Grey Cup Post From George

We recently played the Winnipeg Convention Center for the Grey Cup festivities and got to meet fans from all across the country. It’s always remarkable talking to people that grew up listening to the band… almost like talking to members of your own family! Lately, our fan base seems to be getting broader as younger people become exposed to our “radio hits”. There was a real party atmosphere as you can imagine, with all those football fans primed and stoked, arriving after the game! As most of them were visiting from out of town they had no problem “getting loose”.
I spoke to one guy who said he’d seen the band a long time ago in Vancouver and was so happy we were still going! He said we sounded even better this time. He bought a couple of CD’s to take home to friends and was praising our new tunes!! Man!!! It is so much fun to meet people like that!
The band was energized and played amazingly that night!! I’m so proud of this line-up! It seems there are a few members of the band “excluding me”… who draw the attention of young females!! I think it’s @#%&^ great!!

Rock On!
George

Update From George

As some of you already know we’re pretty excited about our upcoming release! We’ve all been working hard on the new tunes and it’s been a rush getting back into songwriting mode with this line-up! I had taken a long hiatus from writing for various reasons, but the prime one, being motivation. Dealings with record companies left a bad taste in my mouth that lingered for years, but once I started in earnest again, I rekindled the joy I have always found in the creative process … it’s fun again!!
The new tunes will have a definite Harlequin feel but with the new production values that are available today. We have previewed a few tunes in our live show and the response has been phenomenal!! In all my years of doing this I have never witnessed a reaction from the fans as positive as we’ve been getting!
We also managed to get Glen Willows to do a few licks on the new project between his busy schedule as a manager for several young bands that are “ thanks to Glen” finding major success and his current stint as a bureaucrat with MARIA. Glen also still plays with us on occasion when time permits. When Derrick and Glen play together it truly is “magic”. They play so well together, I wish it could happen every night!
In my next newsletter I plan to tell “road stories” as I have had many requests to do so. Just trying to figure out how to creatively edit them!


Rock On!
George

Newsletter from Derrick

Here we are as we near the end of 06. It has been a busy schedule for the band and not just in the live show arena. We are all working in eager anticipation towards finishing the new album. The songs are written and recorded and we are currently adding the finishing details. We feel that we have been successful in our approach to capture the spirit of classic Harlequin in this new offering of music. The material is written and recorded in the spirit of Victim Of a Song, Love Crimes and One False Move, yet in 13 new songs. I hope you're as anxious as we are for this new disc to drop. We will soon inform you all as to the release date and any CD release events that follow.... On October 22,in our hometown of Winnipeg, Harlequin was officially inducted into the Western Canadian Music Hall of Fame. The 5 original members were all on hand to accept the award and perform. Thinking Of You and Innocence fit perfectly into the 8 minutes slotted for the Harlequin performance at the award ceremony. The audience agreed that it was the highlight of the evening as the entire crowd, in the Burton Cummings Theatre were on their feet for the band’s entire performance. It was evident throughout the evening just how influential Harlequin continues to be in Canadian rock & roll.
Original bassist Ralph James accepted other awards on behalf of bands, for which he acts as their agent, and original guitarist Glen Willows was nominated for Manager of the Year. This evening was truly a magical night for the band, and coming from me Harlequin rocked that show!
Watch for us in your area. Nov 10 & 11 you can catch us at our regular Winnipeg "house gig" Joe's Garage. Nov 19 we will be playing at the Winnipeg Convention Centre as a part of the Grey Cup celebration. This is the 3rd year in a row that we have been a part of Canada's biggest sporting event. Last year, after the game in Vancouver, Harlequin played to a capacity crowd at the legendary Commodore Room. It was a blast as people were there from all over the country; we are looking forward to this year.
We are always happy to be back in Alberta; Dec 15, 16 & 17, we will be in Fort McMurray at the Boomtown Casino. Dec 29 & 30 we are back in Edmonton for 2 nights at the Century Casino. On New Years Eve we will join Prism, Helix and the Headpins in Victoria for a Classic Rock New Years bash at the Bear Mountain Arena.
Please come out to a show when we are in you're area. Support the band, come say hi, hang out & have a drink with us. We will be selling the new CD at shows ASAP, hopefully even before the official release date.
We will update you regularly, however, check your local listings and http://www.harlequintheband.com/ and we will see you soon...

Derrick Gottfried

Update From Darren

We apologize for the length of time between posts......we've been touring?.....sleeping on benches.......eating protein bars.....recording .....standing outside smoking.......watching SouthPark......drilling & hammering things......accepting awards..........making bigtime plans......you know really busy! Last weekend the original band members accepted their well deserved award and were inducted into the Western Canadian Hall Of Fame and played a couple O'tunes for the folks. They were great...some of us junior members had a great time, although we'd rather have been on stage. You know..we require at least 15 hours a month on stage, for self ego consumption, or we shrivel up, (some more than others), not unlike swimming in a cold pool?

We're in final "decision-making" throws of the new CD........we can hardly wait for it's reception by the public.....it seriously rocks! Once we decide on how it's to be released....we'll post "snippets" on the site for your review and comments.

Harlequin 2006

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