Celebrate Valentine’s Day with those you love and the uplifting sounds of great Celtic music.
Popular Cod Gone Wild will liven up two nights in February – with a concert on Friday, Feb. 10 and a dance on Feb. 11, both at Sorrento Memorial Hall.
The shows will mark the debut of the band’s new lineup in the Shuswap,” says Andrew Mercer, band founder and resident Newfoundlander.
“Change in the music industry is one of the only things you can absolutely count on,” says Mercer.
“That being said, I believe that with any change comes great opportunity, if you have a positive outlook.”
Mercer says he is thrilled to introduce the new members of the band: David Mihal (drums, percussion), Sean Bray (electric guitar, mandolin, vocals), and Martyn Jones (bass, vocals).
Mihal, who was influenced by the many great drummers of the ’70s, began playing in his early teens and was soon working at a professional level.
While living in Toronto and studying with drummer and author Peter Magadini, Mihal was asked to join Canadian jazz icon Oliver Jones and tour the U.S. with Jamaican singer Kenny Hamilton.
Sean Bray is a well-respected guitarist, composer and educator who has played with various artists on many diverse projects.
Bray studied at the prestigious Manhattan School of Music and has played and/or recorded with George Garzone, Pat LaBarbera and Bob Mintzer.
Bray is endorsed by PRS Guitars, Planet Waves and D’Addario strings. CBC Radio also named Bray as one of Canada’s top-50 guitarists of all time.
Last but not least, bassist Martyn Jones was born in the blustery borough of Liverpool. A bit late to catch that initial wave of pop music that broke out all over North America, he began his life of music when, at age six his family moved to Prince Edward Island.
“You were considered a little weird if you didn’t play some kind of instrument, so I took up campfire guitar,” said Jones.
A working bassist by age 14, Jones has enjoyed a busy musical career with some 60 album credits on several instruments and several producer credits
Jones also has a fine singing voice and a keen harmony ear.
“I just love harmonies,” he says. noting if you couldn’t sing, you didn’t get hired. “Our family sang in the car on long trips and my dad directed the choir.”
With the new lineup, Mercer and fiddler Susan Aylard, plan to continue modernizing East Coast-Newfoundland-Celtic music and spread the joy and uplifting rhythms of Celtic music across the country and around the world.
Tickets for both shows are available at Lighthouse Foods. Friday night’s concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students and seniors. Saturday night’s dance begins at 8 p.m. and all tickets are $20.
For more information visit, www.codgonewild.com, or email andrew@codgonewild.com.