Terry Gillespie: Videos

20 Questions
By Kathleen Hay
February 12, 2008
Cornwall Standard Freeholder

Terry Gillespie is a menagerie of characters.

Although he's been pegged as a blues artist, but, more than anything he prefers to perform an eclectic mix of jazz, reggae, soul, funk and, yes, blues.

This two-time Montreal International Jazz Festival performer was born in Edmonton, but moved to England with his parents, Thomas and Victoria, and his brother, Kelly, in 1952. In 1957, they moved back to Alberta, then to Midland, Mich. where his dad worked.

Terry studied chemical engineering at Michigan State University, but the lure of the music business saw him sneaking into black bars, more often than the classroom, to hone his craft. It was during this period he got his first opportunity to play with legends like Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy and John Lee Hooker.

In 1968, he moved to Toronto, then Ottawa where he formed the band Heaven's Radio, which was a fixture on the music scene throughout the 1970s and 80s.

Life then led him to Vankleek Hill, where he resides with his wife, Kathy. Last year, his long-awaited solo comeback CD, Brother of the Blues, was released at The Rainbow, in Ottawa, to critical acclaim and has received excellent airplay on CBC Radio and Galaxie.

Years in the music scene - complete with all it's temptations - has lead Terry to develop his own unique twist that begins tonight at the Atlantic Pub, in Alexandria.

Pegged as "Blues on Tues," the music and dance goes from 7-10 p.m. It's a once-a-month gig, running the second Tuesday of each month.

1. What was the first record you ever bought?

I'm ready for that. This is a serious question. The Purple People Eater, by Sheb Wooley. I was 14-years old and my parents had bought me a record player that played 45 rpms. It was the highest form of entertainment for thrills. On the song, Wooley plays an instrument from outer-space. I played it at 33 rpm, not 45 rpm, and I said, "What's that?" It was a saxophone. I went to a music store, asked the man to give me sax music and I was completely hooked.

2. If you hadn't been a musician, what would you be doing for a living?

Probably building houses. I've done a lot of renovations. Houses are fun to play with, a good rootsy kind of thing. For years and years in Ottawa, that's how us musicians made money between shows.

3. How did you meet your wife, Kathy?

I've known her for a long time. She had been married to one of my best friends, John, who was my road manager. They moved to Vankleek Hill. After a while, I went to visit them and I liked the place so much, I bought a house there, too. John and Kathy decided to part. Kathy and I eventually gravitated towards each other. Everybody's still good friends. We've been together 15 years now.


4. What's this about drawing on a moustache?

We're back to sax. That equals jazz. When I was 16 or 17, the drinking age in Michigan was 21. Sax and jazz were in the bars, in black bars as everything was segregated in those days. I always wore a sport coat, it made you look like a grown-up, I'd wear shades and I was 6 feet tall. I drew on a little skinny moustache with ink. Anybody who looks that nutty, let'em in! They could tell I loved the music.

5. What blues artist has made the greatest contribution to the scene?

I'd say Muddy Waters. He inspired the Rolling Stones directly. He also had arguably the first real electric band. There's B. B. King, a great showman, but he didn't inspire anyone. Muddy Waters was a total force. I want to inspire people, not impress them.

6. What was your best class in chemical engineering?

Jeez. Qualitative analysis. It's heavy (stuff), and it's good. I spent a lot of time studying it. My father is a physicist. I have to be able to keep up with him. He's one of the top-10 rheologists in the world. They study large particles.

7. What makes Vankleek Hill so great?

It's a very good place. I've lived in a number of large places, which are really just a bunch of small places put together, and smaller places, too. Vankleek Hill is quite proud of the fact it's full of weirdoes. It's a very open-minded community.

8. What's the weirdest place you've ever performed?

I think the Two Sisters Bakery, in Marchtown, Jamaica. Nobody goes to Marchtown, it's up in the hills. Heaven's Radio did the grand opening there. Owen's aunt was one of the sister's. There were two guys there building the oven, a classic Jamaican stone oven. One guy was 105 and the other was 15. What a team!

