Erin Roots… Jennis & The Banjo Mechanics

The second show of the Erin Roots live music series at The Busholme Inn in Erin takes place on Saturday October 24 at 7:30 p.m. and features the roots, bluesy, folky sound of Jen Gillmor and Dennis Gaumond as “Jennis” alongside the duelling banjos of the “Banjo Mechanics” Ian Pattison and Lewis Melville. Join us for an evening of fabulous live roots music that is sure to engage, delight and inspire. Each of the Erin Roots live shows will be taped for future broadcast on Erin Radio community radio station.

Erin Roots presents… Jennis and The Banjo Mechanics in Concert
The Busholme Inn, 156 Main St, Erin, Ontario N0B 1T0 Erin
Saturday October 24 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets $15 (for advance tickets call 519-362-3383 or e-mail jan[at]folkrootsradio.com)

About Jennis
Jennis brings together award-winning Guelph-based Dennis Gaumond’s decades of experience writing and performing original blues and folk and the diverse musical experiences of veteran Toronto indie-scene multi-instrumentalist Jen Gillmor. Their unique blend of dobro and cello is augmented by didgeridoo, custom-tuned harmonicas, flute, wah-guitar, jaw harp and wazinator.

Their rootsy sound is at times bluesy, at times funky, jazzy or folky, with a hint of exotic ethnic influences. Jennis’ music celebrates the mysteries and poignancies of life, rooted in an unapologetic faith in peace and love as the highest powers. Dennis’s compositions, while rooted in blues traditions and inspired by the likes of JJ Cale and Ben Harper, hint at his love of Middle Eastern and African music. Jen, brought up by a musicologist father, infuses the duo’s sound with her passion for many styles and traditions ranging from rock and reggae to funk, celtic and African music. Her well-worn role as bas guitarist ignites the groove and she cooks it up with a good dose of the “chopping” bow technique from the world of roots fiddling. The duo’s friendship warms up the stage as they draw on their decades of performance experience to engage audiences. Their debut album, The Current, was released in June 2014.
 Jennis were finalists in the 2015 Toronto Blues Society Talent Search. For more information visit: jennis.ca.

About the Banjo Mechanics
The Banjo Mechanics began in 1995 when Ian Pattison and Lewis Melville laid their banjos down on the highway and successfully subdued a herd of stampeding tractor-trailers. A recorded version of the event was included in the DROG “Truck Songs” compilation. The playing didn’t stop there… In 2001, Ian and Lewis performed open-heart surgery on the 5-string with an assortment of power tools (many early morning jam sessions) and released an audio recording of the operation known as ‘Workitis’. Since then, the Banjo Mechanics have continued to be Canadian Banjo prospectors and as of 2014 released their first full-length album, ‘JLP’.

Ian Pattison is a luthier, banjo player and drummer from Guelph Ontario and he loves music – the playing, writing, learning and equally important the sculpting of instruments…essential for the journey that he has travelled. Ian’s studio of stringed instruments has been 40 plus years in the making and includes not just the status quo….but pieces that are unique and ‘one of a kind’. Ian keeps and has kept a busy schedule over the years playing the banjo and his drums. Bands that he has played in include Rocket Radio, Los Albianos, Bepop Amoeba, the Hoofbeats, the Exceptions, the Sam Turton Band and, of course, The Banjo Mechanics.

Lewis Melville is a Guelph, Ontario, musician, composer, producer, visual artist, and multi-instrumentalist who has played guitar, banjo and pedal steel on many recordings by many well-known Canadian bands (Skydiggers, Barenaked Ladies, Cowboy Junkies, Grievous Angels, Kim Stockwood, The Waltons, 13 engines, The Bourbon Tabernacle Choir, Tannis Slimmon, Rheostatics, The Woodshed Orchestra, Jah Youssouf, and others). He has four albums under his own name and currently performs with The Banjo Mechanics, contemporary folk artist Tannis Slimmon, the Hoofbeats, free music pioneers The Vertical Squirrels, Toronto’s freak-out improv orchestra the Woodchoppers Association, and as a solo artist.

For more information visit: pattisonstringedinstruments.com/banjo-mechanics.