CONGRATULATIONS!
The Dylan Wickens Band
- winners of the 8th Annual TBS Talent Search
The Dylan Wickens Band is Dylan Wickens - guitar/vocals, Flip Townson - tenor sax/bg vocals, Harpo - bass/bg vocals and for the Talent Search Finals, Greg Cooper on drums though sometimes it's Bob Vespaziani, Tom Bona or Al Webster. The band has two CD's out; Shuffle This, released in 2001 and their latest, Fall Down Go Boom! released in 2003. The group has a fairly busy Summer schedule including several festival dates around Ontario and the usual club dates throughout the province. As part of their prize, they will perform at the Labatt Blue's Festival at Harbourfront Centre, July 5th at 5 p.m. in Toronto. This performance will be recorded for national broadcast on CBC Radio's "Saturday Night Blues." They will also receive a recording date at Alec Fraser's renowned Liquid Studio, as well as a professional studio photo shoot courtesy of Rick Zolkower. Dylan said, "On a personal note, I can't tell you how grateful I am to have had the opportunity to play in this year's finals and to win is truly an honour and a memory that I will enjoy for many years to come. I was, as usual, in awe of the vocal work of Suzanne Hyatt of The Odyssey Blues Band and am told that the bands I missed hearing on Friday night were excellent. I'm looking forward to playing our showcase engagement at this year's Labatt Blues Festival at Harbourfront and can't wait to check out the other artists performing at that event. Dylan's new web site is www.dylanwickens.com This event was generously sponsored by the Ministry of Culture.
The Dylan Wickens Band Wins
The Toronto Blues Society
8th Annual Talent Search 2003
TORONTO, June 15, 2003… After two exciting nights of
finalists performing
for the title of The Toronto Blues Society Talent Search Winners 2003,
the Dylan Wickens Band took the honours. A Toronto-based four-piece
band whose songs serve up a mix of shuffle and jump blues, the
Dylan Wickens Band released their second CD “Fall Down Go Boom!”
earlier this year.
Stylish and soulful, Dylan Wickens has established a strong reputation
among the blues community for not only his ability to play guitar but his
tasty approach to music. That discerning touch may be what sets him apart
from other gifted young players in their late twenties/early thirties. He can
wind out a solo with the best of them and Wickens has a strong sense of
serving the song above showcasing his individual prowess. The result is that
the tunes he performs really sound like songs, not just windowdressing for
searing guitar licks. The Dylan Wickens Band can be found online at
http://www.dylanwickens.com.
Toronto Blues Society presents the Talent Search winner with a recording date
at Alec Fraser's renowned Liquid studio, as well as a professional studio photo
shoot courtesy of Rick Zolkower. As winners, the Dylan Wickens Band will also
perform at the Labatt Blue's Festival at Harbourfront Centre, July 5
at 5 p.m. in
Toronto. This performance will be recorded for national broadcast on CBC Radio's
Saturday Night Blues.
The Toronto Blues Society received entries from all across Canada.
From these entries, a screening panel narrowed it down to six top-notch
finalists,
including:
DOCTOR NICK AND THE ROLLERCOASTERS,
THE WOLFPACK,
MR. RICK AND THE BISCUITS,
ODYSSEY BLUES BAND, and
MADD SCIENTISTS.
Bands and musicians who have not made a nationally-distributed or major record
label
recording and whose music is considered blues-based qualified for entry. The
material
submitted must have been recorded during the past two years and original
material was
encouraged.
For more information, the public can contact The Toronto Blues Society at:
http://www.torontobluessociety.com
info@torontobluessociety.com, 416-538-3885 or 1-866-871-9457
This event is generously sponsored by the Ministry of Culture.
-30-
Media Contact:
Heather Kelly Communications
Heather Kelly, T: 416-364-5701; heather@heatherk.ca
Chris Orange, T: 416-364-5701; chris@heatherk.ca
http://www.heatherk.ca
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