Rainmaker entertainment to crank up the volume

Visitors to St. Albert this weekend should come dressed in jeans, cowboy boots and hats – or they might stand out like sore thumbs.

The Rainmaker Rodeo, hosted by St. Albert Kinsmen, is one of the city's biggest and most-anticipated events. With its breezy outdoor appeal, it lures tens of thousands of hip urban cowboys and cowgirls to the midway, dog showcase, rodeo events and star-studded concerts.

Through the Rainmaker and other numerous initiatives, the Kinsmen have raised $4.6 million since 1964. As a community service organization, Kinsmen have redirected the funds to cystic fibrosis research, STARS Air Ambulance, local youth playgrounds and high school scholarships, St. Albert minor hockey and several Family and Community Support Services organizations.

"We've been doing it for 48 years. It's embedded in us. We know we do it each year and it's become a passion. Our families are involved. They support us so much. The city supports us and people in the community support us," says rodeo chair Patrick Dower.

For three days from May 24 to 26, cowboy mania spreads through town where servers, store clerks, pump jockeys and residents get gussied up in western garb. And when you head for any bar, country music drifts through the saloon door.

But it's the rodeo's sundown concerts that bring people together for some swinging revelry. Think college frat party with hotties listening to music and shakin' their booties.

Come sundown a gigantic tent transforms into a huge open air bar where artists ramp up their honed party image and punch out energetic vocals.

What makes this western themed event unusual is that the concerts are divided into two segments. Friday night explodes with the sounds of rock while Saturday showcases country.

Finger Eleven gets top billing on Friday night followed by five other bands including Bleeker Ridge, Naked Beauty, Dead City Dolls, Pistols at 20 Paces and Teenage Gentlemen.

On Saturday, Doc Walker returns as the main event after nearly a 10-year hiatus, escorted by Dallas Smith, Hey Romeo, Curtis Grambo and Craig Moritz.

Speaking for all the Kinsmen, Dower says, "We're excited about the lineup. We're excited about the variety. Some of the artists have a huge local following. Some have a national presence. It's going to be very entertaining. It will be under the big tent even if it rains. But I'm betting it won't."

Rock around the clock

Platinum rockers Finger Eleven headline Friday night putting the pedal to the metal. With a reputation for blasting forward, the Juno Award winners have earned a place in the national spotlight song-by-song, tour-by-tour.

It's been two years since their 2010 self-produced high-energy album Life Turns Electric was recorded in New York. And they are ready to record their sixth album later this year in Toronto.

"New York has so much energy and such a personality. It instantly takes over. There's no place to be mellow. It's hyper-energetic, and our album was directly influenced by New York," said rhythm guitarist Rick Jackett.

"We learned we can't self produce our own band. We have the knowledge, but no band member wanted to have the ultimate power. We were a little too close to the project. A good producer needs to be a bit of an enemy, a bit of a cheerleader, a bit of a stranger."

Once the summer festival circuit is done, Finger Eleven is parking their gear in a studio with an independent producer and they'll be heading back to their musical roots with a darker palette.

"There's been such a huge wave of electronic music in the last decade. Being a band that is not dependent on electronica is a strength. It's back to what we know."

In this night of non-stop action, Bleeker Ridge is all powered up to deliver a liberating sound equally packed with emotion and intensity.

The foursome have opened for My Darkest Days, Papa Roach, Buckcherry and Social Code, and each time packed their gig with furious energy.

The Orillia-based band just released Last Cigarette, a teaser single for their fourth album, and they're itching to hit the road once again.

Local band Naked Beauty is putting their signature on a more serious style of alternative rock. They've released two singles Working Girl, a tune that focuses on the psychology of a prostitute, and Wild Wood, a double take on schizophrenia.

"It's hard to say what makes us click. When we write, we cough it up in a short time and we complete each other as musicians," says guitarist Brandon Yaggey.

Both he and vocalist Jim Stevens attended Sturgeon Composite High, while bassist Justin Cruse and drummer Sean Waddingham are from St. Albert.

Taking it up a notch are renegade rockers Dead City Dolls, a five-piece, straight-up rock and roll band that takes pride in being non-conformist. They are strictly old school rock and roll, rockabilly with a splash of post-modern industrial.

"One thing that makes us unique are our personalities. We don't take off the long hair after a concert. We ride motorcycles and live the rock and roll lifestyle to a tee. We realize music is for fun and we don't take ourselves too seriously. We wear leathers and spikes. But that's the way we look when we walk down the street," vocalist J.J. MacLeod explains.

Another band jostling to find its niche is Pistols At 20 Paces, a four-piece phoenix rising from the ashes of Long Way Down. Barely two years old, the band has already been featured at Boonstock, and in March their song Live Again won the regionals for Astral's Radio Star Contest.

The win landed them a berth at the Canadian Music Week songwriting competition where they came in as second-place runners up.

"It was pretty awesome. It was definitely a sense of accomplishment," says St. Albert vocalist Jakk Grandy.

