NEWS
Two fun gigs at the Rook and the Yard. Thanks Arno!
Thanks to all of our supporters who cheer us on. As a result if playing at the Yard, we will be looking forward to playing for a National IT conference coming to Saskatoon in June.
Our next gig is in Lloydminster on Dec 18th where we get to play for some great dancers. We're really looking forward to playing for the Jones School of highland dancers and their guests. The new year brings us to a brand new pub in Saskatoon as we head downtown to perform at the Rook and Raven on Jan 25th. Paul's favourite haunt, The Yard and Flagon,is the location of our gig on Thursday Jan 26th.
The Bus rolls out of the garage to follow Santa at the Market Mall. So I guess you could say that he is our warm up act! You can catch us at the Market Mall in Saskatoon at 1:00 and 2:00PM. on Sat, Nov 26th. It's free but we will be plugging our Cd so cough up the cash and buy a stocking stuffer for your boss.
We had a great time performing at the 40th anniversary celebration for Cosmoindustries on Friday Sept 9th, 2011. Thanks to Ken for the gig! Thanks also to everyone who came out to support this wonderful event.
BOTB is primed to play at SASKATOON'S FOLKFEST. You can find us at the Scottish Pavilion at Prairieland.
Aug 18th.THURSDAY 7:50 and 10:25PM
Aug 19th FRIDAY 7:40 and 9:20PM
Aug 20th SATURDAY 6:50 and 9:20PM
Hope to see you there!
Another terrific night at the LDPBS! Special thanks to our hosts Rauncie and Rob and our CD sales executives Caelan and Lachlan. Thanks to the folks who came out to hear us as well!
The Bus rolls out of the garage on July 15 for a gig at the Lake Diefenbaker Pipe band School.This is always a great time.
A lovely afternoon in Saskatoon for Art In The Park. We got to meet the wonderful Eileen Laverty.
We had a nice gig in Regina playing for the Rotary Club at their Lobsterfest. What an appreciative crowd! Mosaic was a blast and we are looking forward to our gig there next year! Thanks for the terrific hospitality Regina!!!!
Our next set of gigs will be at Regina's Mosaic with appearances at the Irish and Scottish pavilions. We'll be at the Irish pavilion early on Thursday, June 2 and closing the Scottish pavilion June 2, 3 and 4. What a great multicultural event!
We'll be back in Regian on the 23rd of June for the Rotary Club's Lobsterfest at the Regina Inn.
Saskatoon area folks can catch the Bus for one set at Saskatoon's Art in the Park on June 12th at 12:00 Noon in Caswell Park, Saskatoon.
Thanks to the Swift Current Rotary Club for a fun time at the Lobsterfest. The hospitality that we receive in SW is amazing. Thanks so much!
A small but lovely audience for our gig at Grosvenor Park United Church. We raised a few bucks for the food bank. We had a great time with our friend and guest Anne Hines. Thanks to Lynda for working the door and thanks to those folks who came out to cheer us on and for listening to Jim's awesome jokes!
Lots of airplay on CFCR radio today on Sounds of Scotland with four of our tunes featuring.
Thanks Colleen!
Our recording has been entered into the WCMA's in the Roots/ Group category for 2011. Wish us luck!
You can catch us again on CBC radio as we near St. Patty's Day! We do love Candace Holmstrom, the host of Saskatchewan Weekend! It is so wonderful that Candace takes an interest in the music being created right here on the prairies and not just us.
Ok Folks! We're in concert at the Grosvenor Park United Church in Saskatoon at 7:30PM on Mar 19th. Our good pal Anne Hines will be there to entertain as well. It's $6.00 to get in and you can just pay at the door. Some of the proceeds will be going to the Food Bank. So, for those of you who want to do the Irish thing, listen to a few celtic tunes/stories but want to avoid the Pub scene ....this is for you! Jim has some bad jokes as well!
or at Finn's Irish Pub at the Parktown at 9:00. Fiddle Dee Dee Potaters!
