November 2008 Marks First Anniversary for Deja Blooze

In November of 2007 Ed Newkirk and I (David Gregor) officially formed Deja Blooze, an off-shoot of our months of playing the Thursday night music jams that began at the old Smiling Dog Cafe. With the closing of the Dog, the Jammers were like a group of gypsies bouncing from place to place looking for a permanent home finally ending up for a long stint at the Island Coffee House in Langley. It was there that Ed and I forged not only a friendship but also a musical kinship rooted in our mutual interest in the blues. We began practicing together, working on a lot of the tunes that we played at the Thursday night jams and in November were asked to do a two hour gig at the Rockhopper Cafe in Clinton by the Sea. That evening at The Rock solidified our desire to continue forward, with an eye towards playing at the 2008 Choochokam Festival. But to do that, we needed to record a demo CD to submit for consideration. On a Sunday in December of 07 we went into the Blue Ewe Studios on the island and laid down seven tracks. In January of 08 we secured a six month, first Saturday gig at the Prima Bistro in Langley. We were accepted for the July Choochokam Festival and from there we played Concerts on the Lane, The Useless Coffee Shed (twice), a fund raiser for the Friendship Peace Library organization and now on our first anniversary we'll be playing the Freeland Cafe. It's hard to believe it has been a year already, but we're ready to rip into year two with the same vigor and drive that got us to this place. We're looking at another visit to the studio to lay down more lively numbers some of which will be original blooze renderings.

It has been our pleasure to play with Dave Gignac on harmonica and most recently Paul Goethel on bass and look forward to more gigs with both.