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SOULSTACK Nominated for Electric Act of the Year at the MBA’s

Be sure to Register to Vote for Soulstack for “Electric Act of the Year” at until www.mapleblues.ca December 7th, 2013.

Soulstack CD Release at the Legendary El Mocambo

Come to our CD Release Show at the Legendary El Mocambo on November 30th ( Doors 8 / Show 9ish). Advanced Tickets for sale at www.soulstack.com

Celebrating our new CD release called ” Five Finger Discount” and featuring my all time drumming hero, the legendary Michael Sloski on second drumkit ( yes, there will be two drummers).

Maple Blues Award Winning Drummer 2000 to 2004 (4 years consecutive). www.mapleblues.ca

Nominated for the 2005 Drummer of the Year Award.

“Have drums will travel”.
Tom Bona, award winning, groovy drummer, is available for local, national and international tours and recording projects.

Celebrating 25 years experience in recording, performing and touring.
Contact: tom@tombona.com 416-410-3767

Currently Touring and/or Recording with:

Sue Foley (since 1999)
www.suefoley.com ( new 2006 CD release “New Used Car” and a Live in Germany DVD )

Raoul and the Big Time (since 1998)
www.raoulandthebigtime.com ( CD Releases “Big Time Blues” 1999 and “Cold Outside” 2004 and various music videos)

Wickens Knight (since 2003)
www.wickens-knight.com ( Debut 2005 CD, TBS Talent Search Winners, Maple Blues Award Best New Artist Nominee)

Roxanne Potvin (since 2005) www.roxannepotvin.com ( performing in support of her new Colin Linden Produced 2006 Alert/Universal Records release)

Southside Steve Marriner ( performing with and recording tracks for an upcoming release, featuring Garrett Mason and Sue Foley on guitar)

Randy Dawson D’Nile Blues Band (since 1997) www.randydawson.com ( recorded/performing from D’Nile Blues Band 2005 CD release)

Maple Blues Revue Band http://www.torontobluessociety.com/mba/maplebluesrevue.htm (the band backing the Maple Blues Awards also tours with special guests including John Mays (Fathead) and Dawn Tyler Watson.

Other Activities:

Style Council Drum Lessons
(Contact me to schedule a lesson)
tom@tombona.com

Songwriting
(Currently placed a song in the Unisong Song Contest ( http://www.sonicbids.com/whosplaying/event_view.asp?event_id=409 ), placed a song in the ISC ( international song contest) and made a second tier placement among 15000 entries, placed a song on Raoul and the Big Time ‘Cold Outside’ CD, called “Call Me Crazy” and co-wrote a song called ” Five Below Zero”on the Wickens Knight debut.)

Producing
(Co-produced Wickens Knight debut cd and currently co-producing their sophomore cd), Currently recording tracks for a solo songwriter release. Check out www.sonicbids.com/tombona for a few song demos in the “audio” section.

Style Counseling
Tom Bona is now accepting drummers at all levels for unique lessons in style counseling.
What is style counseling you ask?
Well, style counseling is basically a glorified drum lesson.
Are you a drummer still looking for that pocket?
Do you yearn to play drums with a great groove and have it flow from your body with ease and control?
Do you wish to make your playing more efficient and fluid?
Well, style counseling can accelerate your progress in weeks.
With 25 years experience behind the drum kit, Tom Bona is now available to share his performance secrets with you.

Style Counseling, by Tom Bona.
In a drum room near you.
Call or email today for an appointment.
tom@tombona.com
416-410-DRMS (3767)

Sue Foley Update
The Sue Foley band has recorded tracks for a Spring 2006 release. The sessions took place in Montreal in August with Corey McFadden in the production chair.
Upcoming Fall tours include the North Eastern States, Louisiana and some European dates are in the works. www.suefoley.com

Wickens Knight Update
Wickens Knight packed the house for their Debut CD Release party on Aug 27th at Chicago’s, Toronto. We are getting rave reviews about the self produced recording and lots of airplay so far. www.wickens-knight.com

Wickens Knight won the 2005 Toronto Blues Society “New Talent Search” and a live recording of the band will be featured on National CBC Radio show ‘Saturday Night Blues’ in the fall.