We've just wrapped up two fabulous events. Last night, Feb 12th we performed in Regina at a Rotary Club fundraiser for a school in Guatemala. It was a wonderful event, with a great meal and we thank the Eastview Rotarians of Regina and their guests for their warm hospitality. Thanks Nelson!
Last week we played for a Public School Board Social. Special thanks to the Sutherland School staff for bringing their usual burst of enthusiasm and energy to the evening. Thanks to Clayton for all his work on this.
If you missed the feature segment on the band on CBC you can hear the full 18 minute interview with Candace Holmstrom at www.zerocharisma.ca/mp3. Great job Jim and Kathi! Thanks to Andy for the link. Thanks to Arno for having us at the YARD on Jan 24th. We always enjoy playing in this pub.
Our Winston's gig scheduled for Tuesday Jan 25th was cancelled due to a double booking at the pub. Hopefully, we'll get another opportunity to play there.
Back of the Bus loves Candace Holmstrom of the CBC!
Thank you Candace!
Candace Holmstrom host of CBC radio's Saskatchewan Weekend will be talking to Jim and Kathi about the band's new Cd in a segment to be aired on Jan 15th. 94.1 on the FM dial in Saskatoon.
Our segment airs at around 8:30-9:00 AM. To catch us live online try:
The Bus will be busy with Robbie Burns gigs coming up. On January 24th in the evening you'll find us at the YARD and on Jan 25th we'll be at Winston's. Times to be announced.
Happy New Year Folks! BOTB will be appearing at the Yard and Flagon in Saskatoon on Monday evening January 24th, 2011 as part of the annual Robbie Burns celebration.
A wonderful gig at Birsay in a very special venue! Thanks to everyone who came out to hear us. We had a great time. Hope all of you folks who purchased a Cd are enjoying listening to it.
The Bus speeds out of the garage once again trying to avoid speeding tickets. Jim is back from his month long tour of Australia scouting out venues for us and we are delighted to be playing in Birsay, Sk. on Dec 12th, 2010 at 2:00. Joining us for the gig and as part of the show will be storyteller, humourist, author and former writer for Canadian Living magazine and Chatelaine..... the one and only Anne Hines from Toronto. This show is sold out!
A fun and relaxed time at The Market Mall and a special thanks to all of you who stopped by to listen! Many thanks to the great many folks who bought a CD as well. We appreciate your support very much. Hope you are enjoying the CD.
See you folks at the MARKET MALL in Saskatoon on Saturday. We'll be playing at 12:30 1:30 and 2:30.
Hello Melfort! We are really looking forward to playing in your community! Saturday at 8:00.
Paul's cartoon show is back on the air! SCN Oct 11th.
Looking forward to our Celtic Christmas show in Birsay on Dec 12th at 2:00PM. So I want to be the first to wish you a Merry Christmas.. from the bottom of my heart! Freddy Fender classic! We have a nice fan base in the area from our gigs at Lake Diefenbaker over the years and our trip to Broderick in the Spring of 2010.
We're off to Melfort for a gig on October 16th, 2010!
More details to follow with time and location.
We've never played in Melfort but Jim used to live there years ago.
We're working on a Celtic Christmas gig in Birsay for December of 2010 so we'll keep you posted on that one.
Well we just had a great time at Folkfest 2010!..... Thanks for listening to us. We'd like to thank the sound crew at the Irish Pavilion..Bill Webster/ NightOwl and Eric Ediger/Audissey at the Scottish Pavilion..and congratulations to the organizers and volunteers of both pavilions. Oh yeah..if you want a cd, I'll personally deliver it to anywhere in Saskatoon!
The Bus rolls out of the garage this week for a series of gigs at Saskatoon's Folkfest. You can catch us at the Irish Pavilion on Thursday Aug 19th as well as at the Scottish Pavilion on Aug 19, 20 and 21. 2010. Our set times are posted on the gig page.
