Events

The Greg Cockerill Band

LINKS

www.gregcockerill.com

www.myspace.com/gregcockerill

Described as the perfect blend of indie-Canadiana and commercial music by CBC Radio, The Greg Cockerill Band is now playing full time across Canada in support of their debut record “Summertime & Heartache” Fueled by an all-star, young but seasoned rhythm section hailing from across Canada, the music is characterized by its honest blue collar roots-rock approach. Frontman Greg Cockerill crafts simple songs reflecting the complexity of human emotion and relationships. “I write about my hopes and my fears, we play hard to try to get into these feelings with our audience” Cockerill states. Inspired by songwriters such as Dylan, Springsteen and Young, there is no mistaking the cultural lineage of the music as it rings with authenticity and urgency. After a recent move from Calgary to Toronto and whole new batch of songs in the making the next year of 2010 should be a promising one the Greg Cockerill Band.

Greg Cockerill was born in Montreal, Canada in 1980 and grew up in Calgary Alberta. After initially starting out on classical piano, a few Beatles and Jimi Hendrix records convinced him to switch to guitar which quickly became an obsession. After studying music formally at St.-Francis-Xavier University and Humber College in Toronto and graduating with honours with a double major in composition/arranging and jazz guitar, Cockerill moved back to Alberta and reconnected with roots music playing country, jazz and blues in the local bar scene. It was during this time that Cockerill began singing and composing his own brand of roots-folk/rock music. “once i started doing that I knew that was it” he states. “It fit. It came straight from my soul in a way that it wasn’t coming across playing guitar or just composing”. Newly reborn as a singer-songwriter and bandleader, Cockerill recorded his first album, “Summertime & Heartache” (2008) with acclaimed Toronto folk Producer David Gavan Baxter featuring an all-star lineup of young Alberta scene musicians and an appearance by acclaimed Toronto songwriter Justin Rutledge. Being an independent release and having no management team, Cockerill went on to do what he does best: play. Hitting the Canadian Highways from Vancouver to Toronto and back several times, it took about a year for radio to catch on. “At first it was pretty tough,” Cockerill laughs, “calling up old friends and relatives to tell them we were passing through their town if we could even get a gig. We didn’t really have much media support so it was almost all word of mouth from the live show which is why we tour so much. Then the CBC got some calls and asked me to send them my record and they put 2 songs on regular rotation across Canada and made “Bad Night for Rock & Roll” track of the day on Radio 3.” After this the band started getting more attention becoming a featured act at the Dauphin Country Festival 2 years consecutively and being asked by the City of Calgary to play its 2009 Canada Day Celebration in front of 20,000 people. With a new album in the works and a cross-canada tour that includes stops in the Maritimes for the first time, 2010 should be a busy and a successful year for Greg Cockerill and his Band.

FRIDAY Drink Specials
Keith's Pale Ale, Keith's Red, Keith's White

$4.75 Pint

FRIDAY Daily Special

Dried Ribs & Domestic Draught Pint
$9.00

SATURDAY Drink Special
Big Rock Grasshopper

$4.75 Pint

SATURDAY Daily Special

Chicken Fingers & Fries $5.50 with the purchase of a Domestic Draught Pint