ROAD TO VEGAS 2: LIL RED & THE MEDICATED MOOSE vs CANADIAN STRANGER vs MAT D & THE PROFANE SAINTS
LIL RED & THE MEDICATED MOOSE
LIL RED MET MEDICATED MOOSE...THE BAND BEGAN...
CANADIAN STRANGER
Founded in the frigid spring of 1992, Manitoba based “Canadian Stranger” was the brain child of singer/songwriter duo Owen LaCroix and Roy Tremblay. For 3 years LaCroix & Tremblay traversed the Canadian countryside as “The Denim Dans.” From Toronto to Saskatoon, Winnipeg to Calgary, the duo brought the gift of song and Canadian Dry to anyone who would listen. Relying heavily on the influences of artists such as Bryan Adams, Loverboy, The Guess Who, The Band, Rush, and Celine Dion, “The Denim Dans” cultivated a loyal following in the motherland. In 1995, they met Edmonton guitarist Carl Pelletier. The 3 continued to tour for seven months until a Roy Tremblay was tragically dismembered in a freak hockey accident and forced to retire from the music business. At a crossroads, LaCroix & Pelletier looked to friends and fellow Canadians, bassist Don Demers & drummer Nicholas St-Pierre (both of cult favorite “Maple Leaf” fame). “Canadian Stranger” was born.
From 1995 – 2006, Canadian Stranger wrote, recorded, & toured throughout Canada with little to no critical acclaim or fan base. While most bands would have given up, Canadian Stranger is notorious for their inability to read a room and went on to release 27 studio albums and a live cassette tape. The lack of success was not without price, however. Canadian Dry turned into Molson and Molson turned into Canadian Club. Between the rigors of the road, several run ins with The Mounted Patrol, and overall disdain for one another, Canadian Stranger disbanded in the icy summer of 2006.
Fast forward to early 2014 - After nearly a decade of bickering, lawsuits, & tell all books, Canadian Stranger decided to put all of their personal differences aside and reunite for the love of the music, but most of all for the love of the fans. Unfortunately, Canadian Stranger found themselves completely off base in assuming anyone in Manitoba would care about the reunion. Discouraged but not done, Canadian Stranger relocated to Sioux City, IA in January of 2016 at the urging of Don Demers’ cousin, a well known local TV personality. So far, the exotic weather of Iowa in January has been a pleasant change of pace for the “Strangers from The North,” as they’ve become known. Come see a show from the new out-of-towners “Canadian Stranger”…you’re guaranteed to kind of like a couple parts of a couple songs…You Betcha!
MAT D AND THE PROFANE SAINTS
"It’s a crying shame that the world at large isn’t familiar with these guys yet. It’s time for that to change. Country, Americana, Southern rock, call it what you want to call it. I’ll just call it badass." Fred Phillips somethingelsereviews.com
Heralded as the "Hemingway of the Highway”, singer-songwriter Mathew deRiso has performed with band mates Kurt Mullins and Jeff Deignan as Mat D and the Profane Saints since 2006. The band has made a name for itself performing all original material ranging from Blues, Hard Rock and Country that critics have hailed as "A Young Steve Earle with a more powerful set of Pipes" with a unique sound likened to Hard Luck Americana.
Jim Pipkin, an independent contributor to No Depression and Hickory Wind.org writes - "I've been in and around music and the business of music, since the early 1970's. In all that time I've heard a lot of bad music, a lot of good music but very little GREAT music. This is GREAT music; well written, well played, solidly produced...from beginning to end the finest example of Americana Rockabilly I have ever heard... It stacks up with Haggard, Johnny Cash, Elvis, and kicks the liver out of most major label attempts in this genre"
The band's most recent album "The Mercy Road" released in 2016 earned 2 album of year nods from Riot on the Set Radio and the Troubadour Radio Show in Europe as well as landing on the Top 40 albums of 2016 on the the popular Americana Rock Mix podcast. The Current line-up features Mat D on Vocals and Acoustic Guitar, Jeff Deignan on Percussion, Kurt Mullins on Lead Guitar and Barry Hodges on Electric Bass.
