TORONTO, CANADA (Top40 Charts/ Margo Bates PR) - The legendary Canadian Rock Group Chilliwack celebrates forty years of music with two concerts at the River Rock Show Theatre on Friday, May 21 and Saturday, May 22. Chilliwack has had a total of 38 hits in Canada and the United States, with 18 of those hits in the Top 40. These international hits are musical signposts from the 60's, 70's and 80's - Raino, Lonesome Mary, Fly at Night, Baby Blue, California Girl, My Girl (Gone Gone Gone), I Believe, Whatcha Gonna Do, Communication Breakdown and Crazy Talk. Bill Henderson has won both a Juno for 1983 Producer of the Year with band mate Brian McLeod, and a Genie in 1990 for best song in a movie for When I Sing from Bye Bye Blues. Their 2003 live CD There and Back receives regular airplay across the country.
'We stayed true to our muse as the band's vision evolved through years, and have been gifted with some amazing songs along the way,' says Bill Henderson. 'The Anniversary Concerts are a way that I can say thank you to all the great people who've worked with us; and especially to our fans. In so many ways all of these people have supported and contributed to the evolution of Chilliwack."
Event: 40 years of music from Chilliwack! The Anniversary Celebration
Date: Friday, May 21 and Saturday, May 22
Time: Doors open at 7 PM; Shows start at 8 PM
Location: River Rock Show Theatre
8811 River Road
Richmond, BC V6X 3P8
Telephone: 604-273-1895
Tickets: $40 each, plus tax
Available at River Rock Theatre Box Office or
Ticketmaster 604-280-4444 or www.ticketmaster.ca
Featuring: Bill Henderson - lead vocals, guitar
Ed Henderson - electric and finger style acoustic guitar and BG vocals
Doug Edwards - bass and BG vocals
Jerry Adolphe - drums
Special Guests: Joining the band for six songs are former members of The Collectors,
Claire Lawrence - sax, flute and keys
Howie Vickers - lead vocals
Tyson Froese will do some background vocals and play the acoustic solo on 'Baby Blue'. His late father Howard created that landmark solo in 1977.
Roy Forbes will join the band for '17th Summer'. He toured with the band in the late 90's and urged Bill Henderson to bring back the old Chilliwack 70's jamming style with '17th Summer'. Bill says that Roy 'really gets that stuff.'
Ab Bryant will punch out some great 80's Chilliwack tunes on bass guitar and
Bill Henderson's daughters Saffron and Camille will enhance the sound throughout the evening with their beautiful background vocals. Camille sang backup for Sarah McLaughlan for several years. And, Saffron's powerful voice is well known and has been featured on many recordings.
Special Effects & Video: A 2010 version of Ecto-Plasmic-Assault style psychedelic lighting show is planned, plus a video presentation about Chilliwack and The Collectors with archival footage from as far back as 1967 will be shown during the intermission.
Producers: Paradise Productions & Bakerstreet Productions
Sponsors: 92.3 JACK FM and 104.9 FUN FM, River Rock Casino Resort
BILL HENDERSON
Background
Information: Vancouver-born Bill Henderson (b. November 6, 1944) earned a living as a musician while still in high school. He studied music at the University of British Columbia and in 1966 helped to found The Collectors (1966-1970), one of Canada's most innovative musical groups. He is best known for his work with the group Chilliwack in the 1970s and 1980s, which produced such hits as "Lonesome Mary", "California Girl", and "My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)". He has produced numerous recordings, and won the 1983 Juno Award for "Producer of the Year", with Brian MacLeod.
Bill is also part of the folk music group UHF. He's won a Genie Award for best original song in a movie ("When I Sing", from Bye Bye Blues). He has worked with many theatre productions, including the recent Cultural Olympiad production of Beyond Eden as co-songwriter and music director. He was musical director for the West Coast Canadian edition of Sesame Street from 1989 to 1996.
Bill Henderson was a director of the Canadian Association of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) in the 80s, has been a director of the Songwriters Association of Canada since the early 90s. He was the president for five years from 1994
to 1999, and currently holds the position of vice-president. He's been a director of SOCAN since 1989 and was president from 1995 to 1997. Bill continues to tour Canada with Chilliwack, UHF, and as a solo performer.
CHILLIWACK
Background Information In 1966 Glenn Miller, Claire Lawrence and Howie Vickers of the CFUN Classics joined up with Bill Henderson and Ross Turney to form the house band of the Torch Cabaret. In early '67 upon the release of their first single 'Looking at a Baby' which quickly rose to number three in Canada, they took the name The Collectors. A few singles later, and now signed to Warner Brothers, their first album, with its twenty minute major opus the 'What Love: Suite', became a huge cult classic in Western North America, England, Germany and the Netherlands. The album influenced hundreds of artists with its daring originality. Melody Maker Magazine in England proclaimed it one of the ten best albums of the sixties decade.
In 1970, the band shifted focus and personnel and re-emerged as Chilliwack. 'Raino' and 'Lonesome Mary' were early successes. These songs continue to be played on radio stations in Canada and the United States along with other hits like 'Crazy Talk', 'Fly at Night', 'Baby Blue', 'California Girl', 'Communication Breakdown', 'My Girl (Gone Gone Gone)', and 'Whatcha Gonna Do'.
On the airwaves now is Chilliwack's newly recorded live CD, THERE AND BACK and soon to be released, a rocking commentary on life patenting issues: 'Patent On The Wind'.
'People have often asked why we chose the name Chilliwack,' says Henderson. 'It was suggested by our drummer Ross Turney. At that time in 1970 our music had picked up certain West Coast native influences (as heard for instance
in'17th Summer'). We liked the sound of the word itself - the meaning of Chilliwack as we understood it - 'valley of many streams', and 'going back up' - appealed to us.'
The 40th Anniversary Concerts will be filmed by CBC TV, for a one-hour long documentary on the band to be aired in July, 2010.
Chilliwack continues to play concerts across Canada.
Contact Bill or the Band: For more information on Chilliwack and a complete list of tour dates, please visit Bill Henderson's website at www.gonegonegone.com.
