Post from Nik

Hi kids and welcome to Camp Harlequin. My name is Uncle Nik Rivers and I’ll be your camp councilor. The summer season is upon us and we’ve got a busy schedule ahead of us, with lots of fun filed activities for all you boys and girls!

As you may know the band has just released our new recording titled Waking The Jester available at finer music stores across North America, on-line from our web site or best of all in person at one of our live shows!

Everyone in the band is really excited about the new CD and we know the new songs really put some kick into our shows. I’ve been in the band for a really long time (150 years) and along with our classic songs, this is the best Harlequin has ever performed and sounded. What I’m trying to say is check out our site, find out when we’re playing at a venue near you and come check us out! Our website always has the tour dates on it.

This newsletter won’t be too long because Uncle Nik is lazy, but I want to let you know that we really want to see or hear from you this summer, we really mean it. In fact we were once voted second friendliest band in Canada (I think Fred Penner was first).

There is one more thing that you can do for us this summer besides learning how to paddle a canoe, if you haven’t heard our new single “Shine On” on the radio yet, give you’re local station a call and tell them to give it a spin.

I’d love to stay but I have to throw another log on the fire and don’t forget if you need anything at all, advice or tip maybe some personal counseling, drop me a line. ROCK ON KIDS!

NIK RIVERS


http://www.harlequintheband.com/

www.myspace.com/harlequinrocks

WINNIPEG, Manitoba. – April 25th, 2007

2006 Western Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees Harlequin is pleased to announce the release of the much heralded “Waking The Jester.” Harlequin gained its foothold as a staple Canadian classic rock artist in the eighties and has recently been regaining much national attention, with the re-emergence of today’s classic rock radio format. The band is gearing up to tour Canada immediately, in support of the new CD, which delivers both the power and finesse expected by their existing fans and new younger audiences who are discovering classic rock. The band has recently been performing from coast to coast, playing to capacity audiences at arenas, festivals and other venues.
Lead Vocalist George Belanger stated; “The CD title “Waking The Jester” implies that we are picking up from where we left off after the first three albums. We spent over a year crafting 13 new tunes in the true flavor of Harlequin and in the spirit of good classic rock. Based on initial audience response and my personal opinion, this is some of the strongest material Harlequin has ever produced!”
The CD is a collaborative effort shared between George Belanger, Derrick Gottfried, Darren Moore and Nick Rivers. Harlequin’s line up is fronted by original singer/songwriter George Belanger. George is joined by Derrick Gottfried on guitar, Darren Moore on guitar and keyboards and Nick Rivers on bass. Darren and Derrick have also stepped out on this album, sharing the vocal spotlight with George, each performing a track adding their distinct energy to the CD. Original writer and guitarist Glen Willows also performs on a track.
The CD release party is slated for June 1st in hometown Winnipeg MB. at the Canad Inns venue “Silverados.” The new show combines all the components of a classic rock concert performance, accentuated with the theatrics of choreographed dancers and performers.

Harlequin has signed a 3 year distribution deal with Fontana North. Fontana North is the result of a partnership between leading Canadian independent music distributor MapleNationWide and Fontana Distribution, the U.S. based independent distribution arm of the Universal Music Group.

Interview, Advertising & Sponsorship Contact:
Email: harlequinrock@gmail.com

http://www.harlequintheband.com/
www.myspace.com/harlequinrocks

CD Release post from George

Things are happening fast and furious in the Harlequin Camp. As some of you may know our new release “Waking the Jester” is being pressed already! It’s been a long but worthwhile process. We did a lot of the tracking on Darren’s Pro-Tool rig in his home…. not hard to take… pool, sauna and a well stocked bar, but also availed ourselves of our good friend and sometime soundman, Howard Klopak’s Groove Jungle Studio. We did all the drums at Howard’s as well as some guitars, vocals, mixing and mastering.

We were fortunate enough to have a great complement of guests on this project. Most of the drum tracks were done by Steve Broadhurst, a well known session drummer and much in demand as a live performer. He keeps busy doing a lot of musicals that come to town too. He plays a lot of styles and is one of the most versatile players I’ve ever played with! Amanda Stott, Jack Semple, Eagle and Hawk, All the King’s Men are only a few of the artists that he performs with. He first started playing with me 14 yrs. Ago, so he’s no stranger to any Harlequin fan.

We also had the pleasure of using Brent Fitz, another Winnipeger who’s made his mark in the industry! One of the most accomplished, natural musicians I have ever met. Perfect pitch, a vast knowledge of musical theory, harmonies, great instincts and a hell of a piano player. It’s a shame we only worked with him as a drummer on three tracks. Brent is currently playing with Theory of a Deadman and has played with the likes of Vince Neil from Motley Crue fame, Alice Cooper, Union a band comprised of heavy hitters from a number of classic rock artists (Bruce Kulick of Kiss, John Corrabi of Motley Crue, James Hunting of David Lee Roth) and Living Under Venus with Darren. I’ll never forget the first time I played with him. He asked to sit in on a few tunes … I knew he was a great player so I had no qualms about it. It was only after the song ended that I realized he’d never played the song before and he’d pulled it off as if he’d been with us from the start so we played a few more and had a blast. He confessed afterwards that he was a Harlequin fan for many years, but that still didn’t explain how he followed the arrangement changes that were not on the recordings!!

Most of the people reading this would know and recognize the name “Spider”, the legendary bassist for Streetheart, Tom Cochrane and currently playing with Loverboy. I’ve had the pleasure of playing and recording with him several times and in my mind is one of the greatest bass players Canada has ever produced. Well let me introduce you all to Jim Cote out of Calgary who is without a doubt right up there in the same league as Spider! I first met Jim 5 minutes before we stepped on stage together to do a one and a half hour show without the benefit of one single rehearsal. I won’t get into all the details but we had an emergency and needed a bass player to fill in with very little notice. Jim was given a tape and a few days to learn the show. He had worked with Darren on the “Living Under Venus” project and knew already that he was an accomplished player, but I was absolutely blown away that night by his playing, as he not only played the whole set perfectly, but also added his own signature to many of the parts! As good as he is he remains very modest about his abilities and is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. He has some writing credits on this album so it was only natural that he play on a few tracks and his parts really established a groove for the rest of us. He is a rock solid player that should be recognized as one of the best.

I’m pretty excited about this project and part of the reason is that I know the next one will be even better due to my association with all the guys involved. We have a new website that will be launched simultaneously with the disc. Stay tuned for that! As well as being released in all the stores soon, we will also make the songs available online. We will also be personally responding to any fan mail at the new site.

Silverado’s will be hosting our release party on June 1st. We’re working with some “acrobatic dancers” who have choreographed a “Waking The Jester” introduction to the show. 92 CITI FM will be presenting the show and we will be doing a “live” unplugged studio show at the station in the near future to promote the upcoming date. We’re really looking forward to it as we have been rehearsing already.

Keep on Rockin’… George

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.