Start: 8 p.m.

Cover: $7

Redgy Blackout — http://www.myspace.com/redgyblackout

http://www.redgyblackout.com/ 

A recent addition to the Turner Music and Events roster, they recently won a battle of the bands that had them perform at the Opening Ceremony of the World Police and Fire Games at GM Place with Sean Verreault, Jim Byrnes and Randy Backman. They were at this year’s Vancouver International Jazz Festival and they have shared the stage with fellow friends and artists Hannah Georgas, Bhodi Jones, Adaline and Blackberry Wood to name a few.  At many of Vancouver’s top venues like The Railway Club, The Backstage Lounge and The Media Club they have established themselves as a rock band with an earthy reggae feel that is best experienced live.  Since the release of their debut they have been hard at work to get their music heard. They took The Leap to college radio and have found Redgy fans in cities across North America.  At its peak The Leap was spinning on 141 stations coast to coast.  They charted in Louisiana, New York City (on the renowned M3 radio) and Colorado, where they were #1 on KURA.  Another highlight was in the summer 2008 when they opened for Canadian pop/punk band Hedley at the CN Center in Prince George.

If Scott and Jeremy are the arms of Redgy then Colin Medhurst (bass guitar) and Patrick Poirier (drums) are the legs.  Colin started playing bass with Scott and Jeremy at their acoustic gigs and has added his groovy bass lines ever since.  As roommates, Colin and Scott spent three years in East Van living the bohemian lifestyle on Commercial Drive.  Patrick, a Halifax native who moved around a lot growing up, eventually settled in Prince George where he met Jeremy.  The two are longtime friends having played in several bands together growing up.  A dynamic rock band with a groovy reggae feel started to emerge when Scott, Jeremy and Colin made the trek from East Van to PG.  They met up with Patrick and played together for the first time in Jeremy’s Dads living room and the four of them have been making music together ever since.  Collectively they form a complete and lively Redgy Blackout.

It was the chance meeting between Scott and Patrick at the Purple Crab that eventually brought Scott and Jeremy together as an acoustic duo.  In early 2007 they began writing and making music together.  The mix of their different styles and backgrounds made them an odd pair but they didn’t care.  Scott was a choir boy interested in folk, pop and musical theatre while Jeremy was a metal head jamming in his backyard jam space with his buddies.  When the two met, Scott was an actor and singer/songwriter in Vancouver.  He spent his days on stage and busking at Granville Island where he sold 500 copies of Escape With Me, an acoustic album he wrote and recorded on his iMac.  Jeremy had recently moved to Vancouver, with the fusion funk band Floored, from his hometown of Prince George.  He wanted to escape the small town and pursue his dream of making it as a musician.  In PG, Floored had success opening for artists like Wide Mouth Mason, Gob, Holly McNarland and Bif Naked but when they moved to Vancouver the band split up.

With their infectious energy and refreshing sound Scott and Jeremy started playing at open mics and cafes around Vancouver.  They often caught people off guard because they incorporated banjo and trumpet into their songs, something that is an integral part of their edgy dynamic sound today.  For weeks they searched for a name for their band; they wanted something different that would reflect their personalities and the music they were making together.  One day Jeremy texted Scott “How about Reggie Blackout”?  It had a good feel to it.  Scott thought, why not use the word edgy in the name?  And so Redgy Blackout was born; a character to embody their music, channel their energy and connect with their audience.