Bona wins 4th Consecutive Maple Blues Award for ‘Drummer of the Year’
The 8th Annual Maple Blues Awards, held on January 17th, 2005 at the Phoenix in Toronto, has honored me with my 4th consecutive “Drummer of the Year ” award. Sue Foley’s latest live release, titled “Change” featuring myself, Mike Turenne and Graham Guest, won three Maple Blues Awards this year : Recording of the Year, Acoustic Act of the Year, and Female Vocalist of the year.

Maple Blues Award Winning Drummer 2000 to 2004 ( 4 years consecutive). www.mapleblues.ca

Nominated for the 2005 Drummer of the Year Award. at the 9th Annual Maple Blues Awards. ( Congratulations to Mike Fitzpatrick of Downchild Blues Band who won the drummer award this year). I performed at the award show for the fifth year, with special guests Colin Linden, Roxanne Potvin , Garrett Mason and David Hoerl (Twisters).

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Wickens Knight
Chosen as a semi finalist for the TBS New Talent Search. The showcases are on June 11, 2005 during the Distillery Blues Festival. Come out to help cheer us on between noon and 3 pm. Wickens Knight debut CD will be available soon.

I had the privilege to perform at this award show, again as the drummer in the Maple Blues Band, the house band for the evening. Special guests this year included Jim Byrnes, Suzie Vinnick and the legendary Mel Brown. Raoul, of Raoul and the Big Time was the host for the evening and performed two Big Time songs with the Maple Blues Band. After handing out the awards there was a ‘winners circle’ jam, which included performances by Jackie Richardson, Colin Linden, Jimmy Boskill, JW Jones, Mel Brown (on organ), Lance Anderson (piano), David Gogo and Matt Minglewood. Performing with Matt was very exciting, as he was a childhood hero of mine while growing up on the East Coast. Local college radio station, CIUT fm broadcast the award show on the web to the entire universe.

I would like to thank all the fans who participated in the on-line voting this year. I also appreciate having the nominating committee include me in the ballot. Mike Sloski, Maureen Brown, Geoff Arsenault and Al Cross, the other drummer nominees this year, are monster players and have been a huge influence on my drumming.

Wickens Knight Records Debut CD / Unleashes New Website
Among the many bands I perform with is a special band called Wickens Knight. Our new website is www.wickens-knight.com. Here you will find news, pictures and info on the band, including updates on our new recording to be available in the Spring of 2005. We are recording this new CD at BonaSound Studio with Jon Knight producing , using a laptop with plug ins, good mics and Jon’s incredible knowledge of making a recording sound, well, incredible!

Randy Dawson Group Releases New CD
Yet another special band I regularly perform with is the Randy Dawson Group. Randy Dawson says : ” It’s called D’NILE BLUES and features nine original songs and a cover of Standing On Shaky Ground. The little buzz going on seems to indicate that people are wondering if they’re going to hear some signature wild guitar from Randy on this offering. The answer is YES! This record is by far and away the best thing I’ve ever done. I’m very proud of this disc and everyone who helped me with this record. We have my long time friends, Bob Bilton on bass and the lovely and talented Tom Bona on Drums. The record was produced by Art Wanders at Pinegrove Studio in Shelburne and mastered by Nick Blagona at Metalwork’s Studios in Mississauga.” Randy Dawson’s D’Nile Blues CD, with a fine mix of Rocking Rhythm and Blues is now available at www.randydawson.com.

Wickens / Knight Swamps the Bloor West Village
Every Thursday night from 9 pm till 1 am, Wickens Knight will swamp out the Yellow Griffin, 2202 Bloor Street West, Toronto. Come out to see the great new Wickens Knight band featuring the fabulous Jon Knight on vocals/guitar and the wicked Dylan Wickens on lead guitar, Harpo on bass and myself on drums. We mix blues with soul, swing and swamp for an original flavor that has been turning heads and ears our way! www.wickens-knight.com

