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VIEW MAGAZINE Vol. 12 No. 17 • April 27 - May 3  "Hamilton Music Notes"
http://www.viewmag.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4056&page=7

By Ric Taylor

Many fans got an introduction to Groove Corporation at Sonny Del
Rio’s holiday benefit concert last Christmas. Even more fans have
been introduced to the ten–piece band’s funky soul hybrid at a
developing regular gig at The Pepper Jack Café (set for a summer
return in July). But this weekend, the band focuses on a benefit
against cancer.

Dundas’ Lily Sazz has had a long history of making music in
Hamilton but with her latest induction into Groove Corporation,
she’s finding her local roots yet again and reuniting with a couple
of members she used to play with in The Trailblazers.
“I had been spending a few years mostly freelancing as a
keyboard player, working with groups like Blue Room and Brian
‘Colorblind’ Blain,” recalls Sazz. “All of my Toronto involvements
have kept me very busy, but I’ve really missed being a member of
a regular band, with rehearsed material, and the same members
with regular gigs. Plus, I really wanted to do more closer to home,
here in the Hamilton area. I got a call and when I found out there
were other old friends in the band, I really just couldn’t resist
joining. I love the funk material, but how often do you get a group
that has the line up with the congas and horns to pull it off
legitimately?”

Featuring Sazz on keyboards, as well as Burlington’s Kim
Campagnaro on lead vocals and congas and Hamilton’s Alex
MacDougall on lead guitar (both formerly of The Trailblazers), The
Groove Corporation takes on a Southern Ontario feel with
Hamilton’s Steve Hilbert on bass, Stoney Creek’s Frank Vignanello
on drums, and a five–member horn section featuring Cambridge’s
Les Kadar and London’s Craig Robertson on trumpet, London’s
Seth McNall on trombone, and London’s Cole G. Benjamin and
Waterdown’s Pete McFarland on saxophones. Groove Corporation
are a powerhouse that easily impress those with their eyes set on
the dance floor.

Set to join the Blues with a Feeling 2006 tribute to King
Biscuit Boy on May 27 (an obvious choice with McDougal’s tenure
in Crowbar and Sazz’s friendship with the Hamilton blues legend,
Richard Newell), this weekend Groove Corporation hope to shine a
light on another worthy cause.

“In this day and age almost everyone has known someone
who has been affected by cancer and Groove Corporation are no
different,” says Sazz. “We do feel a strong connection with the
Music for Life Benefit. The Juravinski Cancer Centre has actually
benefited one of our band members, who survived the disease
twice. So naturally, we’re eager to help.

“Groove Corporation’s approach to the material, the ability
to nail Tower of Power, Average White Band, along with some soul
and funky groove stuff, in an authoritative manner, sets us apart,”
adds the keyboardist on why attendees shouldn’t miss the
opening act. “I like to think of Groove Corporation as a Ferrari
that’s idling and ready to roar between gigs. We itch to play and
we love rehearsing and polishing the show. Performing one long
set at a benefit in front of a discerning audience, plus before
other great musicians like Eden Hill, is an opportunity for us to
shine and just give it all.”

The fourth annual Music For Life benefit featuring Eden Hill
and Groove Corporation happens Friday, April 28 at the
Michelangelo Banquet Centre (1555 Upper Ottawa). Doors open at
7pm and tickets are $25. All proceeds will be donated to The
Juravinski Cancer Centre Foundation. For more information, call
905.522.4103.

Ric Taylor, View Magazine "Hamilton  Music Notes"

VIEW MAGAZINE Vol. 12 No. 17 • April 27 - May 3 
"Hamilton Music Notes"
http://www.viewmag.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4056&page=7

 

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