The Downtown Blues Band:

Paul Campbell -- Vocals
Bury n' The Remains was Paul's first music project, a four-piece unit that played the NB college and high school circuit in the late 60s and 70s. As well as protest songs like "The Eve of Destruction", it was during these early days that he got hooked on classic Rhythm n' Blues.

Bury n' The Remains backed Anne Murray on her first demo record, which was not picked up by any record labels at the time, unfortunately ...

He carried on with solo gigs at CoffeeHouses, Revues, Bars and Jamborees in the 70s and early 80s in Halifax. It was during this time he met Al MacDonald, the noted Nova Scotian singer/songwriter who exposed him to every kind of music, in particular the music of Cape Breton and Pictou County, NS.

With a number of hits such as Al's "Heading For Halifax", Campbell fronted The MacDonald Brothers Band for several years, sometimes playing low-end venues like Dick Turpin's Pub where one Saturday afternoon a drunken sailor told him he wasn't screaming loud enough.

Armed with this knowledge, he returned to New Brunswick in 1984.

In 1987, Joy Peterson asked him to help with music for a Big Brothers/Big Sisters Benefit at the Club Cosmopolitan. Tim MacTavish provided a lot of beer tickets, which was legal at the time. Paul called Hutch who knew the 3 J's - Jon Weaver, JoAnne Rooney and Joey Kilfoil - and the DOWNTOWN BLUES BAND was born.

The rest, as they say, is All About The Love.

Paul received "The Dutch Mason Blues Award" from the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival in 1995, joining such Maritime Blues Luminaries as Carson Downey, John Campbelljohn, Joe Murphy, Hot Toddy and Dutch himself as contributors to the Maritime Blues Scene.

All Hail The Goddess of The Blues

Dee London (1952 - 2004) -- Vocals
Diane Louise London started playing acoustic blues and folk as a teenager in the coffee houses of Moncton. A true artist, Dee's varied career in the arts included 14 years with the Calithumpians Theatre as a writer, musician, director, drama teacher and performer, as well as five years with Theatre New Brunswick as Tour Manager and Publicist. The Dee-va rocked the Blues Band after joining in 1994.

Diane left us during the Full Moon in August 2004. We know we will never be the same without her, and we thank her for sharing Her Love and Caring Nature ... and her Unrelenting Desire that People Have a Good Time ... "All Blessings to You, Goddess of the Blues."

Peter Wood -- Rhythm, Slide, and Lead Guitar
Peter Wood has been the “rhythm guitarist-in-residence” and the third-longest playing member with the DBB. He picked up guitar while growing up in Montreal. When he moved to Summerside, PEI, he found other musicians who loved jamming and performing and has been jamming and playing ever since.

Peter now lives in Woodstock, NB, which he calls his home.

The lowlight of his career at this time was perhaps playing Olympic Stadium as an opener for the long forgotten Human Fly. Yes, the man who would be doubling Evel Knievel's record for clearing buses on a motorcycle that night was only warming up for his next stunt - a rocket powered hop over the English Channel. It is cruel to say the band played a Killer Set that night, but have you heard tell of the Human Fly since?

Anyway, a 'blue' period in Hogtown saw Dave just jamming with a few local cats. The fact that two of those cats lived with dancers who knew every other dancer in the city was incidental. The parties were not.

Arriving in Keswick Ridge in '89 with a '77 Stingray (the bass, not the car) Dave unleashed his Quebecois wasp soul on the locals. His recidivist style has been heard with The High Divin' Act, All Bloozed Up, Blind Dog, A.J. and the Red Hots and some others too embarassing to mention. He is currently also one of the bookends of the acclaimed band Soul Purpose - an awesome soul unit that adds new meaning to the term "tighten up your Merkin!"

Dave also served an early '90s term in the Downtown Blues Band, in the old days before tattoos when bass players were less gray but not as bluish.

Gordon Thomas -- Keyboards and Vocals
Gordon was born and raised in Fredericton, specifically Nashwaaksis. Gordo started playing piano at the ripe age of six years old and ended up in music lessons for a number of years squeezed in between hockey games. He started his first band with some friends at age 14 and as they slowly perfected their act they began playing school dances and coffee houses. After becoming of legal age they began touring clubs in New Brunswick with a few stops in P.E.I. and Nova Scotia.

This lasted for five years until the band was quite burned out and decided to split. Gordo took a rest for a year and got married and had kids. The love for music was still nagging him so he began playing Legions, Curling Clubs and rural dance halls with another group. This lasted for approximately seven years and then for a few years Gordo played in various groups playing different styles of music such as country, old rock, rhythm & blues and some modern hard rock. He has been a member of Excalibur, Brickhill, Mixed Nuts, Cat in the Hat and has also sat in with other local groups.