Raoul and The Big Time Videos :
Raoul and The Big Time released two music video’s in 2004. The debut video for the song titled ‘COLD OUTSIDE’ was directed by fellow Train 48 cast member Andrew Kenneth Martin and a second video, BABY DON’T STOP (for BRAVOFact) was directed by Jeff Stephenson. This second video was shot overnight at the Lakeview Lunch on Dundas Street in Toronto in the summer. When I say over night, I mean over night. We were on location from 6 pm Saturday till 7 am Sunday morning. Special guests included Raoul’s wife, Birgitte, and the Blues Doctor, Julie Hill (TBS and CKLN). Both video’s are from songs on our second CD release titled ‘COLD OUTSIDE’. www.raoulandthebigtime.com

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CUIT FM Broadcast’s The Maple Blues Awards to the World
Toronto radio station CUIT FM will be broadcasting the 8th Annual Maple Blues Awards, Live from the Phoenix in Toronto on Monday, Jan17, 2005 from 7 pm till 12am EST.

The actual show performance portion will air at 8:30 pm till 11 pm EST.

Local Toronto listeners can tune into 89.5 fm, Worldwide listeners can listen ‘live’ from the audio stream on the CIUT website. (Just click on “Listen” at the top right of the website, www.ciut.fm).

Join me and the Maple Blues Band as we perform with Raoul Bhaneja ( of Raoul and the Big Time/ and Global’s Train 48 fame), Suzie Vinnick, Jim Burnes and Mel Brown, plus surprise special guests in an all star jam finale. For more info on the award show go to www.torontobluessociety.com, or www.mapleblues.ca.

Raoul Hosts The Maple Blues Awards
The Maple Blues Award and The Second Blues Summit is happening on Jan 14 to 17th in Toronto. Go to www.torontobluessociety.com for more info. This year’s Maple Blues Awards host is Raoul Bhaneja, from Raoul and the Big Time. You may have seen him on Global’s Train 48. Other musical guests are Suzie Vinnick, Jim Byrnes and Mel Brown. I will be drumming in the house band again this year with a stellar cast of top notch Toronto musicians. Raoul and the Big time are also showcasing at the Blues Summit on Jan 15th at 10 pm at the Silver Dollar, and we play the Maple Blues Awards Official After Party at Club 279 (above the Hard Rock Cafe-Yonge and Dundas St).

Wickens / Knight Swamps the Bloor West Village – AGAIN !!!!
Every Thursday night from 9 pm till 12:30 am, Wickens Knight will swamp out the Yellow Griffin, 2202 Bloor Street West. Come out to see the great new Wickens Knight band featuring Jon Knight on vocals/guitar and Dylan Wickens on lead guitar, Harpo on bass and myself on drums. We mix blues with soul, swing and swamp for an original flavour that has been turning heads and ears our way! www.wickens-knight.com

2004 Maple Blues Awards, Nominees Announced
The nominees have been announced for the 2004 Maple Blues Awards.

I have been nominated for ‘Drummer of the Year’ for the 4th consecutive year, having won this award for the past three years.

Voting is open to anyone across Canada with a valid email address. Only one vote is allowed per email address. In order to vote online, you must register first. If you have already registered please enter your email address and the password that was emailed to you. There are no ‘paper’ ballots available this year.

It’s fast and it’s easy.
To register and to vote, Please go to: www.mapleblues.ca.

The Maple Blues Awards is Canada’s national blues awards program. Its goal is to promote blues music across Canada, and to recognize outstanding achievement in the field.

The nominees are selected by a distinguished panel of blues DJs and journalists from across Canada. Members of the Nominating Panel are not eligible for any of the awards. Ballots must be received by midnight (eastern time), Thursday December 15, 2004. Late ballots will not be counted.

The winners are selected by the votes of blues fans from across Canada. They are announced at the annual Maple Blues Awards Gala, which this year will be held in Toronto, on January 17, 2005. For information about attending the gala please visit www.torontobluessociety.com, or email info@torontobluessociety.com.

Please feel free to forward this email to every Canadian Blues fan you know!

Thank you for participating.

Wickens / Knight Swamps the Bloor West Village
Every Tuesday night from 9 pm till 12:30 am, Wickens Knight will swamp out the Yellow Griffin, 2202 Bloor Street West. We have a very funky upstairs room, with lots of vibe, or you may find us downstairs in the front window. Either way, come out to see the great new Wickens Knight band featuring Jon Knight on vocals/guitar and Dylan Wickens on lead guitar, Harpo on bass and myself on drums. We mix blues with soul, swing and swamp for an original flavour that has been turning heads and ears our way! www.dylanwickens.com.

