I give this CD, my highest rating, Five *****
Excellent CD... Thoroughly enjoyed it... Highly Recommended...
Before you listen to "Red Hot", be sure to Fasten
your seatbelts, cause these boys aren't slowin' down on the corners...
The Blazers had all the ingredients and have cooked up a winner of a Debut
Album, Traditional Blues, Rockin' Blues,
and a little Classic Rock thrown in for good measure...
Another Fabulous Canadian Blues Band to be very proud of... John Vermilyea (Blues
Underground Network)
Other Info & Reviews
*** RED HOT *** - Released Oct 2009
We had an awesome experience recording our album "RED HOT" with 3 JUNO award winners and appreciate all the support and guidance. We had a lot of fun in the studio and you will feel the high energy and creative spirit throughout in our music.
*Jack de Keyzer - Producer - played on 5 tracks with us.
*Alec Fraser - Engineer (Bass player with Jeff Healey & David Wilcox) Produced 3 Juno award winning albums.
*Al Lerman - Sax and Harmonica - leader of the 2 x Juno winning band FATHEAD.
*David McMorrow - Piano/organ - played with Rough Trade and formed the band Berlin.
Toronto Blues Society – CD Review
The Blazers - Red Hot - Route Records
"This group of veteran players have been working together for six years (they were previously known as The Jukes) and they style their music as “kick ass rockin’ blues”. Pete Cohan is the singer; Josh Gordan’s on guitar, Chris Craig is on drums and Andrew Taylor plays bass. They have some famous friends: Jack de Keyzer produced this disc and added guitar on 5 songs, Al Lerman guests on harp & sax throughout, David McMorrow guests on keys and Alec Fraser recorded the proceedings. With good material, this is a guaranteed recipe for success in my opinion. They have the material, much of it written by Cohan & Gordon. Cohan is a very good singer, switching easily from the rocking blues of “Flavour of the Year” to the soul sound of “I Love You, Eternally” to the slow blues “Never Gonna Cry Again” or the funky, Stones-ish “Wake Up”. “The King’s Highway” is their contribution to road songs and it’s a very good one. It should get everyone up dancing and yelling when their town comes up. Nice harp from Lerman. “Flavour of the Year” & “Wake Up” are other highlights. There are a couple of CD Release Parties: Timothy’s Pub at 344 Brown’s Line in Etobicoke on October 10th and at The Harp & Crown, in Pickering at 300 Kingston Road on Saturday, October 17th. Find out more at
www.theblazers.net "
TBS (OCT 2009)
John Valenteyn - Toronto Blues Society – CD Review – Oct 2009 issue (Oct 4, 2009)
"High level band with a huge experience along Canadian Blues circles. They fluently perform an excellent effective mixture of blues, rhythm and blues, funk, swing, rockabilly and rock...The arrangements of the original covers have got great quality with a cool lush sound...a solid band with a powerful guitar sound and an delightful daring vibrato. Josh Gordon guitar solos have a personal stamp with very close Texan references which give them a straight charisma, something not very usual among many actual guitar players. Toronto musical scene can be proud of that excellent band.
LA HORA BLUES (Jul, 2007)
"Unfamiliar with the band and their music, I had no idea what lay ahead. The boys blew me away! Turns out, they are another immensely talented compilation of Toronto area musicians forming a one of a kind blend of rockin’ blues band."
"Sets consisting of kick-ass originals flowed fluently with their fiery, soulful deliverance of traditional blues and classic rock covers. Original rockin’ blues reminded me of the unique musical blend of none other that Jack de Keyzer. Not bad for a relatively youthful, new band. What really catches one’s eye is the amazing chemistry these four musicians possess creating an electrifying energy that reaches the depths of one's heart and soul."
