This coming Friday night, the traditional Rock’n August car cruisers ride into downtown St. Albert with a string of winning cars and pinup models that include everything from hot rods, custom coupes, show cars, works-in-progress and nostalgic artistry.
Parked on St. Albert Place’s parking lot, the cruisers’ project cars will rack up plenty of attention with their architectural rooflines, sleek fins and bulbous front grills.
But while the flash and bling of the ’50s and ’60s era was tethered in cars, it was the music that cupped the nation’s heart and soul.
And as car junkies stroll between the colourful rows of vehicles, the Kit Kats and The Classics are pumped to relive those jukebox oldies performed with innocence, optimism and energy.
Performing on an outdoor stage right on St. Albert Place Square, these two homegrown groups are well known to at least two generations of rockers.
The all-female trio originated in 1995 as The Kit Kat Club when Kennedy Jenson, Deb Williams and Kasara Jaxen banded together as three powerhouse singers. At the time, they adopted a ’60s look with micro-minis similar to Star Trek uniforms, go-go boots, false eyelashes and bouffant hair.
“I’d always wanted a girl group where we could sing great harmonies. When we got together, we looked at styles of music and music of the ’60s. The Motown sound was especially important to us. But we also wanted a glam look like Ann-Margaret in the Elvis Presley movies,” says Kit Kat spokesperson Kennedy Jenson.
Similar to vehicles of the era, the music was timeless. Repeatedly they brought back to life those favourite classics – Nancy Sinatra’s These Boots Are Made For Walking, Martha Reeves and The Vandella’s Dancing in the Streets, Shocking Blue’s Venus and Gladys Knight and the Pips My Imagination.
“The music (of that era) has catchy lyrics, and a great beat and melody and chord structure,” explains Jenson.
The Kit Kat Club was an instant hit at corporate events and nightclubs. But they’d become a monster. Their success was so pronounced that after eight years, the trio decided to take a hiatus. They had burnt out.
Never out of the public eye, they accepted individual projects. Surprisingly, fans continued sharing memories, and in May of this year, the trio regrouped.
In their revamped image, their voices are richer, the clothes and hair more sophisticated and the fun is still unmatched.
“We’ve learned some choreography from the Jackson 5. We’re just a little more funky and more slick – much like what The Platters used to do but we’ve stepped it up a notch.”
The Classics have also undergone a transition. Formerly The Nomads, a fine cover band of the ’60s with R&B roots, they are an eight-piece that parks their egos at the door and keeps trying to raise the benchmark.
The Classics are mainly composed of The Nomad’s founding members – Les Vincent (bass), Joe Lamarchand (drums), Percy Marshall (guitar), Al Wilson (keyboard), Al McGee (alto sax) and Robin Taylor (bari sax). New boys on the block are Bill Jamieson (tenor sax) and Bob Tildesley (trumpet).
These are musicians with experience, chutzpah and loads of talent. Taylor, Tildesley and Jamieson, for instance, play with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra when called.
“What makes us different is our four-piece horn section. It gives you a lot of horsepower on stage. It’s a total sound. You’re not limited. The boys in the horn section can play anything,” says Vincent.
Having lived through the era of rock and roll and early R&B, the octet has an inner feel for the right groove.
“I think everyone who hears it will enjoy it. It will get your feet tapping and I don’t think you’ll be able to keep still.”
The street dance is on from 8 to 11 p.m. There is no parking downtown. Free Park and Ride is available at Village Transit Station from 6 to 11:30 p.m.