Wow! That was a great run of gigs for Back of the Bus.
On the 15th of July we performed at Lake Diefenbaker at Hitchcock's Hideaway. Thanks to all those who came out to see us and always a special thanks to Rauncie and Rob! Dodging giant Cicada bugs will go down in the history books of this band. Sheila will never be the same. Thanks to Paula and Don for the relaxing pontoon boat ride before the show.
On July 9th, we were at the Broadway Theatre in Saskatoon for a fun show as the opener for Johhny Bagpipes. Great guy! Thanks to Colleen and Lea for inviting us to perform.
July 10th was a terrific night for the band as it is every musicians dream gig to play in the beautiful Bessborough Gardens! We had fun and we shared the stage with highland dancers from Saskatchewan and Scotland as well as the 96th highlanders and the Police Band.We were proud to have been a part of the Scot Dance Canada Championship Series 2010.
A special thanks to all of the great folks in Cut Knife who came out to catch us. We really enjoyed ourselves!Back of the Bus has a very special connection to Cut Knife .....it's Sheila's hometown. As well, Paul lived there for over 20 years. Thanks to Noreen for the gig and to Glen for rigging up some lights while we were fading into the dark! Fun times! Happy Canada Day!
Thank you so much to all of the folks who made it to our CD release party on June 19th. Thanks also to all of you who were able to buy a CD. Thanks so much for your support. You can check for pictures on Facebook. Special thanks to Lea and Colleen for arranging everything and making it easier for us. Cliff's Scottish Lager was great as well as all of the great baking that Lea and Colleen did for the event. We'd like to thank Alex Martin for a wonderful job playing the pipes. Thanks to Calen and Kendra for playing at the entrance and Shonah and Chloe for dancing. Terrific to see such skill from such talented youth.
All of our Cd's have now arrived and we would love to get one to you. They are twenty dollars so just drop us us a line and we'll mail one out to you.
Happy Birthday to Glenn Ens our engineer!
Some of the new Cd's will be in our hands on Friday June 18th courtesy of an airlift from the manufacturers.The CD's get their own seat on the plane!
Hope to see some of you out to the CD release party on Saturday June 19th at the Cosmos Senior's Centre at 7:00. It's an all ages event.
Last night June 5th we played at a wedding in Battleford. Great time! Thanks to Tim and Monica. First time to play next to a hot tub with the guitar so close to the bar it kept hitting the tip jar! Wonderful event! Sheila will never be the same now that she has learned a new way to make noise.
We played at the Irish Pavillion in Regina on Friday June 4th. That was fun! ...Some fantastic dancing and we met some more great folks. Special thanks to the sound crew Andrew and Danny for doing a tremendous job.
We're booked in to the Battleford Provincial Park for the annual Canada Day Celebration at 2:45PM on July 1 ,then we roll into Cut Knife later that evening for a show in Sheila's hometown. It's at 8:00PM at the Museum grounds.
Our next gig is in Regina on June 4th! This will be the first time that the Bus rolls into Regina and we're really looking forward to playing at the Irish Pavillion.( Mosaic)
We've got a CD release party scheduled at the Cosmo Centre just off Broadway in Saskatoon on June 19th from 7-10 with our good pals Lea and Colleen handling the arrangements for us. Everyone is welcome to attend!
Swift Current Lobster Fest May 7 and 8,was fantastic! Thanks to Trevor Koot and the Rotary Club for bringing us in and for all the extras. We really appreciated the hospitality. Looking forward to returning to such a great community!
Vote for Dennis Perrault! Clearly a man with enthusiasm for his community.
We'd also like to thank the fine ladies at the Best Western for their fine hospitality as well.
May 1,Broderick was a wonderful time and we really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. Thanks so much Ronnie and congratulations on your anniversary! If you are looking for a great place to eat, head to Broderick and visit the Terrace lounge for supper.
