For the third time in the last five years, the band was back in Gage Park in
Brampton in mid-July for the Classic Cars and Legendary Stars festival -- this time,
with their regular Powerhouse show. This year, the 10th Anniversary of the festival,
promised to be a good one, with the local band Glendale One opening, followed by
Powerhouse, then a Billy Joel tribute (rumoured to be a rather good band) and the
evening closed out by Canada's own Lighthouse.
The one serious note on the day
was that Skip Prokop, the
drummer for the band Lighthouse
(pictured performing above) was
taken to local hospital, three
songs into their set with stomach
pains. When you've been
performing for over 40 years, with
heart difficulties in the past, these
things are always taken most
seriously. Fortunately, a few days
later, word came out that Skip was
given a clean bill of health and
was feeling fine. The band, after
a short break, came back on and
performed a couple of songs
without a drummer until a fill-in
was found to finish the rest of
their show.
Following a Powerhouse Labour Day
show at the Burlington RibFest, the
band was on the road again, back to
the Bay Mills Casino in northern
Michigan. This time, the band went
with Frank Rondell and his Ray
Charles Tribute Show.
Joining Frank and the band for the
show was KT Antler, a local singer
from Sault Ste. Marie. This young
lady (I believe she was just 19 years old) came on board with just a
couple of days warning, sang her back-up vocals with the band for the first time during
sound check and nailed it. If you reside in the northern Michigan/Ontario area, this is one
young lady that you might want to check out.
Next morning, some of us walked the shore of Lake Superior while the band's golfers,
Carlo, John and Tony (pictured, above left) walked across the street for a round. Then it
was on the road again, stop for a bite, and home. It was another excellent trip stateside.
Back in the late 60's, a Hamilton/Burlington area rock/horn band, the Brass Union, included two
Powerhouse members, John Willett and Don Berryman. Also in that band was Bill Hughes, who ran the
band's rather extensive light show and acted as road manager during their many extended road trips. After
the band broke up in the early 70's, Bill did what many musicians did from that band -- headed back to
school to complete an education. In Bill's case, he went through the McMaster Medical program to become
today, one of Canada's leading cardiologists. When Bill opened his Kawartha Cardiology Clinic in mid-
September it was John and Don and their band, Powerhouse, that he wanted for the grand opening
celebrations. "We wanted to make an official opening and it was a nice idea to make it a party," said Bill in
the interview to the right.
So by the time the band returned from their show in northern Michigan, it was off to Peterborough to do an
evening show in Del Crary Park. It was a rather chilly, late September evening in the park, but two of the
Powerhouse members were really looking forward to this show.
The park itself is gorgeous,
built on a bend in the
Otonabee River with a
state-of-the-art
amphitheatre overlooking a
large grass field gently
sloping up and away from
the stage area -- with
excellent viewing of the
event from all parts of the
park.
The band started to trickle into the park by late afternoon for set-up and
soundcheck. Bill took care of everything -- a 'top end' sound crew, light show,
facilities for the band, food, drink, you name it. We watched as an empty park
was transformed into an event.
“with permission"
The Brass ReUnion
John, Bill and Don
The next stop for the band came a few days later, at a place that is beginning to
become an end of summer tradition -- an outdoor show at Karen's peach orchard
in Grimsby, ON. Every year, the Grimsby Auxiliary Marine Rescue Unit (GAMRU)
holds a fund-raising pig roast and party on Karen's farm and for the second year
in a row, the Powerhouse band was the entertainment. It was a chilly night again,
but still, about 300 people were at the peach orchard this year.
On top of being 'see your breath' cold this evening, the show was not without
additiional incidents. Several times the power went out, mid-song. Apparently,
peach orchards are not set up to handle the power requirements of an 8-piece
rock band -- go figger. At one point, a power surge took out Phil's amp -- yes, Phil
blew up another amp. But cold, black-outs and power surges aside, everyone
really enjoyed themselves this evening.
Great work, Karen. Another excellent mid-September bash in the peach orchard.
To close out the month of September, the band was on the road again -- this time to the Legion in
Aurora, Ontario for a night with Dave Battah and his 'Tonight's the Night' Rod Stewart tribute show.
Organized by the 'Four Hearts of Hope', Diane & Mike Maguire and Margaret and Graham Cardoza,
the evening was a benefit to raise funds for the Southlake Regional Cancer Centre. The night started
with Chicago Transit taking the stage for a one-hour show. After a short break, this was followed by
Dave Battah and his Rod Stewart Show. The evening closed with a final show by Powerhouse,
playing their very danceable R&B set. Between shows, Randy Skelcher took the stage to sing Elvis
and Roy Orbison tunes.
Not only was the rather large Legion Banquet Hall
packed for the entire evening, but the event also
raised a $5,850.00 contribution for the Regional
Cancer Program.
The band did a good job warming up the crowd this
evening with their Chicago Transit Show. Pictured to
the right are two of our hosts, Mike Maguire (seated,
light shirt) and Diane Maguire (seated behind, just
over his shoulder). The evening started out with
everyone seated at rather large dining hall tables, but
didn't stay that way for long.
Once Dave Battah took the stage to do his
Rod Stewart show, the tables were pushed
back against the walls and a large area in
front of the band was opened up -- which
was promptly filled with people. Dave's
perfomed his show all over the world, all
across North America, to as far away as
Afghanistan and Australia, the clips here
could have come from anywhere in the
world. But tonight, Dave was at the Legion
in Aurora, Ontario with Powerhouse behind
him and a very large appreciative audience
in front.