Diane Goldsmith - P.A. Blue Star Records (Jun, 2006)
Tracklist
1.Flavour of the Year 3:55
2.Keep It Together 4:08
3.I Love You, Eternally 4:24
4.Break This Heart of Mine 3:34
5.Coming Home 3:33
6.Never Gonna Cry Again 5:49
7.Blind - Sided 4:10
8.My Weather 4:20
9.Wake Up 3:54
10.I'm Standing Here 3:43
11.The King's Highway 3:43
Members of THE BLAZERS have a great deal of experience traveling the King’s Highway and playing live at festivals all over Ontario and clubs in the Greater Toronto Area. Members of the band have recorded and/or shared the stage with JUNO Award, Maple Blues Award, ECMA Award, and Indie Award winners/nominees.
We had an awesome experience recording our debut album "RED HOT" with 3 JUNO award winners and appreciate all the support and guidance. We had a lot of fun in the studio and you will feel the high energy and creative spirit throughout in our music.
"Infectiously funky grooves that straddle the line where red hot rock meets rhythm and blues!"
The Blazers own RED HOT ROCK and always tailor our set list to the venue and the crowd, mixing in well known covers and tightly arranged originals to keep the audience dancing and partying all night long.
Members of the band have shared the stage with JUNO Award, Maple Blues Award, ECMA Award, and/or Indie Award winners and nominees such as JUNO winner Jack de Keyzer, James Gray
(www.BlueRodeo.com) JUNO winner Al Lerman
(www.Fathead.biz), Michael Fonfara (keyboards for Foreigner’s album “4” and
www.Downchild.com), Travis Colby (www.Roomful.com
of Blues), JUNO Nominee Rod Phillips, Frank Cosentino, Gary Kendall (www.Downchild.com), Garth Vogan (Chuck Jackson’s Allstars), Guenther Kapelle
( www.WildT.ca & The Spirit), The Johnny Max band, Johnny Pennino, Steve Grisbrook, The Meteors, Mark 'Bird' Stafford, Bill 'Mojo Willie' Rymer, Martin Aucoin, Bobby Lonero and members have opened for David Wilcox, Jeff Healey and Wild T & The Spirit and played with many more great professional musicians.
Members of the band were formally The Jukes and have played together for over 6 years and have shared the stage or recorded with JUNO Award, Maple Blues Award, ECMA Award, and/or Indie Award winners and nominees.
JOSH GORDON - GUITAR
For over 22 years, Josh has played a broad range of musical styles such as classical, hard rock, heavy metal, blues, R&B, jazz and country. Using this variety of styles, Josh injects flare and uniqueness into his guitar playing.
Over the past 17 years Josh has appeared at various clubs and festivals around the Greater Toronto Area including The Opera House, The El Mocambo, The Spectrum, The Silver Dollar, Grossman's Tavern, Chicago's Diner, Timothy’s Pub, Hollywood on the Queensway, The Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival, The Orangeville Blues and Jazz Festival, The Mississauga Rotary Ribfest, and The Southside Shuffle to name but a few.
Josh has performed with many JUNO Award, MAPLE BLUES Award, NIAGARA MUSIC Award, EAST COAST MUSIC Award, and INDIE Award musicians such as: Martin Aucoin (BJ Thomas), Maureen Brown, Jim Casson (Downchild Blues Band), Michael Fonfara (Downchild Blues Band), Steve Grisbrook (Niagara Rhythm Section), Gary Kendall (Downchild Blues Band), Larry Kurtz (Trouble & Strife), Al Lerman (Fathead), Danny Marks (Edward Bear), Johnny Max (Johnny Max Band), and Rod Phillips (Rita Chiarelli).
Other musicians Josh has played with include: Danny B, Travis Colby (Roomful of Blues), Frank Cosentino, James Gray (Blue Rodeo), Guenther Kapelle (Wild T & the Spirit), Peter Nunn (Honeymoon Suite), Ben Riley (Bruce Cockburn), Gary Storin (The Stampeders), and many others. Josh has also opened for Jeff Healey and the Jazz Wizards.
