The Wintermarket

The Wintermarket formed in 1997, as an excuse for keyboard player Ron Elliott to record some tunes with friends and play with some borrowed gear. The Wintermarket included Tone Valcic on drums, Dino Verginella on bass, and the late Kymbliss Drake on vocals and sometimes piano. The music had a unique sound, drawing from Drum 'n Bass, New Wave, Jazz and Rock. Although the tunes were never intended to be more than demos, Ron released them online after Kym's passing.

Ron and Dino had met in the late eighties, both playing in a 10 piece R&B band called Reuben Kincade. Dino had (use of) a car, and Ron didn't. An immediate friendship was born. Tone and Ron played in a band called Roadside Attraction in the mid nineties. Ron was fresh off the bus from Toronto, where he had gone to school. Shit happened, and he found himself back in the Hammer, working for Reggie's Music and Sound, a legendary (but sadly now defunct) local music store.

Roadside was in need of a bass player and Ron recommended his old friend Dino. The chemistry was immediate. Tone, Ron and Dino were long lost brothers, who could read each others minds without trying. Roadside went on to play some awesome shows, receive some critical acclaim and nearly cause a riot by placing second in a local radio station battle of the bands. Roadside Attraction eventually dissipated after producing a single, ambitious record. Ron went on to play with a variety of folks, produce a couple of records, and play on many more, but eventually settled into a day job. Tone played with a number of Canadian rock stars including Holly McNarland, Chantal Kreviazuk, Bob and Daniel Lanois. Dino played his way through the rough and tumble chicken wing circuit and around the world with folks like Kenny Munshaw and Dave Murphy. Sometimes your life depended on knowing every song ever written.

The Wintermarket found themselves back in the studio, October of 2007, a little older, and much wiser. Ron wanted to make an instrumental Hammond Organ based record. He made a few calls, everyone showed up, an now you get to enjoy the results. The tunes were recorded live off the floor, at Trevor Titian's Upstairs recording space in downtown Hamilton over a 3 day period. They were mixed and a few overdubs added at Ron's place in the weeks after. Some of these songs are first takes, and are presented, warts and all for public consumption.

There was some band discussion about what to call this new project, but after listening back to the new tracks, there were so many similarities to the first outing that it just seemed natural to remain "The Wintermarket". We're sure Kym would approve.