Gordo joined the Downtown Blues Band in 1997 after being signed by Hutch to a multi-million dollar contract over the next decade. Gordo is well known for his down to earth sense of humour, thirst that cannot be quenched, M1 capability and sneaky exits from the stage to who knows where. Gordo loves playing at the festivals in the summer and loves women who love music and the outdoors.

His playing career began almost by accident, as his real goal in life was to become a plumber. However, he couldn't seem to keep the metal pipes out of his mouth. Someone soon recognized his penchant for getting crude and rude sounds out of metal pipes and suggested he try playing the trumpet. "Sure, he said, but can a trumpet plug a leaking pipe, or patch a hole?" And so it was, his plumbing career was put on hold ...

In the late '60s and '70s, Conrad toured extensively throughout the USA, Canada and Mexico, recording, making beach movies and living on a bus with 10 hippies and a dog. Conrad has played with such groups as The Library of Sound, Oddessy, The Fabulous Flippers, Festival, Sun Machine and The Mighty Pope to name a few.

In 1972, The Fabulous Flippers were named 'Entertainers of the Year' by the Entertainment Operators of America (EOA) and were later enshrined in the Iowa and Nebraska Rock N' Roll Halls of Fame in the late '90s. Their early '70s release of "Harlem Shuffle" met with regional success and their arrangement was later picked up and released by The Rolling Stones.

Conrad has had the opportunity to share the stage and/or venues with such groups and musicians as The Rolling Stones, Chicago, Kansas, Little Richard, Bobby Vinton, Black Oak Arkansas, Aretha Franklin, Cold Blood featuring Chaka Kahn, Dr. Music, Deep Purple, Elf, Gloria Gaynor, Spiral Staircase, and others. Generally these opportunities came about as an opening act and on a few occasions as a contract musician hired to play in the back-up bands/orchestra for clubs and concert venues.

Retiring from the road in 1978, Conrad moved to Canada, married a lovely Acadian woman, got a haircut, a real job, raised a family and put his music aside for 18 years. Rick Hutchins later discovered his shady background and enticed (blackmailed) him out of retirement with promises of fame and fortune playing with the Downtown Blues Band for the HJ&B Festival in 1997.

Although Conrad never attained his real dream of being a licensed plumber, he can still on occasion be seen grabbing a microphone stand, jumping from the stage and screaming, "I got a plug for your hole right here, Buddy!"

The rest is, as they say ... therapy ...

Lloyd Bragdon -- Tenor Saxophone
"The Lloyd is my Shepherd - I shall not want."

Paul likes to say this about Lloyd - because Lloyd doth lead him to Green Pastures ...

Lloyd is the Consummate Musician. Raised in a musical family, he started playing clarinet at age 5. At 14, he was playing saxophone in military bands under the direction of his father, Bandmaster Stub Bragdon - a Carleton County music legend.

He played Legions, County Fairs and Dances with "The Bragdons" - his family band that included his dad Stub, cousin Paul and Paul's dad, Uncle Al.

Lloyd jammed with the Howard Brook Band and played his horn with The Beechwood Beaters for many years. He hooked up with the Downtown Blues Band at the Carleton County Toy Run in 1997, and the rest ... as they say ... is all about 2000 bikers going crazy.

As a professional musician, he is the proprietor of Bragdon Music Ltd. in Woodstock. So if you really want to know what The Music is all about - Call Lloyd!

Bragdon Music Ltd.
Upper Woodstock, NB
506-328-2151

Stephen Lifsches -- Alto Saxophone
Stephen was born and raised on the beautiful Miramichi. He moved to Hamilton, Ontario where his Dad was the band leader of Louis Lifshes & the Dance Land Kings. Dad played sax and his Mom Celeste, a music teacher, played piano in the band.

He started playing sax at age 12, using the "self-taught method" in an Air Cadet Band. He played in many venues with the "older guys" in the Air Force and Army Bands.

Stephen has enjoyed developing his own style, playing all sorts of musical endeavours, including and R-n-B band, "Girlfriends and Company" for many years on the Miramichi.

He teaches saxophone and plays solo gigs when not working out with the Downtown Blues Band. Playing with the Downtown Blues Band gives him the opportunity to create the musical energy that is so rewarding to a horn player in a big band - and that energy is what the Downtown Blues Band is all about.