Check us out on myspace to hear a few of our tracks in progress (unmixed versions) from the new recording..
Well we're back in the studio again for a couple of days with Ross Nykiforuk of the Northern Pikes at the controls.
Fun at Finn's last night... Mar 20th! Some friends from Cut Knife showed up. Wilma and Gary from the Wilma Groenen Band came out to listen. Wilma rocks! She has a show coming up at Beily's in April, you won't want to miss!
Prairie Sailor Band keyboard whiz Ned Ramsay was in the house as well as Dwayne, Patty and Kelly from a band Sheila used to play with called Rivertown. Our clogging pals Lisa and Terri also performed to a couple of our pieces much to the delight of the crowd.
It's a friendly pub and we hope to play there again.
Portsmouth 3 Hull City 2 Paul smiles again! And the good folks of Saskatchewan say.. huh? Well, it was Paul's dream as a kid to play soccer for Portsmouth...now he plays for a geriatric pub team -when he shoots ..it's like....he can't hit a cow's arse with a banjo.
Portsmouth 2 Birmingham 0 FA cup result.
So, my skint team that may not even exist next year due to incompetent ownership, has made it to the semi-finals of the FA cup. There is joy in my heart.
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We're back in the studio working on a new full length recording to be released before the summer of 2010. Woohoo!
CBC New Brunswick played our version of ALL THAT IS( a great tune by Garnet Rogers) from our Occupied CD on a show called, "The Shift."
New to our website are two MP3 files on the Music Samples page. The two cuts are from our Occupied CD.
Just in...We'll be at Beily's in Saskatoon for a St.Patty's Day Party. We're on at 8:15. Mar 17th 2010.
Jim and Paul attended the David Francey concert at Lydia's on Friday night. Wow! It was a fantastic show. Next time David comes to Saskatoon you won't want to miss this remarkable songwriter. David was accompanied by the excellent Craig Werth.
We were at the YARD and FLAGON on Jan 24th
for Robbie Burns
A fun day at the WDM in North Battleford on the 19th! Thanks to Milt Haselmire for doing a great job on the sound.
Congratulations to Verna and Gordon on their 50th. It was our pleasure to play for your special day. Thank you so much!
Check out Kathi and Anna's new CD from their group called "The Troubadours du Bois." A great Christmas gift!
The Troubadours du Bois featuring Anna and Kathi are pleased to announce the release of their CD
album, 'Journeys' ! This is an album of accurate medieval and renaissance music.
For a sampling, go to troubadoursmusic.ca , click
on sitemap, then music, then click on Journeys' samples, and 'download' to
hear a few pieces. It's a wonderful recording!
Send us an email and we'll help you get a CD.
Catch Kathi and Anna at:
Museo Cafe at the Mendel Art Gallery, Monday, December 14, 7:30 pm.
Hey! Back of the Bus will be at the YARD and FLAGON on Broadway in Saskatoon on JANUARY 24th. It's a Robbie Burns celebration. Call the YARD for tickets now as this baby always sells out fast! Great food ..and great fun!
You can catch us next in North Battleford on Dec 19th at the Western Development Museum as part of an anniversary celebration called, "Winning The Prairie Gamble" We're on in the afternoon at 2:00 and 5:40PM.
Ho Ho Ho!
Well,that was certainly fun! Kudos to Colleen and Lea for a grand job putting together a wonderful celtic show at Persephone Theatre last night. We had a blast and were honoured to have been asked to perform as part of a great show with such very talented groups as Circling Over Shannon , 96th Highlanders, City Police Pipes and Drums , NSR Pipes and drums, Glenn Lily and Celtic Spirit our new Glasgow friends! Safe travels home Jason, Brian and James.
Congratulations to our friend, Ian Hamilton, who was just elected as the Mayor of North Battleford! Best wishes Ian, we know that you will do a great job on behalf of all the great folks in NB.
