The founding member of British blues/rock band Savoy Brown, Kim Simmonds, was recently inducted into the Canadian Blues Hall of Fame. Now, Simmonds is headed to Canada and will hit the stage in Sudbury at Shaughnessy’s on May 8.
The show is slated to start at 6 p.m. with an opening acoustic set by Sudbury’s own Stephanie Fyfe, followed by two sets with Simmonds, before a closing set by Stephanie’s dad, Tommy Fyfe, who plays guitar for the Whiskey River Blues Band. Tickets are $15, which includes a buffet dinner. They can be picked up at Shaughnessy’s or Records on Wheels.
“It’ll be terrific,” Tommy Fyfe said. “I’ve been listening to Savoy Brown since I was a kid. I have some of their vinyl records, actually, from my high school days in the early 1970s.”
(Simmonds) always had a slightly different take on things, which keeps things interesting.
Tommy Fyfe,
guitarist, Whiskey River Blues Band
He was previously inducted into Hollywood’s Rock Walk of Fame, joining famous musicians, like Carlos Santana and Stevie Wonder. He was also inducted into the Canadian Blues Museum last year.
His newest release, Out of the Blue, is a collection of varied material, which places him in a new role of singer-songwriter.
“(Simmonds has) been innovative,” Fyfe added. “Savoy Brown was a blues/rock sort of a band, part of the British invasion in the 1960s. (Simmonds) always had a slightly different take on things, which keeps things interesting.”
Fyfe said he was happy to see Simmonds inducted, and said it’s an example of how the blues scene in Canada has become more organized and more solidly based in the last 15 years.
“They’ve begun to recognize the artists that work in Canada, and are working hard to keep it alive and progressing,” he said. “There are more and more opportunities for musicians to be recognized in Canada that play this style of music.”
Fyfe sees the hometown show as an opportunity for him and his band to keep the roots of music alive in Sudbury.
“I love music and I love playing,” he said. “There’s a lot of excellent talent in Sudbury and I’ve really enjoyed my association with all of them, and with the good solid fan base that we have here.”
He said his band, which covers music from the 1920s to current music and comes up with some original stuff, tries to keep things upbeat and danceable; always with blues as the base.
“Blues is the heart of all modern music,” he said. “A lot of people listen to blues without realizing that’s where it came from. A lot of modern rock is based in blues.”
The Whiskey River Blues Band will celebrate its 25th anniversary next year. Although Fyfe said he hasn’t made any definite plans as of yet, he did say that the quarter century mark will definitely be a proud milestone for the band.
“We’ll probably have a big show and jam with all the alumni that have been in and out of the band over the years,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll celebrate our own music and all the music we’ve played over the years. So, it’ll probably be quite a long evening.”