As Dave did his show and interacted with the crowd, the crowd went from
the first few on the dance floor, to a few more, to finally, a very large and
vocal crowd in front of the stage area.
To the right is the evening-ending photo op for the local newspaper. In the
front row, from left to right, are:
Mike Maguire (host), Carlo
DiBattista, David Battah as Rod
Stewart, Tom Forsyth and Tony
Aquino. In the back row, from left
to right, are: Don Berryman, Mike
DiBenedictus, John Willett, Steve
Negus and Phil Kott.
It was another excellent evening
and a great fundraiser for Breast
Cancer Research.
Articles and pictures marked:
"with permission" used with
permission of the
Peterborough Examiner
“with permission"
Excerpted from: http://www.stirlingfestivaltheatre.com
Built in 1927 as a “community service building”, the Stirling Festival
Theatre has served many uses over its lifetime. The beautiful building
originally cost $25,500 to build. With no money in the town budget for
such a large expense, the village turned to the bank and begged for a
loan so that they might build a more adequate space for entertainment
in the bustling farm community.
Everyone chipped in to manage the new building with representatives
from the Council, Women’s Institute, the Agricultural Society, the Board
of Trade and the Horticultural Society.
To begin with, the main building housed the Public Works office. What
is the box office today, was actually the Stirling Police Office and the
dressing rooms under the stage, were once old jail cells! On frosty
winter nights, Wilfred Gravers, the
custodian, occasionally had help
fuelling the boilers from an inmate
commissioned to shovel coal.
Beginning in 1939, the 436 seat
auditorium was used as a movie
theatre.
During the Silent Movie era, Jerry Clute provided piano music to set
the mood. One of the first movies shown at the Stirling Theatre was
the original Jolson Story.
Following a few weeks off, the band headed to central
Ontario on Saturday afternoon to do an evening show
with Frank Rondell and his Ray Charles Tribute show at
the Stirling Festival Theatre. It was a terrific day for a
drive up to Stirling, Ontario. After a drive along the 401 to
Trenton, we headed north, following the Trent Waterway.
The bright sun, fall colours and the Waterway out the
driver's side window yielded some very relaxed musicians
arriving in Stirling in the late afternoon.
The theatre itself was gorgeous, built in
the mid-20's and covered in hardwoods
and ornate woodwork -- a slight contrast
to the sign that greeted us as we entered
the theatre backstage.
After set-up and sound check, the band
headed across the street to have a bite to
eat. Then, for a few, it was time for a
walk around a very pretty town to work off
the calories before the show.
Three reasons why it's always a pleasure
to do Frank's Ray Charles Tribute Show --
the Roulettes: Heather Cadagan, Erin
Lasky, and Sharon Musgrave
Lean On Me is an non-profit making, non-government
funded charitable organization that was founded in 2007.
The organization is based on principles of love, compassion,
family, honour, respect, justice, and strength. Accountability,
honesty, and transparency in the organization is paramount -
- for relationships with members as well as those in the
community.
We are dedicated to helping victims of violent crime. We are equipped to deal with families
and victims who are placed in the criminal justice system through no fault of their own.
Lean On Me's unique value for survivors of homicide is plentiful. Not only is Lean On Me the
first group of its kind in Southern Ontario, it is also founded by, and composed of, individuals
who have experienced the untimely violent death of a loved one firsthand.
Through a 12-week program -- the one one of its kind in Ontario -- survivors connect
together, re-establishing strength, support, guidance, and healing. Following this program,
each member is welcomed into the maintenance group -- a group consisting of other
members who have completed the 12-week program. Individual support is consistent --
from the start of the 12-week program and throughout the maintenance group. The
maintenance group also facilitates involvement in awareness and advocacy actions and
fundraising projects that help LOM to help more survivors.
Webmaster's Note: In browsing through the rather well-documented business plan of this
organization, I did come across one point that deserves mention. In co-operation with local
police departments, the LOM implements a comprehensive nine-item plan of support for
survivors within the first 24 hours of a violent crime. This is listed in a brochure, aptly titled:
"You Are Never Alone".
The month closed out with Powerhouse in the
banquet hall of a Hamilton Mountain Legion for a
Hallowe'en Benefit Bash to raise funds in support
of the 'Lean On Me' Organization. Joining the
band this evening on keys was an ex-Powerhouse
member, Vince Rinaldo. And a surprise guest was
our friend, Suzanne O in her fabulous cat
costume. "It took me an hour and a half to do the
make-up", she said as she joined us on stage for a
couple of songs in the second set.
Once sound check was over, it didn't take
long for a rather large crowd to build.
As band leader, it was Carlo's
responsibility to take the 'photo op'
with SuperGirl. Yes Carlo, we
know it's a tough job some nights.
The best part of this evening -- music notwithstanding -- was that, not only was the event
sold out in advance, but there was enough interest that the organizers had to open the
room next door and hire a second band for the overflow patrons. We talked with Brenda,
the event's organizer recently: "We had enough funds raised from the night that we were
able to start another support group of 8 to 12 people for a 12-week program." For
information about the 'Lean On Me' Organization, please contact Sarah at
lominiatiative@gmail.com, or Phone: 289-339-1460
Set-up and Sound Check
The beautiful Stirling Theatre
during Sound Check