Happy 16th Birthday Shonah! The cars are trembling!
New tunes added to the repertoire: Fields of Barley and a lovely original song written by Anna called Over The Ocean
Hope you managed to catch the debut of Tales of Ty the T-Rex on SCN now appearing every Saturday on SCN at 9:30 and 2:30.
Thanks to all of you who made it out to Boffins.
It was a perfect moment in time!
That was September 12 playing for Ruby's 90th birthday celebration... Perfect weather and a perfect event for such a grand and sweet lady. Happy Birthday Ruby!
Here is a clip from Folkfest of us playing The Long Journey Home, a great tune with an Irish connection.
WOW! What a great three days of fun for us at the Scottish Pavillion. Congratulations to the Saskatoon Highland Dancing Association for hosting another very successful Folkfest event! What a hard working crew! Another huge congratulations to Bar Coordinator Rachelle and her husband Andrew on the birth of their little Folkfest baby girl!!!!Thanks to all of you who came to the Scottish Pavillion.
Thanks for catching us last night (Thurs) at Folkfest. Hope you had a fun time at the Scottish Pavillion. Well done Jayme Mitchell (Age 13) singing for her first time with us on Flower of Scotland! Don't forget to catch Sheila's husband Gord on Mantracker this weekend on the OLN channel as they try to capture two Toronto lads in the wilds of Big River.
We are saddened to learn of the loss of the wonderful Neil Meckelborg, a truly great guy, friend to all, and a man that was an absolute pleasure to work with. Our deepest sympathies are extended to his family and many, many friends.
The Bus rolled into Hitchcock's Hideaway on Thursday, July 16th for one of our favourite gigs of the year! Always a great time! Thanks to Rauncie and Rob for having us.
Playing for the Mantracker event up in Big River was a hoot! Thanks to the great folks in Big River for a wonderful evening. We'll try to get some pictures up as soon as we can.
Special thanks to the Battleford's Jazz Society for a fun evening at the Sloan Auditorium. It was a nice time with old and new friends and marked the return of "Summertime". We were honoured to have so many people come out and listen. Thank you!
Huge congratulations to Jim Walls of Back of the Bus for receiving the Best Actor Award at the recent Saskatchewan Theatre Competition held in Prince Albert. That makes two years in a row for our Jim! His portrayal of ageing American Judge Biddel was absolutely outstanding.
Anna's been busy adjudicating at various music festivals around the province offering her expertise to benefit Saskatchewan's up and coming players and singers.
Paul's new Cd for children called Tunes of Ty The T-Rex is now available and you can hear it on itunes. It features lyrics by Chris Atkinson and performances from some of the top musicians in the city and area.( Sheldon Corbett, Ned Ramsay, Glenn Ens, Rod Salloum, Brent Longstaff, Barrie Redford, Neil Meckelborg, Barrie Redford and Sherry Sansom). Jim's son Andy sings on many of the tunes as either Rudy Raptor or as Ty the T-Rex. Sheila Vaadeland from BOTB also appears on one of the tracks. Watch for the new cartoon show on SCN airing this fall. Contact Paul by email if you'd like to get a copy of the CD or you can download songs from itunes. Search for Tunes of Ty.
Here is a another Back of the Bus connection!
Wish Wish I Was A Fish, a song written by BOTB's Paul Runalls (music)and Chris Atkinson(lyrics) from Regina received an honourable mention in The International Songwriting Competition for 2008 for children's music. Jim's son Andy Walls was the lead vocalist in the song and performed as Rudy Raptor! (from the Tales of Ty-The T-Rex cartoon series).The contest had over 15,500 entries. Check out the children's music category.
Check out Kathi's amazing performance of the Lonesome Boatman on her bio page! Way to go Kathi!
To book Back of the Bus please call Paul at 373-7659.
Congratulations to Jim and Lynda on the safe arrival of Grandson James! Great work Sheena and Daniel!
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