They've completed a soft video release of Burn now on YouTube and are hard at recording an electric-acoustic CD slated for release in the fall.

"Rather than rush to put it out, we want to take our time. What we find is a lot of new rock lacks depth. When we write songs, it's about life. With us it's about real, raw emotion and real life circumstances."

Making their debut appearance at the Rainmaker is the Bear radio station's Teenage Gentlemen, a fivesome that is quickly picking up steam. The local celebrities – songwriter-guitarist Ryan Maier, bassist Lucas Holt, drummer Paul Brown, guitarist Jim Stevens and St. Albert harmonica player Lochlin Cross – are magnets for the wacky and wild.

Since their startup two years ago, the adventurous band has performed at a strip club, on a flatbed truck, a motorcycle rally, an elementary school, a tavern, a roadhouse and a bowling alley.

Always looking for new avenues to promote their music, the band is prepping to record a five-song EP scheduled for a fall release.

Country swing

On Saturday night, Doc Walker tops the bill returning to the Rainmaker after a 10-year hiatus. Still pumped after their CMT Hit List Tour with Emerson Drive and Aaron Pritchett, the Canadian Country Music Award winners are stopping at the Rainmaker before flying to Nashville to record their next album.

Their next single is Celebration, a love song lead singer Chris Thorsteinson wrote over a year ago. He goes on to explain that Doc Walker songs are not specifically about a love story or a broken heart.

"The songs are more about life. They connect with a larger audience. When looking back our songs are about feelings," Thorsteinson notes.

For the upcoming album, they're putting their trust in producer Justin Niebank who also produced Keith Urban's music.

"He just knows how to make a song sound good. He brings out the best in everybody. He has a good sense of the song and what keeps the connection with the audience."

In a salute to the golden era of vinyl, the band is also hoping to press copies of the older format in addition to discs and downloads.

"When you downloaded from Napster it sounded like crap. But in vinyl, when you get a record of a recording in the studio, you get exactly what the recording sounded like."

Doc Walker is also discussing a future tour of small towns, an idea that popped up after they stopped in at Gull Lake, Sask.

"It's just off the highway we drive and we stopped in one night and everyone was so friendly. We played the next night at the Calgary Stampede with 8,000 to 10,000. But we didn't get the personal connection. It was hot. People were drunk. It was loud and crazy and we were playing one and one-half hours to keep people dancing."

As for the Rainmaker, "We had a blast last time we were here and we're looking forward to it again."

Dallas Smith may not have the country pedigree of Doc Walker, but as the decade long front man for rock band Default, he honed some pretty powerful vocal chops.

Couple that with an easy-going charm and commanding presence and there were very few fans that defected when he took a leap of faith into country with his solo debut album Jumped Right In.

"I wasn't completely happy. Default was opening for Three Days Grace and I was sitting at the back of the bus feeling miserable," explains Smith.

On the spur of the moment, he texted a musical crony in Nashville. Within two weeks he was flying to Music City to write songs and record country music.

"I really feel at home in this genre. It's a complete blast and it's a change of pace."

Another success story is the dynamic Hey Romeo, winners of the 2008 Canadian Country Music Award for New Group of the Year and two-time winners of the CCMA Group of the Year.

In addition to playing about 80 shows a year and gaining new fans with their catchy country-pop songs, the threesome are in post-production for their fourth album.

"We joke about being an overnight success, but we really started in 2002," explains keyboard player Rob Shapiro. Rounding out the trio is vocalist Stacie Roper and guitarist Darren Gusnowsky.

Their 2012 album release Twist of Fate showcased a more focused energy than their debut self-titled CD. And for the fourth album, Shapiro and company is aiming to put out all number one hits.

"We don't pander to the audience, but we have our ear to the ground for those kinds of songs."

Another Rainmaker opener is no stranger to the Canadian country music scene. Curtis Grambo is one of those wounded warriors who has felt the ups and downs in the music business for the past 40 years.

After criss-crossing Canada on numerous tours, he made a decision to stay off the road and spend time with his family. And although he never fully quit the industry, he's back with a vengeance.

For the Rainmaker he'll pepper his set with favourites such as Little White Dress, a rockin' country tune and I Want to Be With You, a cryin'-in-your-beer song.

One remake he's eager to kick into high gear is a duet he recorded with Craig Moritz, Eddie Raven's I Got Mexico.

And finally, Craig Moritz is truckin' in to the Rainmaker from his Calgary home base with songs from his last three albums including his 2011 release Only When You're Lonely.

"I like the fun side of music, the tongue-in-cheek songs. So much happens in the world and music and fun just go together," Moritz says.

A returnee to the Rainmaker, Moritz first appeared on the same bill as Dwight Yokum in 2010, the year snow blanketed the fairgrounds. However, inclement weather has never dampened his enthusiasm.

Moritz is working on a new album, one with a stronger commercial edge. And he'll be testing out the numbers as well as playing some older fan favourites.

Rodeo parking is limited. However, Park & Ride shuttle service is available from the St. Albert Centre transit station. Full details are available at rainmaker.ab.ca.