Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 | Posted by BC Interior News Team

Auction Fundraiser Extravaganza

Hot off performances in Alberta and B.C., Scarecrow will serve up their impressive musical range for the Shuswap Trail Party and Auction on Friday, Feb. 5.

Diversity, energy, and a knack for knowing just what the dance floor needs at a moment’s notice mark this dynamic and talented band. Their huge repertoire, solid musical talent, and contagious energy drive a terrific party on and off the dance floor.

Lead singer and guitarist, John Hodgson, hints at the band’s ability to morph with their audience’s tastes. He grew up in Calgary being fed a diet of Beatles, Nat King Cole, Scottish Pipe music, and a large dose of ’70’s music.

“I love the complete diversity of the ’70’s, but to say I had a favourite band now would be impossible,” Hodgson. “I have come to love so many songwriters that I would be lying to say I had one favourite.”

And that’s good news for the diverse audiences they play for, as the band turns it on a dime between eras, genres, and artists, says event co-ordinator Winston Pain.

Hodgson is joined by Dennean Gould on lead guitar, Ryan Guilbeault on bass, and Rylan Wood on drums. Together they’ve brought a new energy and range to Scarecrow that’s got them being rediscovered and delighting new audiences. Like Hodgson, Gould grew up with music. Sunday’s at his childhood home in Manitoba consisted of the extended family getting together to play music. He hit the stage at age 13 with the family band, The Cabaret’s, and then went on to play with a steady roster of bands and hasn’t stopped.

Ryan Guilbeault and Rylan Wood bring Shuswap roots to the group and a good dose of new energy. Both grew up in Sicamous. Guilbeault was 13 when he started playing bass in a band called Dark Horizon with Wood on drums. Inspired by bands like Matchbox Twenty, Greenday, and Black Sabbath, Guilbeault went on to produce his first album, As It Stands.

He fell in love with the taste of live performance playing with the local band, Four Twenty, and has since played with bands including Storm, Super Hot Franks, The Force, Breaking Curfew, and The Whiskey Danglers.

Wood found his passion for music at a very young age. Piano was his first instrument, but his energy compelled him toward the drums by age 11. By age 12, he was forming rock groups with friends and entering a steady string of Battle of the Bands competitions, placing in every one. In drum-off competitions he would win three of four events. He went on to teach drums in Salmon Arm and Sicamous before teaming up again with Guilbeault.

Hodgson has always had a passion for giving back to as many charities as possible, with performances supporting organizations as diverse as their music: a schizophrenic society, a women’s shelter, a hospice, a brain injury awareness society. When the Shuswap Trail Alliance approached the band with the idea of playing for the Feb. 5 fundraiser, they quickly accepted.

This year’s Shuswap Trail celebration and fundraiser with Scarecrow, will also include DJ support with Patrick Ryley, dancing, hot buffet appies, cash bar, silent auction, trail awards, and the Best of Shuswap Trail film/photo footage from 2009.

Article provided by Jim Maybee