and raised in Germany, Tina’s voice portrays the International lifestyle she has lived. Tina’s passion for singing started with classical voice training at the Toronto Conservatory of Music. Subsequently, winning a singing competition led to a music scholarship and she entered Humber College to major in jazz. Tina has toured across Europe, Asia and the United States singing on cruise ships as well as land-based resorts with Top 40 and Jazz bands. Vancouver has been her home since 1996 where she has been asked to perform at such varied venues as the Commodore, the Yale and the Snowball extravaganza at the Vancouver Fairmont Hotel. Tina’s smokey vocals compliment her passion for the Blues - she has finally found her niche.

“Funkmaster” Glenn Rowley:  Electric Bass
From the first time Glenn saw Paul McCartney and The Beatles on Ed Sullivan he knew what direction his life’s hobby would take. From rock bands in his teens to country rock, soft rock and jazz through his 30’s and 40’s.  And now with the Gale Force Blues Band in his 50’s, his motto “Never Too Old To Rock” is more appropriate than ever.

 

Peter “Sweet Tooth” Selnar:  Guitar & Harmonica
The folk music scene in the 60’s influenced Peter to purchase his first guitar from a pawn shop in Montreal. Setting the instrument aside while raising a family, his musical interest was rekindled in the 90’s and he experimented with a variety of styles including Django’s gypsy jazz and swing music before deciding that his heart lay in playing Electric Blues. Inspired by the range and depth of sounds achieved on the Blues “harp” of Paul Butterfield, Junior Wells and James Cotton, Peter bought his first harmonica in 2003 on a lark for doing an imitation of Dan Akroyd’s “Elwood Blues” at a dance. Finding his voice on the harp has led “Sweet Tooth” to enjoy blowin’ a few harp solos in addition to playing rhythm guitar.

Peter “Beater” Smith:  Drums
Influenced by early great rock drummers such as Mitch Mitchell with Jimi Hendrix, and John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, Peter started playing drums in high school. He then spent the late Sixties and early Seventies in the hotel and bar circuit in and around Montreal. After arriving in Vancouver in the late Seventies, he found the lure of playing again too much to resist, and spent time with various groups and some studio work before joining with Howlin’ Jon’s Gale Force Blues Band. He believes that music should be fun to play; a feeling captured by the ‘Gale Force Blues’s Playlist. When mainsteam Blues and Rock ‘n Roll is done well, he says that it’s impossible to not feel good! You can currently find Peter happily driving the music from behind his vintage drumset!

Ron “Frisky” Froehlich:  Saxophone
A staple in the Vancouver music scene for many years, Ron always believed in the sentiment expressed in the Etta James song: “Blues is my business, and business is good.” Ron brings to the band a solid musical background with a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies from WWU in Bellingham, Washington. Always up for a jam, a gig and any musical aggregation, Ron’s mantra is keep it fresh. Continuously striving to be different, funky and accessible – that’s his Sax appeal!

 

“Doc” Sawyer: Keyboards
Beginning his musical background playing bassoon with the Winnipeg Youth Symphony, “Doc” quickly found his true passion, the ‘keys’, in the Sixties, jamming with garage bands and later hanging out in the Seventies on Lincoln Avenue in Chicago listening to the sounds of Junior Wells and other Blues greats. After a self-imposed thirty-year hiatus, Howlin’ Jon found “Doc” practicing with a pick-up band in a rag factory, brought him into his band.  ”Band chemistry’, Doc says, ‘is a fundamental building block of a good band. In the Gale Force Blues Band, we all get along really well, work hard, but all the while have fun makin’ music!”