Wickens / Knight plant souls at Chicago’s Every Wednesday knight…
Come out any Wednesday from 9:30 pm till 12:30 pm to catch Jon Knight vocal soul planting, Dylan Wickens soul searching on the neck of his guitar, Harpo planting soul support and myself soul swamping on the (Pearl) buckets.

Sue Foley Road Adventures Return
The Sue Foley Band returns to a road near you……we have resumed touring in support of ‘Change’ (see below). Catch the calendar page for more details.

New Sue Foley release “Change” is now available in Canada, as of August 24, 2004

Sue Foley’s 9th release, her first release on the German label, Ruf Records ( www.rufrecords.de), is now available through Justin Time Records ( www.justin-time.com). This release is a live recording from December 2003 at Hugh’s Room in Toronto and is quite a change from her last CD “Where the Action Is”, as it is acoustic and very intimate. The Sue Foley band will hit the road this fall to support this release.

Raoul and the Big Time shoots second video:

We just shot our second video BABY DON’T STOP for BRAVO (directed by Jeff Stephenson). This video was shot overnight at the Lakeview Lunch on Dundas Street in Toronto. When I say over night, I mean over night. We were on location from 6 pm Saturday till 7 am Sunday morning. Special guests included Raoul’s wife and the Blues Doctor, Julie Hill.

This summer you can find me ‘around town’, a bit more often than usual, as the Sue Foley band gears up for a fall CD release. We play a few dates over the summer, but look for a full on tour in the fall.

Raoul and the Big Time, Wickens Knight and the Randy Dawson Group will be keeping me busy most of the summer.

Big Time Video Premiere
Raoul and The Big Time video debut for the song titled ‘COLD OUTSIDE’ directed by fellow Train 48 cast member Andrew Kenneth Martin was held at the Underground, the Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen Street W, on Monday April 19th at 10:30pm. This premiere was followed by a live set featuring songs from their newest internationally distributed album COLD OUTSIDE. www.raoulandthebigtime.com.

Wickens-Knight Every Tuesday’s at Chicago’s
Dylan Wicken’s new band, Wickens-Knight can be found every Tuesday night at Chicago’s, from 9 pm till midnight. This new line up features the lovely and talented Jon Knight on vocals and guitar, along with Dylan, Harpo and myself. Dylan Wickens won the Toronto Blues Society’s New Talent Search last year . www.dylanwickens.com

Raoul and the Big Time goes to Number One!!
Raoul and the Big Time’s second release “Cold Outside” was listed at the number one spot on Ian Angus’ “Let The Good Times Roll”, Blues Top 20 on CIUT 89.5 Toronto for the February/March 2004 Chart. Cold Outside will be distributed in Canada by Festival Distribution, and in Europe by Cross Cut Records.
Watch for our new video of the title song off Cold Outside.

New Sue Foley CD
Sue Foley’s new recording, titled “Change” will be released in September 2004. Recorded at Hugh’s Room December 2003, this ‘live and acoustic’ release is quite a “change” from her last CD “Where The Action Is”. www.suefoley.com

Tom Scores an MBA Hat Trick
“….and the 2003 Maple Blues Award for Drummer of the Year goes to…… Tom Bona !” ……For the third consecutive year ( 2001, 2002, 2003 ). What an honour it is to be chosen among Canada’s great blues musicians.

The 7th Annual Maple Blues Award Show was on Jan 19, 2004 at the Phoenix in Toronto. I performed in the house band backing up the show’s host, Jackie Richardson, and guests Duke Robillard and Jackie Washington. The house band was lead by Gary Kendall on bass who directed us through the 25 ‘stings’ and the guest performances through out the night. Rounding out the band was Jack DeKeyzer, Al Lerman, Michael Fonfara, Pat Carey, Chris Murphy, Chris Whitely. The night ended with a winners showcase that included performances by Morgan Davis, Suzie Vinnick, and Jack Dekeyzer.