PETE COHAN - LEAD VOCALS
Pete’s recordings have played on commercial radio 94.9 FM The Rock, MAX TRAX on Rogers Cable , Galaxie Radio, 1430 AM Toronto and Q107 as well as international and internet radio play all over the world.
He has performed, shared the stage or recorded with JUNO Award winners/nominees Jack de Keyzer, Al Lerman (Fathead), Gary Kendall (Downchild), David Wilcox, Johnny Max and Rod Phillips (Morgan Davis, Rita Chiarelli). Pete has also shared the stage with David McMorrow, Jim Casson, Dave Curry, Garth Vogan, Guenther Kapelle (Wild T & The Spirit), The Meteors, Mark “Bird” Stafford, Willie "MOJO" Rymer, Steve Grisbrook, New Orleans great Bobby Lonero, plus many others.
Peter has appeared at various clubs and venues around the Greater Toronto Area including: Rock and Roll Heaven, The Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex, The York Event Theatre, The Main Event Center, The Southside Shuffle Blues and Jazz Festival, Iridescent Music's Spring Fest, Hollywood on the Queensway, Chicago’s Diner, Roc N Docs, P.K. Creek, Jukebox Live, Chicago’s East, Oshawa Blues and Jazz Festival and The Spring Rise Festivals.
Pete has performed at festivals, benefits, and numerous live gigs at many of the top venues across the Greater Toronto Area. He has also performed on television, music videos and has extensive studio experience. He recorded the song “Heroes of America” @ Phase One Studios with The Poor Boys and it was released on the “Firefighter Music” Charity album in December of 2001 to help the NYFD 9/11 firefighters. Pete is also part of the charity project “FIRESOUND”, an all Toronto Firefighter band, which recorded the CD “Burning Love”. It was released in November of 2005 and raised over $20 000 for various charities.
http://www.Firesound.ca *
CHRIS CRAIG - DRUMS
Chris spent many of his formative years practicing along to the records of ZZ Top, Deep Purple, Foghat, Genesis, and Led Zeppelin. By his mid-teens, Chris had already been in several bands, and had begun playing the local bar scene. As a young man, Chris’s musical tastes had broadened and he began to play progressive rock and blues. One of his bands during that time had the fortune of opening for up-and-coming blues guitarist (JUNO Award nominee/MAPLE Blues Award winner), David Gogo. Chris has gone on to work in many different genres of music, honing his skills and always searching for new sources of inspiration to fuel his progress.
Chris has played at the Oshawa Jazz & Blues Festival, Ribfest in Etobicoke, NXNE in Toronto, and the Fort Erie Friendship Festival to name but a few. Chris is also a studio musician and manages his own studio that offers quality live and studio recordings.
www.sticks4hire.com
ANDREW TAYLOR - BASS
With a broad experience in blues, R&B, rock, jazz, and multiple other
styles of music, Andrew Taylor lays down the bass lines for THE BLAZERS.
Originally from Peterborough, he first established himself at local venues such as the Legendary Red Dog Tavern and the Market Hall. Today, on top of his duties in The Nightshifters, he can accompanies various other acts in Toronto, including the Marcus Walker band, the Brewski Boys, and Sandi Marie and Under The Bus, with whom he performs monthly at Grossman's Tavern.
Festivals Andrew has appeared at include the Downtown Toronto Jazz Festival, Port Credit's Southside Shuffle, the Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival, Iridescent Music's Spring Fest, the Orillia Jazz Festival, the Waterloo Region Songwriterfest, the Kawartha Jazz Festival, SpringRise, the Celebrate Toronto Streetfest the University of Waterloo's Gradstock and Trent University's Dionysus.
Andrew has played alongside Norm Amadio, Steve Grisbrook, Rod Phillips, Andrew Boniwell, Al Lerman, Little Bobby Chorney (Little Bobby and the Jumpstarts), Bobby Watson, and John Slaughter (John Mayall).
