ELMORE’S BAR AND GRILL IS A LONG-RUNNING BAND.
THE NAME DATES BACK TO 1986,WITH A STELLAR ALUMNI,TOO NUMEROUS TO NAME ALL OF WHOM ARE STILL PLAYING THE BLUES.
JOHNNY’S HISTORY IN THE BLUES BEGINS IN 1965 WITH BLUES BY FIVE, VICTORIA’S FIRST BLUES BAND.
JOHNNY AND SHARON PAIGE BEGAN PLAYING TOGETHER IN THE SEVENTIES.
ELMORE’S IS A HAPPY REUNION OF THE ELMORE’S OF THE NINETIES.
CHARLES GATES ON DRUMS IS THE RHYTHM ENGINE;MORGAN ONDA ON TENOR IS THE ICING ON THE CAKE.
PLAYIN THE BLUES
"Elmore's Bar and Grill grew out of a couple of earlier bands, first, Honey Bee (started in 1978) which morphed into Off the Wall (around 1983). Honey Bee (named after a Muddy Waters classic) was formed by John Fisher on guitar and vocals with his wife Sharon Wadsworth on bass (later adding vocals). The other members were Derek Walsh on vocals and harp, Art Jennings on guitar, Tony Wilkinson on piano and Brian Moore on drums. Others replaced the last three over the years including Mike Stewart, Ken Preston, Ron Flatman and Mark Johnson on drums, Ed Wright and Chris Blue (Caldwell) on vocals and harp and Bob Geddes on guitar.
Honey Bee played mostly Chicago blues and featured John's emerging slide guitar, inspired by Hound Dog Taylor and Elmore James. John, of course, was a very well known and important figure in Victoria's blues scene, having been the man behind Blues X Five in 1965, then on bass. He also co-led John de Conqueroo with Mark Comerford in the mid '70s. Derek was also an important early blues artist in the Victoria scene and a fine singer. Sharon was new on the scene in Honey Bee but became an important part of the band, doing much of the booking and organization and the first female blues bass player. The band played regularly at venues around the island including events put on by the Homegrown Music Society, gigs at Cinecenta (UVIC), local pubs, up island, gulf islands and festivals such as the Renaissance Fair.
When the band morphed into Off the Wall in 1983 (named after a Little Walter instrumental), it was down to a quartet, John, Sharon (also known as SP, her name was Sharon Paige) and Derek with Matt Vause on drums. Ken Preston replaced Matt later on. Ken was in and out of all incarnations of the band. Again, the band was working regularly.
In 1986, the band started using the name Elmore's Bar and Grill, a clever name that got the slide guitar connection across via Elmore and the idea that, "Was it a place or a band?". Elmore's was incredibly important as a proving ground for almost everyone in the blues scene at some point. The initial lineup was John, Sharon, Ken and Ray Luxemburg on lead guitar. But over the next twenty one years until John's death in 2017, the list of members was long, including but not limited to: Rob Hollingsworth, Newman Cory, Mike Trepanier, Bill Johnson, Neil Taylor and Bill Gagne on guitar, John Kernachan, Dave Kidd, Ron Kidd, Ron Flatman, Mark Johnson, Gary Thompson, Fred Kramer and Charles Gates on drums, Jack Hicklin, Ed Wright and Derek Walsh on harp and Morgan Onda on tenor sax. Mention to Bob Johnson on bass, who filled in for Sharon a few times.
Aside from the large membership and mentorship, John and Sharon led a very successful jam that ran for most of those years (not the last few), starting at The Cove on Fernwood Rd (across from The Belfry), moving to the Fernwood Inn for many years, then Hermann's, Steamers, Bartholomew's, James Bay Inn, Red Lion and more. The jams were very well attended and because of a "blues only" policy, they encouraged the blues scene to grow.
Another major contributor to the scene was their Annual R&B Festivals which ran from 1997 to 2013. These all day affairs (even two days once or twice) featured as many as ten bands in a day and were massive successes, bringing together musicians and audiences in what Bill Johnson dubbed "The Company Picnic". The bands all got a small honorarium and also raised money for local charities, notably the NEED Crisis Line. Sax player Scott Ramsay was also a key person involved in these. These events were held at many venues around town including The Red Lion, Ingraham Pub, The Blues House, The Central Bar and Grill and Hermann's. Thanks to Carole Andrews and Randy Bourke for support.
The band gigged a lot too, especially in the earlier years and were a well loved and steady presence by local and out of town audiences, places like Saltspring Island, Pender Island, Port Renfrew, Courtenay and many more. John was noted for his stage wear (cheap colourful suits) and his sayings such as, "I'm Johnny Shuffles 'cause that's what I like to play." or "It's hotel motel time. You don't have to go home but you can't stay here." or "I know you can do it so let's get to it!" He developed over time into a ferocious slide guitarist! He became known as "The Godfather of Victoria Blues" and Sharon as "First Lady of Victoria Blues".
A much missed band that deserves much more recognition!
By Dave Harris"
For physical events that happen at a specific time. For example a concert, or dance performance. If there are multiple shows, you can still duplicate your event to cover them all.
Hermann's Jazz Club
