Wednesday Morning Blues ends summer on high note

St. Albert’s own Wednesday Morning Blues will be ending the summer on a high note by playing at the two-day second annual Open Sky Music Festival with many other notable musicians.

This hometown talent has managed to carve out a reputation as a hardworking group with solid musicianship and torrid live shows that truly encompass the meaning of good ol’ rock ’n’ roll.

“We’ve been looking forward to playing on stage for this festival since last year,” said A.J. Roulstone, who shares the vocal duties and plays acoustic guitar, slide guitar and harmonica. “Last year’s Open Sky was a great experience. We saw a lot of touring acts as well as local acts, which is awesome because it gives these smaller bands an opportunity to play in an inspirational environment. Last year, we were in the audience, whereas this year we’re on the stage, which is not only exciting but also humbling, playing with our own influences like Donavan Frankenreiter and Jon & Roy.”

The band can be classified as a melting pot of blues, rock, folk and reggae due to the diversity of songs that these talented young musicians create. Their genre of music partially derives from their major influences such as Neil Young and Led Zeppelin, which have helped them create a distinct sound with an old feel.

There’s no hesitation as to what specifically triggered the band’s desire to pursue a career in the music industry.

“I’ve always been surrounded by music growing up. My dad really influenced me on the music that I listen to today, which factors into the music I produce,” explained Dan Bourbonnais, who plays lead guitar, banjo and shares the vocals. “As a band, we have a lot of different influences, mainly because of the impact our parents had on our music. So obviously that’s contributed to our sound because we have so many different influences intermingling and creating this one definitive sound.”

Through exploration of their music, it can be agreed that they definitely have a distinctive sound. Ranging from foot-stomping blues with gritty guitar licks and howling harmonica riffs to soulful melodies with sensuous singing allows them to capture the attention of all age groups.

This five-piece band met at open mikes at the Taphouse in St. Albert. Bourbonnais and Roulstone met through mutual friends. After a few jam sessions, they picked out Matt Friedmann from the crowd as their drummer and began hosting Tuesday night open mike sessions at the Taphouse. Mike Serediuk was then included as their bassist, and finally Jeff Meszaros came in on trumpet, keyboard and backup vocals.

The band has made a great amount of progress since their formation, already sharing the stage with a variety of Canadian acts including Jon & Roy, Current Swell and Hey Ocean! They placed eighth out of 72 bands last year at Alberta’s Battle of the Bands, playing off their first LP entitled Call of the Road, and are currently working on finishing their first full-length studio album.

Roulstone contemplates briefly before answering for the band where they hope to be within the next few months.

“As a band, we aren’t looking too far ahead. After this festival, we’re focusing strictly on the album, then hopefully hitting the road for some shows. There’s going to be a lot more experimenting with new sounds, especially adding in more instruments like the mandolin, banjo, keys and melodica.”

“We’re just really lucky to be a part of the local music scene,” added Bourbonnais. “The scene in Edmonton is very strong, there’s always bands coming through. I mean, Daniel Wesley — who’s headlining for Open Sky — played at the Taphouse, which is a small venue, and he’s a huge deal. But this allows smaller local bands a chance to open for these well-known musicians and that’s a big deal if this is what you want to do for the rest of your life. And it’s people like Nathan Richards, who’s in charge of this festival, that help us smaller bands get these big opportunities. We’re just extremely grateful for the support he’s shown in us as well as the local music scene.”

Although it seems their hard work is paying off, they still have a long road ahead of them.

“We’re still paying our dues,” Roulstone said. “We have to consistently keep working hard in order to get ahead you know, but as long as we’re having fun doing it, then we’re going to grow as a band.”