Gigging with HitZone at the fabulous Commodore Ballroom

The last time I was at the Commodore I was backstage shooting video of Loverboy for Kelly and Rach's All Access Pass. Last weekend I was fortunate enough to not just be backstage, but onstage.

And oh what a stage,  it was magnificent....I felt free as a bird!

The Commodore Ballroom. It's a legendary venue and many of the greatest bands and musical acts ever to pass through Vancouver have performed there over the years. Getting the opportunity to perform up on that stage is something of a massive thrill, not to mention a complete cakewalk as the staff and sound technicians at the Commodore treated us like gold.

So, I thought I would share some of my behind the scenes iPhone pictures from last weekend as my band HitZone played at the Commodore for a corporate event. I only took pics at soundcheck, but some of the band members took some live shots which I thought I would share also!

At sound check, I walked into the beautifully set up venue... Wow! It already felt like a party.

Russell Marsland, guitar genius and soul man getting his tones and sound set up during sound check.

Shawn Soucy, dialing in his monitor sounds so he can drive the bus with his solid, funky, outstanding beats and rhythms.

Billy Mendoza, grooving, driving the bus with Shawn and keeping the low notes .

Tom "check, check, hook me up with a wireless cause I'll probably jump into the crowd and party with the dancers"  Arntzen.

Outstanding horn players Bill Abbott and John Korsrud joined us for the night!  (Sorry John I only had this shot where your back is turned...)

And then, we took to the stage.....and oh what a night!

I love my job, so much!

Just thought I'd share a little peek with you all!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Hugs, Rach!

Vancouver Kids Walk for Help Phone 2011, help break the silence.

Each year, seven million of us experience mental illness. Many can’t get help as most of the needed public services are delivered piecemeal or they fall outside of medicare. It's tragic, since hardly anyone is untouched by the problem. And yet, here we are in 2011, with not enough attention or resources directed to mental health issues because they are still so shrouded with embarrassment and fear.  And youth are especially vulnerable for they are the most silent victims of all. Research shows that while the majority of mental disorders are treatable, only a fraction of young people recieve any type of mental health care.

This is where Kids Help Phone comes in, for they have given children a voice by giving them a line to someone who will care and listen. Since their phone lines went live in May 1989, Kids Help Phone’s professional counsellors have been providing help and hope to young people in every community. No matter what the problem, Kids Help Phone is there 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with caring, professional support for young people from five to 20 who reach out for help.

And now they need our help.

On Sunday May 1st people from over 40 comunities across Canada will be walking for Kids Help Phone.    By participating in this walk we help break the silence on mental health.

Lushious 

This year will be my third year participating in the walk. The first year I walked with with Team Yummy as part of the west coast Yummy Mummy Club. The second year I entertained the crowd with a band of musicians assembled from members of the League of Rock.  And this year I've asked some of my friends from Lushious band to join me onstage and we are very much looking forward to contributing to this important fundraiser. I'm also hoping you will come down and support the festivities or even better,  put together a team, collect some donations and do the lovely 5K walk around the golf course at Langara. The event is a terrific family affair with snacks, games, contests, bouncy castles, facepainting, balloons, radio stations, fitness clubs, booths, celebs, music and much more.

And if you can't make it please tune into CTV who will be there covering the event, and do check out the website  if something about this moves you to take a part and help, you will find ways you can donate or help sponsor a team.

                                                                        

            Below you can click the pictures to visit some of the Kids Walks corporate sponsors. We thank them for their dedication to breaking the silence.

Rach xo

HitZone!

I just like this song, and asked my band one night if we could play it.
On the spot, without hesitation they said, yeah! I love it when they do that, or when an audience
member asks for Hotel California and we just do it on the fly, and we decide we like it so much we add it to our set list...yeah....this is why I am so lucky.  :)  Thanks to Brian Wright  for taking the video and sharing it. :)

Rach: