Edmonton blues band the Boogie Patrol have had a pretty good year.
Among other things, they have been nominated for a Maple Blues award for best new act, which lead to a lot more doors opening for the band.
“ That was completely unexpected,” said “Rotten Dan” Shinnan, lead singer for the Boogie Patrol, who play Bo Diddly’s for Movember, Nov. 30 with special guests Papa King and Darry Düus.
“It’s nice to be recognized by folks who do what we do,” he said.
They are competing against Ben Racine, the Conor Gains Band, Steve Kozak and The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer.
The Boogie Patrol have been playing together for about five years.
They have a busy January scheduled already, beginning with a trip to Toronto for the Toronto Blues Summit , which coincides with the Maple Blues Awards.
“We’ll probably stick around for the awards too,” he continued.
Because Edmonton’s blues scene voted for the Boogie Patrol to go to the Toronto Blues Summit, they will also be participating in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Jan. 30-Feb. 2.
They competed at a gig for the honour with nine other Edmonton/Northern Albertan area blues acts.
“We’ve never been to Memphis,” he said adding they have no plans to record at the legendary Sun Studios while in Memphis.
“It will be nice to be part of the International Blues challenge,” he said adding hopefully that will open more doors for the band in the United States.
In the meantime, they will be playing the last Movember concert of the month to help raise awareness about men’s health, particularly prostate cancer.
“ I wish I could grow a moustache, so I’ll probably be clean shaven,” he laughed.
They are looking forward to playing a new audience at Bo Diddly’s.
When they play Lethbridge, they usually play the Slice.
“ We always look forward to playing Lethbridge. So we were glad to get the call to play this show. Hopefully more people will l come to the Slice to see us the next time we play there (Because of this show),” he said.
They planning on a recording a new CD in the new year which they plan to release next July.
The Boogie patrol plus Papa King and Darryl Düus play the ’Stache bash at Bo Diddly’s for Movember, Nov. 30. The music begins at 9 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance.
— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor
