The Shuffle Demons at Koerner Hall
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With special guests Skratch Bastid and Caity Gyorgy
High-energy virtuosic jazz and funk, and over-the-top stage antics have thrilled audiences for decades since their 1980s MuchMusic hit “Spadina Bus.”
The legend of The Shuffle Demons is well known to Canadians. Beginning in September 1984 with veteran street sax player Demon Richard Underhill pleasing the pedestrian multitudes at the corner of Yonge and Bloor in Toronto, The Shuffle Demons quickly evolved into an immensely popular street band. In 1986, John Gunn and Rob Fresco directed “Spadina Bus,” the video that became a MuchMusic hit, and was quickly followed by the hilarious “Out of My House, Roach” (directed by Joel Goldberg). The Demons caught fire, sold more independent albums than anyone up to that point (15,000), were nominated for a Juno Award, won five CASBY Awards, toured like mad, and released their second album, Bop Rap, which featured a very popular rendition of “Hockey Night in Canada.”
This band is genre bending, highly visually entertaining, funny, and best of all, their eye catching, crowd-pleasing stunts are backed up by incredibly solid musicianship. Over the course of their illustrious career The Shuffle Demons have released 10 CDs, four hit videos, won several music awards, done numerous TV and radio appearances, and toured nationally and internationally. The band continues the tradition today with a great line-up of players that includes Juno Award winner Richard Underhill (sax & vox), Matt Lagan and Kelly Jefferson (saxes), Mike Downes (bass), and Stich Wynston (drums). Expect the same exciting, no holds barred performances that feature wild romps in the crowd, free jazz moments, danceable funk, poetry, killer solos, and more.
For the past two decades, Skratch Bastid has been rocking parties and wowing crowds all over the globe, becoming one of the world’s best known and most loved DJs. Known for his electric stage presence, technical prowess, and versatile selections that span the complete musical spectrum – from hip hop to house, disco to dancehall, reggae to funk and back again – Bastid is a true crowd favourite with an unrivaled ability to create unforgettable moments with music.
Caity Gyorgy is a two-time Juno Award-winning Canadian vocalist who is known for singing bebop and swing music. She has performed at popular clubs and jazz festivals across Canada and the USA and has worked and recorded with incredible musicians and groups including Christine Jensen, Pat LaBarbera, Jocelyn Gould, Ira Coleman, Allison Au, Bryn Roberts and Postmodern Jukebox, to name a few. In addition to performing, Caity is also an avid writer and composes songs in the style of the Great American Songbook. Her compositions have been sung by other vocalists around the world, and she has released several albums of original and standard music.
After the concert, enjoy a beverage and more music at the Postlude Performance.