Raoul and the Big Time Releases “Cold Outside “
Our long awaited second CD was released on Friday, January 16th, 2004 at the Silver Dollar to a full house. Graham Guest ( the great western piano player from Sue Foley’s band) was our ‘special’ guest for the evening. This new CD, Cold Outside, has 10 originals and 2 rare covers and features guest performances by some of the best living blues men around including Junior Watson, Big Joe Maher and friend and mentor Mark Hummel. Cold Outside will be distributed in Europe by Crosscut Records in Germany.

Bumpin Uglies Matinee
Mark ‘Bird’ Stafford has invited me to play a house gig in St Catharines every Saturday afternoon from 2 till 6 pm. The club is called Bumpin Uglies and it is located at 249 St Paul Street, (905) 685-9077 . Mojo Willie and Bird share the hosting and harmonica duties and there will be special guests each week. The first two guests are Chuck Jackson and Bill King. The band is rounded out by the fabulous Jimmy Rassmussen on bass and guitar virtuoso James Anthony.

November 2003:
The 7th Annual Maple Blues Award nominee’s have been announced. I have been nominated for Best Drummer for the third year running. For the past two years, I have been the Maple Blues Award winning Drummer of the Year, thanks to all the voters. Will it be a hat trick?

I will be spending more time in the Toronto area this winter, gearing up for a Raoul and the Big Time CD release party on January 16th, 2004 at the Silver Dollar. I will also be doing some more recording with Sue Foley, with hopes for a 2004 release. Please also check the calendar page for some in-town gigs with Randy Dawson Group, Dylan Wickens Band and the Bear Band.

October 2003

The Sue Foley Band had successful European Tour from October 6 to October 17th. We played in France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and Holland. We drove over 4000 kms on this 11 date tour. Please see calendar page for specific cities played. This was our third trip to Europe in as many years. Thanks to Rick at BMI in Den Haag, Netherlands. He loaned me a set of Pearl Drums for whole tour, courtesy of Pearl Europe via Max Lishi and Paul Frederick in Canada. I am working on a journal of the tour, if any one is interested in the day-to-day details of this tour, please email me and I’ll send it to you when it is complete.

Here is a link to a review from our Zurich show.

September 2003

Sue Foley band played the Southside Shuffle on Sept 6th at 5 pm on the main stage and again at the Crooked Q at 10 pm. The fabulous Richard Bell was on keys for these two shows. I played the main stage again the following evening with the Maple Blues Band, featuring guests Dawn Tyler Watson, Jeff Healey, Kenny Blues Boss Wayne, Mr Downchild – Donnie Walsh, and with Mr Southside Shuffle – Chuck Jackson. The band played an incredible 2 hour and 20 minute set with out a bathroom break!

Summer 2003

July 19-21, 2003 – Yellowknife’s ‘Folk on the Rocks” was a festival season highlight for me. Where else can you stay out untill well past midnight and still see the daylight! I played a lot of music during this festival. Sue Foley did three shows, I played with Yukon guitar slinger, Aylie Sparks and also with Arlene Bishop/Blair Packham, friends of mine from Toronto. I even jammed with a fiddle band on the main stage. There are pictures with me at the kit, while the bands change around me, I’ll post them soon.

Sue Foley Band opened Joe Cocker at Massey Hall on July 26 and in London, on July 27, 2003 . We also appeared at the Toronto Star Bluesfest on July 26th, Exhibition Grounds, Toronto, ON, the Edmonton Blues Fest and Calgary’s Roots and Blues Fest. Calgary’s Sun newspaper featured Sue Foley the day before and the day after the show with impressive coverage and photos.

The Sue Foley band opened for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on July 5th in Bozeman, Montana. It was a real rock and roll moment, as the gig was booked with only 2 days notice. We ended up having to hire a private plane ( a 4 seater) and a limo to get us there, just in time for the show. Tom Petty’s performance was well worth the adventure.

On July 4th, the Sue Foley band performed to over 10 000 people at the Montreal Jazz Festival. Watch this space for news on our European tour in the fall (Sept/Oct).

Raoul and the Big Time has finished recording their new cd. It’s mastered and sequenced and will soon be ready for mass consumption. This second release was again co-produced by Terry Wilkins. This album will turn some heads with very strong songwriting, fresh arrangements and a few special guest surprises. Watch this space for a release date.www.raoulandthebigtime.com

Modern Drummer Magazine mentioned my Maple Blues Award wins in their July 2003 “News” column.

