The 2011 year was an extreme mix of highs and lows for the Powerhouse Band.  As is usually the case, the band was on the road a great deal, playing excellent venues, concerts, casinos, theatres and many different special events from eastern Ontario, Canada to as far west as Minnesota in the U.S.  The band played all four of its shows spread nearly equally between new dates and returning redates to generally very appreciative crowds.  But in spite of all this, there was a great low that hung

   over the band for the entire year.

January and February, being the usual ‘down time’ for bands, was spent close to home playing a number  of local clubs.  By the end of the February, the band received the news – our guitarist, Phil Kott, had been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer and would probably not be able to do many more shows as he’d be spending most of his time with treatments.  Phil played his last show with the band in mid-March with Frank Rondell and his Ray Charles tribute show at the Trafalgar Castle School in Whitby, Ontario at a benefit for the Charles H. Best Society for Juvenile Diabetes.

Trafalgar Castle School, built in 1859, was gorgeous inside and out.  An early arrival and a warm spring day provided a good opportunity to walk around the grounds for a while before sound check.

Since the nature of the show was an 'A-list' dinner/auction/fundraiser, there was little opportunity for taking pictures or videos during the show.  Instead, we have added an edited YouTube video (above) of footage shot of Frank Rondell's tour with us through Portugal in 2005 and more recent footage of one of Frank's tours through Australia.

The interior of Trafalgar Castle School was every bit as opulent as the exterior, with no corners cut in preparation for the fundraiser -- including a 4-piece choral ensemble performing at the top of the long flight of stairs to the second floor (above) before the main show.  According to the Charles H. Best website, the fundraiser was deemed a big success.  And, as you can imagine, it was a very enjoyable show for the band.

More to come ...

The next stop for the band was a redate at the 6th Annual Food & Drink Fest at Copps Coliseum in downtown Hamilton.  As in other years, the place was packed and the band played to an appreciative and attentive crowd.  The lighting in the converted arena was very bad for picture taking, but we were able to capture a few pictures of what was a fun evening for everyone in attendance.

To the left:  Our newest band member, local career musician, Mark 'the Chief' LaForme, sitting in for our regular guitarist, Phil Kott.

Nick & Carlo

Steve

Above:  Tony

To the left: Mike

Below, to the left:

  John & Mark