LIL RED MET MEDICATED MOOSE...THE BAND BEGAN...
CANADIAN STRANGER
Founded in the frigid spring of 1992, Manitoba based “Canadian Stranger” was the brain child of singer/songwriter duo Owen LaCroix and Roy Tremblay. For 3 years LaCroix & Tremblay traversed the Canadian countryside as “The Denim Dans.” From Toronto to Saskatoon, Winnipeg to Calgary, the duo brought the gift of song and Canadian Dry to anyone who would listen. Relying heavily on the influences of artists such as Bryan Adams, Loverboy, The Guess Who, The Band, Rush, and Celine Dion, “The Denim Dans” cultivated a loyal following in the motherland. In 1995, they met Edmonton guitarist Carl Pelletier. The 3 continued to tour for seven months until a Roy Tremblay was tragically dismembered in a freak hockey accident and forced to retire from the music business. At a crossroads, LaCroix & Pelletier looked to friends and fellow Canadians, bassist Don Demers & drummer Nicholas St-Pierre (both of cult favorite “Maple Leaf” fame). “Canadian Stranger” was born.
From 1995 – 2006, Canadian Stranger wrote, recorded, & toured throughout Canada with little to no critical acclaim or fan base. While most bands would have given up, Canadian Stranger is notorious for their inability to read a room and went on to release 27 studio albums and a live cassette tape. The lack of success was not without price, however. Canadian Dry turned into Molson and Molson turned into Canadian Club. Between the rigors of the road, several run ins with The Mounted Patrol, and overall disdain for one another, Canadian Stranger disbanded in the icy summer of 2006.
Fast forward to early 2014 - After nearly a decade of bickering, lawsuits, & tell all books, Canadian Stranger decided to put all of their personal differences aside and reunite for the love of the music, but most of all for the love of the fans. Unfortunately, Canadian Stranger found themselves completely off base in assuming anyone in Manitoba would care about the reunion. Discouraged but not done, Canadian Stranger relocated to Sioux City, IA in January of 2016 at the urging of Don Demers’ cousin, a well known local TV personality. So far, the exotic weather of Iowa in January has been a pleasant change of pace for the “Strangers from The North,” as they’ve become known. Come see a show from the new out-of-towners “Canadian Stranger”…you’re guaranteed to kind of like a couple parts of a couple songs…You Betcha!
MAT D AND THE PROFANE SAINTS
"It’s a crying shame that the world at large isn’t familiar with these guys yet. It’s time for that to change. Country, Americana, Southern rock, call it what you want to call it. I’ll just call it badass." Fred Phillips somethingelsereviews.com
Heralded as the "Hemingway of the Highway”, singer-songwriter Mathew deRiso has performed with band mates Kurt Mullins and Jeff Deignan as Mat D and the Profane Saints since 2006. The band has made a name for itself performing all original material ranging from Blues, Hard Rock and Country that critics have hailed as "A Young Steve Earle with a more powerful set of Pipes" with a unique sound likened to Hard Luck Americana.
Jim Pipkin, an independent contributor to No Depression and Hickory Wind.org writes - "I've been in and around music and the business of music, since the early 1970's. In all that time I've heard a lot of bad music, a lot of good music but very little GREAT music. This is GREAT music; well written, well played, solidly produced...from beginning to end the finest example of Americana Rockabilly I have ever heard... It stacks up with Haggard, Johnny Cash, Elvis, and kicks the liver out of most major label attempts in this genre"
The band's most recent album "The Mercy Road" released in 2016 earned 2 album of year nods from Riot on the Set Radio and the Troubadour Radio Show in Europe as well as landing on the Top 40 albums of 2016 on the the popular Americana Rock Mix podcast. The Current line-up features Mat D on Vocals and Acoustic Guitar, Jeff Deignan on Percussion, Kurt Mullins on Lead Guitar and Barry Hodges on Electric Bass.