9. How did you come to perform at Sacha Trudeau's wedding reception?

Sacha and my son, Booker, went to school together in Ottawa. They were each other's best men for their respective weddings. I put together a 12-piece band, including some Jamaican and some African guys, plus some of our Granary guys. We played funk, soul, jazz, reggae. We recorded the party and it's going to be released on CD soon.

10. What would surprise people most about you?

Tough question. I don't know what people think, so I don't know what would surprise them.

11. Hardest song for you to remember the words?

Trouble Everyday. By Frank Zappa. It goes on forever.

12. What was the coolest thing about playing the Montreal Jazz Festival?

We played there in 2002 and 2004. It's such a nice gig. I guess it was the receptiveness of the audience and how they really, really listened. I played this one little reggae thing and an audience member came up to me later and says, "You are also a reggae band." Really good and open experience.

13. How did you come up with the idea of 7 to 10 p.m. gigs? Most bands only start at 10 p.m.

I was in Hungary in 1995. I went to a jazz club and the band came in at 8 p.m. They played one hour and left. I was so impressed. It was great. I realized what was stopping people my age from going out was that most bands start way too late. This way you can go out, have a good time, dance, then get home for sleep and work the next day. I want both - I want music and I want sleep! The thing is, there's a whole lot of people who want to hear the music, and by 8:30 p.m. you'd swear it was midnight.

14. What tune could you not live without?

The Mojo. I couldn't live without The Mojo. It's a Muddy Waters tune.

15. Who have you met that's made the greatest impression on you?

Miles Davis. In 1965, I went to hear him in Detroit. And he let me play a note on his trumpet. He really impressed me because of his approach to music.

16. Strangest job?

I got a trick answer. Playing electric guitar. That's pretty damn strange.

17. What's your specialty in the kitchen?

My specialty is Jamaican food. Oxtail soup, jerk chicken, mince and cock soup. When I was in university, my roommate, Carl, was Jamaican. I came home hungry at 3 a.m. and saw a pot of soup on the stove filled with chicken feet. I figured, "Why not?' and had some. I asked him about it the next day and he told me it was cock soup. It's to strengthen your manhood!

18. What's the biggest lesson you've learned about the music business?

Learn directly from your heroes. If there's someone you particularly admire, seek them out and talk to them. Go right to the top. That's the key.

19. Who's the strangest fan you've ever met?

We picked up a hitchhiker and ended up playing a prom he booked us for. He loved the blues. It was in Atlanta, Michigan in 1966. We were all hippies. I don't know how he booked us, but the whole town hated us, except this one guy. He just stood there, separated from everybody else, just listening. We had to stop. We literally got run out of town. The police stopped us, there were a lot of police. Weird.

20. Best advice you ever received?

When you're finished, put your tools away.

[email protected]

Reggae beat in Glengarry
Kathleen Hay
Cornwall Standard Freeholder
Saturday, August 18, 2007 - 08:00

Tuesday Aug. 21st.

Go! - Don't worry be happy. Even though the highland games are past, you can still imagine the heat of the sun's rays beating down on your sweat-drenched body while you lie on a sandy beach.

So my imagination's getting away with me. Sue me.

But it wouldn't take much to get yours going, too, if you head out to the Atlantic Pub - in Alexandria - this Tuesday evening for a musical maitai that will have you screaming for a cabana boy.

Glengarry is going reggae, mon.

"It's an authentic roots reggae evening," says Kathy Gillespie, a Vankleek Hill lady who's publicist and head cheerleader for her exceptionally talented hubby, Terry Gillespie. "Everybody always smiles, it's contagious.

"It's the real thing, too, right from Jamaica."

What Kathy's chatting about is a show Terry is doing with a couple of equally stellar friends of his, namely, Owen Brown, a Jamaican bass player, and Trevor Brewster, another award-winning guitarist from Barbados.

