He's going to be rocking his own backyard.
When nostalgic soft rock group The Crew sails back to Blue Frog Studios (1328 Johnston Rd.) Friday, Aug. 15 and Saturday, Aug. 16 for Yacht Rock The Dock, longtime White Rock resident and impresario Kelly Breaks&苍产蝉辫;鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Mr. Blue Frog himself 鈥� will be on board to play bass once again.
The group 鈥� dedicated to bringing back the smooth sounds and danceable rhythms of the likes of Christopher Cross, Steely Dan, Michael MacDonald, Toto, The Doobie Brothers Hall & Oates, Boz Scaggs, Kenny Loggins and Pablo Cruise 鈥� is literally an all-star powerhouse crew.
Billed as "the ultimate summer party on deck" Yacht Rock The Dock has scheduled shows at 7 p.m. on each night.
Joining dynamic singers Catherine St. Germaine (on July 15) and Aimee Ayotte (on July 16) on vocals will be keyboardist Tom Arntzen, drummer Ian Paxton and guitarist Alex Whitaker 鈥� while helping anchor the group's tight sound will be guitarist Tim Porter, J.T. Platt on saxophone, flute and percussion and the nimble bass lines of venue owner Breaks.
"Many of the members of the band are local to White Rock and South Surrey," he said, adding he put the group together two years ago, after discovering a lively yacht rock scene in the U.S.
"I've sort of come out of retirement for this band," he noted.
"I used to be a bass player in club bands in my 20s, and I've played bass quite a few times at the studio when bands have come in.
"A few years ago I went to California and went to see Al Stewart (of Year of the Cat fame) at a venue, and there were about 1,500 there 鈥� all kinds of people, all dressed up in yacht-style clothes and having a great time. I realized yacht rock was a thing, and discovered all these other '70s-'80 acts working there as part of the scene, people like Ambrosia and England Dan and John Ford Coley.
"At that time, there weren't any yacht rock bands in the Vancouver, and the one touring group I did locate in Las Vegas wanted 2,500 for a show. So I reached out to some people I knew in the business and we were able to put The Crew together.
"They're all really great players and a lot of them are great vocalists, too. The vocals are such an important part of material like this, and we're able to blend it together with three or four or five-part harmonies.
"It's a lot of fun."
Coming up at Blue Frog in the interim are the Funk Monks (Friday, July 11, tickets still available for the 9:15 p.m. show) a veteran group of Southern Californian/Canadian musicians, including keyboardist Jim Widdifield, specializing in R&B, Soul and Funk.
On July 18, Juno Award-winning Canadian blues artist Crystal Shawanda and her band will be featured in a 7 p.m. show; while on July 19, Dutch pianist and singer Eric-Jan Overbeek, also known as Mr. Boogie Woogie, will be thumping the keys with some hard-driving, old school R&B and killer Boogie Woogie, with show starting at 7 p.m.
On July 28 at 7 p.m. masterful trio The Sadies will demonstrate their high-energy brand of music, encompassing everything from astral psychedelia and shuffling country, to "puckish pop and righteous garage-rock," followed on Aug. 8 by harmonic maestro Rick Estrin and the Nightcats offering a "wildly entertaining, no-holds-barred blues show" at 7 p.m. and 9:15 p.m.
Tickets for all shows are available at bluefrogstudios.ca
