Christmas Brew At The Park Hotel
Nick Murray
Keeping up with a long-standing Christmas tradition in Moose Jaw, some of the cities' most talented musicians have put together what looks to be a fine evening of live music, cocktails, dancing and festive fun.
The event has been titled "Christmas Brew" and it will take place at the Park Hotel on Saturday December 22nd. Headlining the show will be Foam Lake, from Foam Lake. A band consisting of the brothers Ross. There are four of them: Tyler, Barrett, Paul and Kalen.
They are no strangers to putting on great concerts. Two of the brothers toured nationally with a band called the Bloodlines and another was a member of the War Brides. This all before their run as Foam Lake.
As Foam Lake, they played the Mae Wilson Theatre at JunoFest in 2013 and more recently they opened for Loverboy at Mosaic Place.
"It was a strange and wonderful experience" said Barrett, who plays bass and sings.
Foam Lake sort of disappeared for a time, leaving many a local music scenester wondering whether they had packed it in. But thankfully that is not the case.
"It wasn’t too long after JunoFest that we were forced to split ways with our management" Barrett Sai. "Also, during that time there were a lot of life changes with the members of the band. We just kept a lower profile, did a few shows here and there"
“As a band we’ve been working on a lot of new music" Barrett added. "Some of us have had career changes, or had kids, or gotten married... we have still been doing the odd show here or there, but we chilled out on touring."
A few years back the brothers built a recording studio in Saskatoon and took on a different role in the music community. They've had various roles producing music for other artists and collaborators. Amongst others, the brothers have had a hand in recording both The Deep Dark Woods and Kacy & Clayton, two of the provinces premier recording acts.
Also on the bill is Moose Jaw's own Drake Mark, who has been a part of many of these Christmas rock shows in the past. Some under his own name and others with acts he played with previously, like Lords Kitchener or backing up Brodie Moniker.
"It's always the show I think local bands and show-goers look most forward to. Everyone’s home for the holidays and it’s a great time to see old friends. I can’t say for sure how many I’ve been involved in but it’s up there" Mark said.
One thing that's different about this year's Christmas Brew is that it won't be held at Chillers Brew Pub, but rather The Park Hotel. Chillers renovated the bar, where the live shows used to be held is now a liquor store, the new bar is above the bowling alley and it is quite a bit smaller. Too small for the type of stage needed to contain a lineup like this. For the time being, it seems that Chillers is out of the live music business.
Check out Drake Mark's music at Bandcamp
Also performing that night will be Highwind, another act from Moose Jaw who hasn't been heard of for a while. Highwind is a post-punk four-piece made up of Eric Taylor, Chase Rysavy, Jordan Goudie and Tyler Kidd. Their most recent record Cellar Door came out in 2016.
You can here Highwind on Bandcamp as well.
https://highwindmj.bandcamp.com
A fourth band will also be performing that evening. They go by the name the Pxrtals.