Usually, Terry's best known for his funky blues playing - in fact, he's playing the Atlantic with his own Granary Blues Band on Sept. 15 - but he was also one of the first people to bring reggae music to Canada. (We're not telling you how many years ago).

"This is an extraordinary situation," explains Kathy. "Terry went into the Jamaican black community, found a guitar player to teach him, then formed his own band, Heaven's Radio, then was invited back to play in Jamaica, where he formed ties with Owen.

"Owen comes to Canada occasionally to record, so we wanted to take this opportunity to bring authentic reggae music to Glengarry."

Terry's no slouch either.

Upcoming gigs include the Ottawa Ex on Aug. 25, then he plays the National Arts Centre on Oct. 5.

He was also responsible for inspiring one of the world's finest female blues guitarists, Sue Foley, who as a teen used to sneak into blues clubs in Ottawa to watch him perform.

And aside from the great music, if you're an old poop like me, one of the things you'll like about Tuesday's show is that it runs from 7 to 10 p.m.

Yes, sir, folks, even if you travel from Cornwall, you can be home in your jammies by 11 p.m. to get your beauty sleep for the next day at the office.

That makes me happy.

Terry's Annual Reggae Party August 21st in Alexandria. Look for Owen Brown directly from Green Island Jamaica to be there.

Soul Man Not an Ole Man
(to Tune of Soul Man)
on the occasion of Terry's 60th Birthday
Granary Blues Band gig
Priest's Mill, Alexandria, ON
March 31, 2007
Lyrics by Helen Hensahw

Born in Edmonton,
Then he left bound,
To grow up in,
An English town.
Got his first bike,
On an English lot,
Good ole Norton,
Last one it's not.

(chorus)
He's his own man,
Not an ole man,
He's a soul man,
Solid gold man.

While in the USA,
Vietnam was on,
Draft man call,
But Terry was gone,
To Canada,
Where he did find,
Wife 1 to 4,
Number 5 is fine.

(chorus)
He's his own man,
Not an ole man,
He's a soul man,
A musician.

He smokes top cigars,
Once in awhile,
Drives fancy cars,
That make him smile.
Plays music all day,
that's when he can,
In his special way,
The music is grand.

(chorus)
He's his own man,
Not an ole man,
He's a soul man,
That's Terry our man.

(bridge - key change)
Dancing girls,
CNN,
All this he likes,
In his cosy den.

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah,
(chorus)
..Soul man,
He's a musician,
Solid gold man,
He's a soul man,

Does what he can,
He's a soul man,
Not an ole man,
That's Terry our man.

Dear Ms Klaasen
NATIONAL ORDERS AWARDS CEREMONY: 27 SEPTEMBER 2006

AWARD OF THE ORDER OF IKHAMANGA: SILVER

I have the pleasure of in informing you that His Excellency, President T.M Mbeki has decided to bestow on you the Order of Ikhamanga: Silver for your excellent contribution to the arts of music.

The Awards Ceremony will be held on the 27th September 2006 at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

Once awarded you shall be entitled to indicate that you have been invested with the Order as esteemed member of the Order of Ikhamanga: Silver by the use of post-nominal letters (OIS).

Yours sincerely, FRANK CHIKANE
CHANCELLOR OF ORDERS

Thandie got the news just hours before joining Terry Gillespie and The Granary Blues Band for Blues on Tues.

Pictures from Thandie's last show in Montreal at http://www.myspace.com/TerryGillespie - Photo by Eric of The Granary

The Granary Blues Band and all your friends in Canada wish you the very best. Congratulations, Thandie!!

Blues Matters, UK said in their Review of Again that the Granary Blues Band was too jazzy. Some of the jazz guys say they are too bluesy. Audience are eating it up and saying they are just perfect.
So - what do you think, too jazzy, too bluesy or just perfect?

Blues on Tues, Good News!

February 15th, 2005 is no-smoking nite.

Simon sez:
All those people who have asked for a break from the smoke good work.

Come one, Come all!

Simon Rozon,
prop. St-Eugene Tavern

Lookout for the release of the brand new Granary Blues All-Stars Web Site.