The Dylan Wickens Band, a Jump/Swing Toronto band I perform with on a regular basis, has won the Toronto Blues Society Talent Search this year. Greg Cooper is the winning drummer, appearing on their new cd “Fall Down, Go Boom” and he also performed with the band at the Talent Search held on June 15th weekend at the Silver Dollar. Congrats to the band! www.dylanwickens.com

Pearl Endorsement Announcement:

I am pleased to announce that I am now an endorsee of Pearl Drums. A big thank you to Paul Frederick at Ericson Music/Pearl Drums for believing in me, and for being such an incredibly nice guy! I have been a Pearl drums fan since the early eighties…my drumming idol, Jeff Porcaro (of Toto, Steely Dan, Boz Scaggs) played Pearl Drums. It is a dream come true to have Pearl drums on my side (and at my side). I will be sporting a brand new Pearl kit very soon. Thanks also to Al Webster for hooking me up with Paul.

Spring 2003:

I reappeared at Healey’s Club in Toronto (Queen and Bathurst) on Thursday, May 29th at 10pm, playing with Jeff Healey, Jerome Godboo and special guest Steve Lukather of Toto. Having been a huge Toto fan, since their first first release, Toto(1977), this was definately be a huge thrill for me. I was honored to play drums for the guitar player who played with my drumming idol, Jeff Porcaro, for over 15 years.

I had the pleasure of performing with legendary, west coast blues guitarist Junior Watson at the Silver Dollar in Toronto on May 10th. Their drummer had trouble crossing the border, so they contacted me to do the gig. Thanks to Raoul Bhaneja for hooking me up with this great gig. Junior is a fabulous guitarist and a comical front man, and his bandmates; Sax Gordon and Vance Ehlers (bass) really know how to put on a good show. I was “High as a Georgia Pine’ at this gig. Junior Watson will appear as a guest on the new Raoul and the Big Time cd release.

Sue Foley Band opened for Joe Cocker on a few select Canadian Dates. We had the pleasure of opening for Joe Cocker in St. John’s, NF on March 25 and in Montreal, PQ on March 30th.These were stadium shows, and Joe Cocker’s performance was flawless. I spoke to Joe after his St. John’s show and he was very personable.

Longtime Muddy Water’s drummer and Chicago Blues Legend Willie ‘Big Eyes’ Smith recently performed with Al Lerman, Jack Dekeyzer and Bob Strogen at Blues on Belair. I showed up to watch this blues legend drum up a storm and their first set was indeed ‘legendary’. Andrew Kempa of Juke Joint Records, Willie’s label, invited me up to play drums for Willie, while Willie fronted the band and played harmonica. This was quite a thrill for me to play drums for Muddy Water’s drummer. Willie let me stay up for the whole hour long set.

I am the current Maple Blues Award -winning Drummer of the Year for 2002 and 2001!

Jan 2003: Sue Foley cleaned up at the Maple Blues Awards this year, winning 5 Maple Blue Awards, including Entertainer of the Year and Electric Act. She shares these noted two awards with her touring band, so as her drummer, I guess I actually won three awards this year ! As the award show’s house band drummer, I performed live with host Colin James, Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne, Michael Jerome Brown and Sue Foley. It was a fantastic night of blues! I would like to thank Gary Kendall for inviting me to play in the award show’s house band again this year. I would also like to thank all the voters, the TBS and the nominating commitee.

Sue Foley has been nominated for a 2003 WC Handy Award under the category of Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year.

Sue Foley has signed on with The Agency Group for international booking. We hope to have a busy year touring the world!

I recorded with Sue Foley, a song to appear on a Bob Dylan tribute album, .. watch this space for a release date and more details. Check my calendar page for updates, or go to www.suefoley.com or www.pollstar.com for more info.

I was featured in Modern Drummer Magazine’s “On The Move” column, September-2002 issue (with Neil Peart on the cover).

I can be heard on Sue Foley’s new recording ‘Where the Action Is’, released June 2002, produced by Colin Linden. This new record proves yet again that Sue Foley is the Queen of Canadian Blues.

Check out Sue’s newly re-designed website .